Photo: Simon Vesrano/Universal Pictures
In the 2009 pseudocumentary, Milla Jovovich plays a psychologist named Dr. Abigail Taylor, who investigates a series of disappearances in Nome, Alaska. Marketed as a fact-based thriller,The Fourth Kinduses a documentary-reenactment approach to explore a series of unsolved disappearances in the Alaska town. One possible explanation? Alien abduction.
But just what is fact and what is fiction?
When the film came out, theWall Street Journaland other newspapers attempted to find background on Dr. Abigail Taylor, but results were vague. Reporters could locate no legitimate biography, and both the state licensing board and Alaska’s psychological association had never heard of Dr. Taylor.
Missing Persons?
Then there is the question of whether several citizens of Nome actually disappeared under mysterious circumstances. That was certainly the town’s reputation. In 2005, amid worries that tourists were starting to consider the destination dangerous, local officials released a list of 20 unexplained disappearances dating back to the 1960s, according to theAnchorage Daily News.
Still, when the FBI stepped in and investigated two dozen of the cases, the agency determined that alcohol consumption and the town’s harsh climate were the actual causes of people falling off the map.
In some instances, missing persons are thought to have stumbled off a jetty and drowned in the freezing waters of the Snake River.
Given the lack of hard physical evidence of any actual paranormal activity in Nome — and the unlikely existence of a Dr. Abigail Taylor — some critics have suggested the based-on-fact hype was part of a viral marketing ploy to generate buzz for the new release.
Did it work?The Fourth Kindgrossed $47.7 million at the box office worldwide, against a budget of $10 million.
source: people.com
