Dark Skies - Oscure presenze

I love horror and scifi - and this is a perfect combination of both.

I love Keri Russell's range and woudl love to see more of her in movies in general. She plays the complex requirements of this lead effortlessly.

This movie is scary as hell and accurately portrays all the elements of what people allege occur in cases of alien abduction (weird constructions in the house, people teleporting inside & outside the house, implants, grays, missing time, etc).

Highly recommended to scare the bejesus out of yourself.

What sets Dark Skies apart from typical horror fare is its focus on the emotional turmoil and psychological impact experienced by the characters. The Barrett family's gradual descent into fear and desperation is convincingly portrayed, making it easy for the audience to empathize with their plight. The film cleverly explores themes of family bonds, the fear of the unknown, and the lengths to which a family will go to protect their loved ones.

Keri Russell delivers an outstanding performance as Lacy Barrett, portraying a mother who becomes increasingly concerned for her family's safety. Her emotional range and vulnerability draw the audience into the unfolding nightmare. Josh Hamilton is equally impressive in his role as the supportive yet skeptical husband, grappling with the inexplicable events around him.

The film's tense atmosphere is skillfully crafted, with excellent use of lighting, sound design, and camera work. Director Scott Stewart masterfully builds suspense through well-timed jump scares and eerie imagery, keeping the viewers on edge throughout the movie. The supernatural elements are subtly introduced, and the mystery surrounding the malevolent forces adds to the overall sense of dread.

One of the movie's strongest aspects is its ability to instill a sense of lingering fear and unease. Instead of relying on excessive gore or cheap thrills, Dark Skies focuses on psychological terror, leaving audiences with an unsettling feeling that lingers long after the credits roll.

The Barrett family lives in a suburb and is presently under tension since Daniel Barrett (Josh Hamilton) has been unemployed for a long time. His wife Lacy (Keri Russell) works part-time as real estate agent but her salary is not enough to financially support the family. They have two sons, the thirteen year-old Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and the little boy Sam (Kadan Rockett), who has nightmares with the sandman.

Out of the blue, the Lacy and Daniel witness weird and disturbing events in their house. Lacy researches in Internet and contact a man called Edwin Pollard (J.K. Simmons); soon they learn that apparently they are the chosen by alien that are among us. What can they do to protect their family and themselves?

"Dark Skies" is a tense horror sci-fi movie, with an ambiguous story that escalates in tension. Unfortunately the conclusion is very disappointing maybe with the intention of a sequel. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Os Escolhidos" ("The Chosen")

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