The Fourth Kind

In a chilling televised interview with psychologist Dr. Abigail "Abbey" Tyler (played by), Chapman University audiences are transported to Nome, Alaska, where a series of bizarre events unfolded in the year 2000. The re-enactment of August's events sets the tone for the horrors that will soon unfold: Abbey's world is shattered when her husband, Will (no actor credited), meets a tragic end, leaving her to care for their two young children, Ashley and Ronnie.

As Abbey delves deeper into the mysteries of the human psyche through hypnotherapy sessions with patients, she uncovers disturbing similarities. Her clients report being haunted by a white owl's piercing gaze as they drift off to sleep, only to find themselves fighting off supernatural forces that threaten to invade their homes. The stakes are raised when one patient, driven mad by these nocturnal terrors, takes his own life and those of his loved ones.

The tragedy serves as a catalyst for Abbey's investigation into the nature of these otherworldly encounters. She becomes increasingly convinced that her patients may have been the unwitting victims of alien abductions. The evidence mounts when an assistant presents her with a tape recorder capturing the sounds of an unknown entity infiltrating her home and attacking her. Though she has no recollection of the event, the recordings suggest that Abbey herself may have been abducted.

Abel Campos (no actor credited), a skeptical colleague from Anchorage, is initially dismissive of Abbey's claims. However, with the help of Dr. Awolowa Odusami (no actor credited), an expert in ancient languages and a contact of her late husband, Abbey uncovers the truth about the mysterious sounds on the tape. It appears to be Sumerian, an ancient language long thought extinct.

One patient, Scott (no actor credited), seeks Abbey's help to uncover the secrets he's trying to remember. He confesses that there was no owl and speaks of "them," but his memories remain shrouded in mystery. Under hypnosis, Scott begins to levitate above his bed as a disembodied voice commands Abbey to cease her investigation.

The stakes escalate further when Sheriff August (no actor credited) arrives at Abbey's doorstep, accusing her of being responsible for Scott's paralysis. It takes the intervention of Campos to clear Abbey's name and prevent her arrest. However, the sheriff is not convinced and places her under house arrest.

In a shocking turn of events, a police officer witnesses a strange, triangular-shaped object hovering above Abbey's home. As the image distorts, the officer calls for backup, describing people being dragged from the house. Deputies rush to Abbey's aid, only to find Ronnie safe but Ashley nowhere to be found. A skeptical Sheriff August accuses Abbey of kidnapping her daughter and removes Ronnie from her custody, leaving her alone and helpless in the face of an uncaring world.

As the hypnotic trance takes hold, Abbey's mind is transported back to the fateful night when she bore witness to the abduction of her daughter Ashley. The presence of the extraterrestrial beings communicates with her, revealing the traumatic truth: not only did she behold Ashley's capture, but she herself was also taken by the aliens. With anguish in her voice, Abbey implores the otherworldly force for the safe return of her child, only to be met with a chilling response: Ashley will never come back. The alien presence then self-identifies as "God," leaving Abbey reeling from the encounter. As the trance ends, Campos and Odusami rush to her side, their concern palpable as they take in the scene unfolding before them. In that moment, a distant cry echoes through the air, the words "Zimabu Eter" hanging like a haunting whisper.

As reality reasserts itself, Abbey finds herself in a hospital bed, her neck broken from the ordeal. The revelation hits her like a ton of bricks: her husband Will had taken his own life, and her conviction that he was murdered was nothing more than a product of her fractured psyche. The weight of this crushing truth bears down upon her, leaving her reeling.

The camera cuts away, returning to the present as Abbey recounts her experiences with Campos and Odusami. Though they were also abducted during the hypnotic session, their memories remain shrouded in mystery. A journalist presses Abbey for an explanation, pointing out that her claims of alien abduction seem laughable in light of her earlier delusions about Will's death. With a sense of resignation, Abbey concedes that she has no choice but to hold onto the hope that Ashley is still alive.

As the tears flow freely down her face, Abbey's world begins to crumble around her. The once-sharp edges of reality have been worn smooth by the relentless tide of trauma and uncertainty. In the aftermath, Abbey is cleared of all charges, her name forever tainted by the whispers of madness that surround her. As she departs Alaska for a new life on the East Coast, her health begins to decline precipitously, requiring constant care to sustain her fragile existence.

Meanwhile, Campos continues his work as a psychologist, while Odusami takes up a professorship at a Canadian university. Both men remain steadfast in their refusal to engage with Abbey's story, their silence speaking volumes about the depth of their emotional scars. August, too, maintains his distance, his gaze forever fixed on the horizon, searching for answers that may never come. Ronnie, once Abbey's confidant and ally, remains estranged from her, still nursing a deep resentment toward her for Ashley's disappearance – a wound that refuses to heal with time.