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Plot: Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton star in this horror/scifi/thriller as a couple who has trouble convincing friends and neighbors that an alien is entering their house each night to terrorize their children. So they take matters into their own hands.
Review: My expectations for Dark Skies were very low going in. First – It’s a PG-13 horror film. Second – I was told by credible horror critics that it was a dud. My fellow critics are wrong! This is one massive horror surprise to me and I only have a few faults. Continue reading and get your alien freak on.
Finally, a “serious-style” horror film that don’t open with “Based on a true story,” instead we get a great quote before any visuals are present. It goes something like this “There are without a doubt two sides, there is either other intelligent life forms besides us humans or not, these are the facts, in either case both are equally frightening.” What a great statement, and true that, in my case I don’t believe in little green men, but do generally get freaked out by the good horror movies that have them, ala Fire In The Sky, Alien and Screamers, amongst many more.
The story is a simple one; a family of four going through financial troubles gets visited by aliens in their home. At first it starts frivolously but quickly turns downright horrifying. There are numerous jump scenes that literally made my hair stand on my neck. The directors timing was impeccable and had me wincing in my seat holding on for the next one. Plus, it always helps when young kids are involved, I think it raises the level of scare-factor, and in Dark Skies, the youngest (about 6 or 7) is the main target with the mother getting the second brunt of the alien attacks. The movie had an incredible aura and atmosphere, dark in key scenes while the surroundings being lit up enough to be squeamish. Even the subtly faint score was a massive positive, keeping the undertones going strong throughout the whole film with the pop coming at the right times.
While I am praising Dark Skies to the high heavens, there are 2 things that tick down my overall rating, and it mainly comes with the little kid actor. His presence was mediocre at best. While he did have an “invisible friend” as many tots do, when the shit hits the fan, he was emotionless, and at that age you would be scared out of your mind. To me, he just wasn’t a believable cast member, and the producers could of got a better child actor. Secondly, although may seem petty, there is a problem with the story, the kids have marks all over them (from the aliens) and people in power are aware of this. There is no way in hell that the parents would be able to take their 5 year old home from the hospital when he has deep marks and branded-wielding burns. Still though, it doesn’t diminish the film by much.
Dark Skies is about the 50th horror film I seen so far in 2013 and stands above all the rest to date. Dark Skies proves that a PG-13 film can be awesomely scary, even though it don’t happen to often. Do not hesitate whatsoever by getting your hands on Dark Skies as soon as possible. You will not want to leave your seat once while watching, it is so engaging that tests your mind “Is it possible that aliens are here, and if so, could this happen…” Turn off them lights, crank up that sound system and you will “feel” for the family’s plight while being terrified – Dark Skies is a horror hit!
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