Dark Skies (2013)

Wonderful character development!

hyped garbage

Absolutely the worst movie.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

They're here and they want us! You don't get much story wise from this but the acting is reasonable and cinematography is sound, could've done without the extra scene explaning all at the end, I'm not that stupid

Not nearly as bad as most people will make this out to be. Extraterrestrial horror is something of a rarity these days. Blending the scepticism of alien existence and their mystifying reasoning to visit Earth should easily make for some eerie scares. Atleast it's far more inventive than the constant paranormal horrors of recent. A family start to experience strange events that lead them to question if extraterrestrial beings are terrorising them. Okay fine, it's not scary in the slightest. Rockett was an incredibly weak child actor (and somewhat irritated me). The third act crumbles into cliché oblivion. Certain questions remained unanswered. By no means am I claiming this to be a good film, because it's not. However, it's not even remotely bad. The story succeeds in conveying the fragility of a family that are experiencing the unexplainable, whilst also tepidly trampling into the hardship of adult life. It illustrated the stressful environment that the mother and father reside in and how daily life is taking a toll on them. Careers, financial woes, parenting and lack of intimacy. The narrative quietly dabbles into the psychological implications of this scenario, questioning their own sanity, but these are quickly diminished when "The Grays" are shown to us far too early. Russell alone, with all her acting credibility, saves the confused screenplay. Her onscreen chemistry with Hamilton made for a naturally developed relationship between the two of them that resulted in a believable family. Even a brief appearance from Simmons allowed more dramatic energy to flow through this thriller. A few mysterious scenes hold some tension, particularly early on where geometric shapes are spawned from an elaborate homemade construction, but alas fall flat and are rapidly forgotten about. The dramatic elements are there though, and really push this sci-fi thriller as far as it can. Just a shame that the premise itself was not executed to its maximum potential and settled for an atrocious predictable ending.

I watched this on Netflix last night (8/16/2016) for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the film-making elements all worked together to make a truly suspenseful, scary, and engrossing story. There are some cliche's here, but they do not ruin the story or send eyes rolling and brows lowering. The story follows the familiar framework of a haunted house or an exorcism story, but it's done in a very tasteful way that doesn't feel cheesy in the least bit; definitely doesn't inspire that "seen this before" feeling to arise. In my opinion, this is mainly due to the quality of the acting on all four of the main characters' parts, and the incredibly good use of the camera (cinematography).Personally I was very afraid of aliens when I was a little kid, and I'm a big fan of horror movies now as an adult. I just loved this movie for the scares it gave me, and I'll tell you why:ONE: The pacing of the plot is just right. It's not too slow, but it's not too fast. We get a great introduction to each of the main characters (the four members of the family), and a solid idea of what's going on at all times. At no time in this film was I asking myself, "how did we get here?" or "why is this happening?", which is a big part of good storytelling. The story arch is just right; it tells us a nice scary tale in just the right amount of time without leaving big plot-holes or too many loose ends. TWO: The acting is very good. This really helps to make you feel for each character, and at times you feel you're in there with them; that's good acting (and good writing)! Not once did I think about how any particular scene or line was badly said or acted-out, so kudos for that. THREE: The centerpiece of the film--aliens--are very well-done and presented in a great fashion. The director chose not to shove them in your face, and to great effect. They're not entirely absent from the film, nor are they all over the place like they were in "Signs". The tasteful presentation works great with the story, and makes them and the concepts surrounding them in the film even scarier. FOUR: Instead of using lots of CGI and special effects, good ol' suspenseful storytelling mixed with excellent use of set design and cinematography combine to make a great horror movie.Overall, a great flick and totally entertaining! It could've been improved upon in some ways, but I don't want to hint at any spoilers. I give it a 7/10 because I'm very stingy when it comes to reviews, but it's great--not amazing--but great!The horror genre has been at an all-time low lately, and I was very happy to see a film that did a good job of scaring me and--as I see from other reviews--other folks too! Alien horror films are particularly difficult because so many people think the subject is old, silly, hokey, etc. This film isn't going to please everyone, but then again, what film does?So my final words; I really enjoyed this movie and I got some genuine scares from it. That's more than I can say for many of the horror films I've seen recently. If you're looking for a decent sci-fi scare, this is definitely worth your time.

this movie is amazing, its making me want more... I would love for a second one with the same people and hopefully find the kid. not one bit of it got boring, like when you go through a long boring pause. and the end where he reached out through the walky is telling me another movie could be made out of this! all the actors played the part perfectly. what happened with the dog??? I actually hate horror movies with animals, that's the main terror for me if there is. I found myself rooting for the dog. when she finds the drawings in the box, I knew it was jesse. I just felt it was a trick move but obvious. like I said, this movie is good and people should defo watch it..trustme and hopefully there's going to be a second...10/10