Dark Skies (2013)

Pretty Good

Just what I expected

Good concept, poorly executed.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

RELEASED IN 2013 and directed/written by Scott Stewart, "Dark Skies" chronicles increasingly strange events at the Barrett residence in Suburbia, USA. The parents (Josh Hamilton & Keri Russell) slowly come to believe that the cause of the havoc might be extraterrestrial. J.K. Simmons plays a solemn expert on the subject with whom the couple seek advice.This is an amalgam of "Poltergeist" (1982), "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), "Signs" (2002), "The Forgotten" (2004) and "Night Skies" (2007). It's as good or better than the best of 'em and is significantly more compelling than "Signs," which is a decent movie but "Signs" is actually about something other than alien visitation (see my review for evidence).Critics say the movie's "too slow," but I never got this impression. I found the steady build-up engaging with several effectively creepy or scary moments. This is the opposite of lame horror flicks like "The Hollow" (2015) where the filmmakers overdo it with amped-up horror clichés every three minutes to hold the attention of viewers with ADHD. Russell is competent and attractive, but looks like she needs to gain about 20-25 lbs.THE MOVIE RUNS 97 minutes and was shot in Santa Clarita, California, with additional work done in NYC.GRADE: B+/A-

How can anyone like a movie that ENDS with a boy kidnapped (and apparently tortured) in front of his loving parents?? Just before that, we get to watch mom in a pool of blood and dad blowing his own brains out. And the other boy is evidently headed for the same fate. There is nothing more to discuss. I'm disgusted that anyone gave this a positive review.

Dark Skies is a moderately spooky film, well made but muddled. Not really a horror film but with hints of science fiction rather than the paranormal.A family with mother (Keri Russell) father (Josh Hamilton), eldest son Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and youngest son Sam (Kaden Rockett) live an ordinary suburban life. Pretty soon things go bump in the night, doors slam, furniture moves, the alarm goes off. One of them sees a figure standing over the bed and strange symbols appear in the children's bodies.They consult an alien expert Pollard (JK Simmons) who tells them that they are haunted by beings called the 'Grays' and other families have suffered similar intervention usually leading to a child being abducted.The film is well made but just generic and never really excites.

I freakin' love a good alien encounter movie and this one delivered. It was produced by Jason Blum, who was also behind Insidious, Paranormal Activity, and many others, and I think it does a good job at keeping up consistent pacing (I was never bored throughout the whole movie) and delivering good scares and creepy moments without ever getting too cheesy."Two possibilities exist… Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying." – Arthur C. ClarkeIt is very much the classic story of a family trying to live the American dream — but struggling — who are consumed with a horrifying experience. I really loved each of their personalities — maybe the dad, played by Josh Hamilton, least of all, but mostly because he embodied a bit too much of a combination of "tough dad" (going to beat up the older son's friend) and "disbeliever" (thinking his wife is downright crazy for suggesting the weird encounters may be alien in nature). But I thought Lacy, played by Keri Russell, was fantastic (she was apparently the first and only choice for the lead character, understandably), and I really loved the sibling relationship between the brothers (played by Dakota Goyo and Kadan Rockett).There were two, either intentional or accidental, references to Poltergeist, which I appreciated, even though we've got ghosts vs aliens, but still… two unwelcome, unexpected guests. There was a TV static scene that reminded me very much of the "Star-Spangled Banner" static scene from Poltergeist (when Carol Anne first says "they're here"), as well as the very first odd finding of the kitchen items being stacked up (reminiscent of a similar scene in Poltergeist when the mom turns around to find the chairs all stacked oddly on the table and the drawers pulled out, cabinets open, etc). Again, maybe not intentional, but definitely reminded me immediately.Ultimately, pretty much any movie where a little kid is seeing/understanding what's going on before the adults is going to freak me out. I can't imagine being a parent and hearing some of those creepy things from your kid, especially considering how likely it seems that some children can see and communicate with ghosts, spirits, and other paranormal entities. After Sam initially told Lacy about the "Sand Man" and told her "he did it himself before he came to my room"… SHUDDER.Really, this movie impressed me with the sheer amount of chills and jump scares it delivered. The first time the intruder alarm goes off and Daniel gets a call from the security company and they tell him ALL of the entry points were breached at the same time… NOPE. The photos going missing from their frames, the birds all crashing into the house, Lacy's breakdown at the house showing, Daniel's breakdown in the backyard… all creepy as hell. And when Lacy goes into Sam's room and sees the Gray standing over him… I jumped out of my freaking skin. My husband was asleep next to me and I'm surprised he didn't hear me yell "NO THANK YOU".You just start to feel the amount of helplessness they must be experiencing — between the strange encounters escalating, knowing they aren't in control of their own bodies, having CPS alerted to their "bad parenting", disapproving and judging neighbors, etc — when they visit with Edwin Pollard (played by J.K. Simmons), an expert on The Grays, who essentially tells them they're screwed, one of them is about to be taken, and they need to fight like hell to stop it."People think of aliens as these beings invading our planet in some great cataclysm, destroying monuments, stealing our natural resources. But it's not like that at all. The invasion already happened."They did lose me a bit at this point. I mean, these aliens are clearly capable of doing things beyond our comprehension — they can enter your home without setting off the alarm, they can control your mind, they are using you as lab rats to observe from a great distance — what makes you think a boarded up window and a shotgun is going to stop them? But I did like the "twist" at the ending (though I could have told you it'd be Jesse as soon as he had his experience in the woods), and the last scene — with Jesse trying to communicate with Sam via Walkie Talkie — gave me SERIOUS chills. Super well done movie!