Darkening Sky

This is a very low budget psychological sci-fi drama & it's filmed in a raw almost documentary way & it works for the weird style of film this is at one point it's like a Horror movie & at times it's like a drama about lost lonely troubled people especially Rider Strongs character he's very lost & troubled & yet again another EXCELLENT performance by Rider who is a fantastic actor who seems to be constantly dismissed & underrated? Maybe it's because he's a regular in the Horror genre like Cabin Fever (2002),Borderland (2007),Tooth & Nail (2007) & Death Valley (2004) so he is definitely a Horror favourite but that doesn't mean he's not one hell of an actor!!! Watch the terrifying true life Crime Horror Borderland (2007) to see just how BRILLIANT Rider Strong is as an actor!!! Anyway back to this movie yes it's very low budget but it's a good moody film with a great performance by Rider. Can't say too much about the plot or story just let it unfold & wait for a surprising end!!!

I've seen movie with worse production, but The Darkening Sky does have a decidedly low budget feel to it. Eric Rainer is a student who enjoys studying UFOs and people who claim to have been abducted but does not believe in it himself. When his girlfriend disappears he meets Beth (played by the super hot Danielle Keaton)who's boyfriend recently also disappeared.

There are some minor spooky parts with a little bit of unexpected events, but overall the movie is predictable and doesn't really bring anything new to the table in this genre.Fans of alien abduction type movies will probably enjoy it regardless.

A combination of science fiction and supernatural ideas. Alien abduction versus dreams. The gorgeous actress Danielle Keaton reminds me so much of the character, Death in The Sandman comic books written by Neil Gaiman. As a matter of fact her character name in the movie is, Beth. Same exact look and hairstyle.

Maybe I've just become so jaded by the type of 'sci fi' that is pumped out by big budget studios nowadays that I'm just finding anything even slightly off the wall far more interesting and engaging.

And by using sci fi in commas I mean just that. Alot of big budget sci fi simply isn't sci fi, but a highly polished, test audience approved, generic, safe, play it by the numbers bland, kid friendly, boring fantasy flick.

Darkening Sky is far from an original movie. In fact it reminded me abit of The Arrival (1996) starring Charlie Sheen. But the what Darkening Sky does extremely well is opt for a more psychological route with a massive dose of paranoia. In fact you could even make the case that this isn't so much a sci fi flick but rather a psychological thriller against a sci fi backdrop.

Whether you believe in alien abductions or not, what you can't deny is the phenomenon of people claiming to have been abducted by aliens.

I certainly do not believe that humans have ever been abducted by aliens but at the same time I do like to have my beliefs and assumptions challenged. Darkening Sky does a pretty good job of putting you in the shoes of someone claiming to be an abductee. Assuming that someone claiming to have been abducted by aliens isn't being disingenious, you only have two feasible explanations. They're either deluded or suffering from psychosis, or they were in fact truly abducted.

Darkening Sky maintains the balance between explanations throughout very well. The acting by the two leads especially Rider Strong is pretty good for a low budget movie. I don't really recall seeing him in anything else but he certainly didn't come across as your typical B grade low budget incapable actor.

The low budget obviously shows in the quality of the effects, but the last thing to impress me about a movie is the quality of CGI. For me if you have a poor movie, top notch CGI just amounts to putting lipstick on a donkey. It's meaningless.

The music is sombre and suspensful, the direction is of a reasonable standard, the dialogue is realistic and doesn't come across as forced.

All in all Darkening Sky is a pretty decent movie, so if you're into low budget sci fi flicks don't miss it. If on the other hand you're more into your big studio releases and can't stand a movie that doesn't adhere to the cheery hollywod ending formula then this movie definitely isnt for you.

Let me start off by saying I have seen many awful movies on this subject. This one was pretty good and deserved a better rating. It held my attention, piqued my interest, and had an interesting twist at the end.

Is it about an alien abduction? Eric Rainer seems to think so. He has flashbacks of strange events which start off when he was a little boy, and have haunted him throughout his life. He's been collecting 'evidence' to try and put the pieces of this mystery together. His girlfriend Cindy thinks it is nonsense and is ready to leave him, until the night she disappears.

Eric hooks up with the new neighbor's niece, Beth, who is also looking for her BF who mysteriously disappeared; and together they try to find out the truth about the aliens.

I don't want to give too much away, so I'll stop here. Watch and enjoy the movie, so we can discuss the ending on the boards......