Dark Skies

I have loved horror for years now. I could talk for a while about what decades stand out for me in the genre, who's the best scream queen and why George Romero makes such good zombie films. The family idea and building a creepy and intense atmosphere usually work for me. Classical films like Poltergeist, Pet Sematary and Cujo are some of my favorites. Insidious from 2011 is the closest recent horror movie like this. Now in 2013, comes Dark Skies which is somewhat similar to Insidious though Dark Skies has a bit more sci-fi to it and is a bit more memorable.

In Dark Skies, a family is being haunted through many ways by a dark force which we later learn are aliens.
The film does center around a family but it does lack development between the family members but this is not terrible in itself. Dakota Goyo plays the older teenage son and delivers a fine performance just as he did in Real Steel, and his career certainly appears to be on the upswing. Kadan Rockett plays the younger son and plays this sweet young character very well for his age. John Hamilton plays the father and this is frankly the weakest character but you can still see that Hamilton is trying here. Keri Russel plays the mother and is perfectly casted and really carries this movie with her performance.

The plot is anything but new. Dark Skies rips-off Poltergeist, Close Encounters, E.T. and Paranormal Activity very liberally. In a strange way though, that is why I kind of liked the film so much. It reminded me of movies I loved from my childhood and could be considered a homage by director, Scott Stewart to those films.

With a somewhat ambitious and overdrawn plot, there are going to be some things missing inside. That said, the plot elements felt realistic. The film includes both children trying to fit in while Dakota Goyo is experiencing some negative peer pressure while also learning about the opposite sex. The parents are struggling with a serious money issue which brings tension to the film and could cause the younger audience to wonder if that could happen to them. These plot elements are not new but they bring the story just a little closer to home.

Of course in a horror/sci-fi movie, the money is in the scary scenes. The first scenes involving the aliens were a bit scary but the movie is more creepy than anything and is that way throughout. Characters run and walk around aimlessly outside in the middle of the night, experience mental breakdowns and unexplained nose bleeds along with body injuries in the form of marks and scars. The ending is one that we have seen before but it is set-up a bit differently and leaves you with an eerie feeling.

Dark Skies is a film that works on being something else than what you normally see today as it draws from movies from decades ago. As I mentioned earlier, it is a film that left me with a special feeling because of that. I recommend Dark Skies.

4/5