Os Escolhidos

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")

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.

This movie was actually scary, it even scared me talking about it to a friend of mine like a month after seeing it. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes horror movies or anyone looking for a good scare. It has lots of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. All in all this movie was a really good movie for getting scared, it wasn't perfect but in my opinion these types of movies are meant to scare you and i think this one accomplished that. So if you are just looking for a movie for scary movie night then this might just be the movie for you. Thanks for your time i hope you enjoy this movie as much as i did, that is all.

'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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