DARK SKIES is a Science Fiction/ Horror film written and directed by Scott Stewart, and starring Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton. They play a couple who notices strange events in their home. As the events escalate and their two sons are put in danger, they suspect aliens are to blame. Now, let me start by saying this film definitely earns it's February release date. It's not a bad film, but it's not a good film, either. I heard that Spielberg planned a follow up to CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND called NIGHT SKIES. I think the writer changed the Night to Dark, and rewrote Close Encounters.
PLOT: Now, as I said before, this film is basically a mediocre version of Close Encounters. It's basically a bland alien abduction movie (not insulting Close Encounters, that movie's awesome). There are many plot points in this movie that aren't followed up on or poorly handled. For example: A friend of the mother and a doctor discover strange marks on the 2 boys. We are led to believe the aliens did this, but of course they don't know that. They assume the parents did this. But they give the kids back to the parents. Now, these aren't marks where you could say "oh, they could have just fallen down." No, one kid's entire CHEST AND BACK are covered in dark, purple bruises, and the other kid is BRANDED. If I was that doctor, I NEVER would have given that kid back to the parents, but they just say Child Services will call in a few days.
ACTING: The acting in this film goes from okay to terrible. The supporting actors; the kid's delinquent friend, the cops, the kid's girlfriend (who I think is 3-4 years older than him), and the doctor all seem to just be walking through their roles. The main cast, the family, looks like they met each other yesterday. J.K. Simmons stands out as a UFO watcher.
SPECIAL EFFECTS/CGI: This film looks like it didn't have the budget to make good, scary aliens, so they left them in the shadows, which I liked. The aliens are just silhouettes, but they actually look like they are standing there. Some CGI characters look like cartoon characters.
SCARES/ATMOSPHERE: There are a few creepy scenes in this film, but mostly just jump scares. But even those aren't scary. There were 2 teenage girls who sat in front of me in the theatre, and they screamed at everything. Teen girls are the only people who will find this movie even remotely scary.
I won't make a category for sets, but the family's house literally looks like it was filmed in one of those model homes.
So all in all, a mediocre alien film with mediocre acting, zero scares, okay CGI, and a pretty bland plot. It definitely won't start any franchises, but for a February PG-13 horror flick, it's okay. I would give DARK SKIES:
3/10, or 1 1/2 stars, or, in real world terms, it'll stay in theaters for 2 weeks, go to DVD, then go to the 4.99 shelf at Target where no one will buy it and it will collect dust. You'll go to bed, wake up, and have forgotten most of it.
What did you think if DARK SKIES, or did anybody even see it? Leave a comment below, and let me know what you think.