Beyond that, director Olatunde Osunsanmi has taken what could easily be a risible subject and made it more unnerving and engrossing than expected. He has done that mostly through clever filmmaking choices, such as juxtaposing seemingly archival documentary footage with the clearly fictional.

The movie opens with Milla Jovovich identifying herself as an actress, then going on to explain she will be playing psychologist Abigail Tyler. There is frequent cutting between Jovovich and the allegedly real Dr. Tyler as she recounts her experiences. Osunsanmi interweaves jangly handheld camera shots, keeping us on edge. There also is footage of her patients, all of whom complain of sleep disturbances.

This all takes place in Nome, Alaska, where people have vanished.

Tyler becomes convinced that aliens are somehow abducting the unsuspecting residents of Nome. As ridiculous as it sounds, if you suspend your disbelief – and a fair amount of common sense – the jolts and scares are entertaining.

The film leaves out key information, even as it tries to tie up some loose ends at the finish. Were there other explanations for the missing people? Did anyone evaluate Tyler's mental state?

But why ask why? The film creates an appropriately eerie mood through its visuals.

You don't have to believe in far-fetched tales of mysterious beams of light and alien abductions to get caught up in The Fourth Kind.

Enlarge Universal Pictures Milla Jovovich stars as psychologist Abigail Tyler, who is on the trail of alien abduction in Alaska.