Dark Skies

'DARK SKIES': Three Stars (Out of Five)

A science fiction thriller about a family terrorized by an unknown force which may be extraterrestrial in origin. It was written and directed by Scott Stewart (who also helmed the sci-fi thrillers 'LEGION' and 'PRIEST'). It stars Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, J.K. Simmons, Dakota Goyo (of 'REAL STEEL' fame) and Kadan Rockett. The movie is a routine suspense thriller/horror film but it does have some good scares and creepy imagery.

The film revolves around the Barrett family, who live in the suburbs, struggling to get by while Mr. Barrett, Daniel (Hamilton), tries to find work. Lacy Barrett is a real-estate agent who's struggling to sell a house while her oldest son Jesse (Goyo) is discovering girls. Strange occurrences begin happening in the families' home, involving food in the kitchen, and what first looks like a possible intruder turns into Daniel and Lacy questioning their youngest son Sam's (Rockett) mental stability. Weirder things keep happening though and they soon begin involving the other family members as well.

The movie is kind of slow-paced at times but it has enough good scares throughout to keep it going. It's a little like a 'PARANORMAL ACTIVITY' film except better (in my opinion). It also seems influenced by two Spielberg flicks; 'CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND' and 'POLTERGEIST'. 'POLTERGEIST' is one of my all time favorite movies in this genre and to say a film resembles it at all is quite a compliment. This film isn't nearly as creative, fun or memorable but it does work as just a thriller. Not a great scary movie but a little better than average.

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Chilling movie with building tension and good ending. Definitely a ufo movie tastefullly done. If seeking a scary movie fueled with scares, this is it.

I am completely surprised at some of the low ratings and remarks concerning this movie. My daughter and I just watched it. I hate horrors because I have nightmares all night long after watching one. I stick to the suspense and thrillers. I had reservations about this movie after reading the makers of this also made paranormal activity which I watched and found utterly cheesy. Just my own personal opinion. But this movie I really enjoyed. It kept me on the edge of my seat with my hands at the ready to slap across my eyes. I love a well made alien encounter movie and this movie did it for me. Lots of jumping moments, lots of edge of the seat suspense. I did not walk away feeling like I should have spent my money on something else!

An interesting ride would pretty much sum up my experience of this film.

The director did a smart job in the beginning by introducing the subject slowly and gradually in the sense that although we knew something was not quite right with this suburban house, he did not rush to bombard us with any massive amounts of visuals or gory scenes thus leaving us both intrigued and in anticipation mode. That is a technique not commonly used and achieving that takes skill.

Following that, the story runs smoothly as our characters go from surprise, to shock, then disbelief and acceptance. Good choice of adult and children actors, in combination to the gradual built up made this an stimulating watch.

It was the climax that I found to be rather anticlimactic. Nothing innovative, or even new. Whilst it never ceased to be thrilling, let's be clear about that, somehow the overdoing of visuals and certain ambiguities concerning the unfolding of the final moments left me somewhat colder.

Still, it is a highly effective and watchable thriller.

Maybe I had too high of hopes for this. I never, well I try to avoid watching the TV ads and I don't make a habit of watching trailers. Nonetheless I had a pretty good notion of what this film was about and I had really thought maybe this was going to deliver something new that I hadn't seen before. The story was interesting enough for a decent viewing experience & it did have some good frightening scenes spread thinly throughout. Overall it was mainly a psychological thriller and was hardly a horror film, so if you're thinking you're going to be in for any kind of brilliant sci-fi visual experience you won't get much more than very thin "shades" of the most commonly used interpretations of what an alien being looks like. Also don't expect any visual horror scenes because there is little more than a bit of head banging. With a budget of $3.5 million the film relied heavily on story & acting, but laid off on the CGI. Overall it's cast did a fine job & it's production value was as good as any other Hollywood film. While I believe it will hold peoples attention, I doubt many people will be walking out of the theater saying wow or OMG brilliant! The plot was very similar to many other alien abduction films, which made it somewhat predictable right down to the final scene, which contained little more than a very very slight turn of events. Should you run to the theaters or otherwise to see this film, no, but it's still a pretty good watch and do recommend seeing it at your convenience, it's a solid 7/10