Dark Skies (PG-13)

      Aliens? Check. Middle class American family drama? Check. Mind-numbing terror? Double check. As far as horror movies go, Dark Skies had it all. But the real question is: was it done well? There were some aspects of Dark Skies that I enjoyed but others that I felt were not as well done as they could have been.
      Obviously, the aim of this movie was to scare the audience. Writer and director Scott Stewart certainly succeeded in that area. After seeing Dark Skies, I was terrified for the rest of the day. I enjoyed how the horror in the movie was handled. I find that in many horror movies, writers simply resort to blood-splattering gore and violence and disturbing exorcisms to scare the viewer. Stewart's brand of horror in Dark Skies was much more clever and often made the audience scare themselves. The way that Stewart scared viewers was by playing with their perception, a method that I greatly enjoy. The fact that the main characters, Lacy and Daniel Barrett (played by Keri Russel and Josh Hamilton), had children made the story all the more scary.

A Grey stalks Sammy Barrett as he sleeps

       Another part of Dark Skies that I enjoyed was the part played by J.K. Simmons. You may know Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson from the Spiderman trilogy or Will Pope from TNT's show the Closer and its spin-off series: Major Crimes. In Dark Skies Simmons played Edwin Polland, an eccentric alien hunter to whom Lacy and Daniel Barrett turned to when their issues with "the Greys" were becoming beyond explanation. Simmons did an excellent job of convincing the audience not only of the dangers the Greys posed, but also of the hopelessness of the Barretts' situation. Even though Edwin Polland was in only a scene or two, he really installed a sense of dread in the audience. Thus making him a character, and an actor, who shouldn't be ignored.
       My main issue with Dark Skies was the aliens themselves. The Greys (as they were called) would watch a particular family for years until finally swooping in and taking the family member with which they had the earliest contact with. I found that the image of the Greys was basic and therefor, a bit underwhelming. The Greys were your quintessential alien: tall, gangly, long-fingered, bulbous head, and large black eyes. The only difference between the Greys and the classic space alien was that the Greys weren't green they were, well, grey. As a science fiction fan, I found this to be a bit disappointing. I understand the need to keep the aliens simple but they would have a better effect on the audience if they looked a little more unexpected.
       Lastly, another complaint I have about Dark Skies is how it ended. More specifically, the fact that it set itself up for a sequel. To me, Dark Skies was a fairly successful movie as far as the horror genre goes. If there was a second movie, it would simply be a grab for more money and the movie would end up being lousy. The fact of the matter is that Dark Skies just wasn't a good enough movie to warrant a sequel. In my opinion Dark Skies scores a 3 out of 5. As always, thank you for reading.


Picture Courtesy of: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIEKVsRiPLZeVMME47fGGRYgg9ug2BUYHkB8p2bB3Xp3CwAbCmpjnjKwlGvZhJOsSAfoNt2T0xu-Ag5fUt9E3P_Lu5bQIQaZMH-gesMiF5M4WxjHqr2ezsNu6OA9VUxFv_IDz2ndvDn4/s1600/DS+alien.jpg