Review of Dark Skies (2013) by Dawdlingpoet — 28 Nov 2021

This is a sci-fi thriler film, with horror elements and it covers themes including jobs interviews, abductions and blackouts. The film has a pretty obvious spooky, somewhat sinister, ghostly feel to it, with scenes (certainly after the first one or two) mostly in the dark and a chilly sounding music played in the background to unsettle viewers. However, the lack of a clear plot meant that I didn't really 'buy it', not being sure quite what was supposed to be going on, let alone why. As events slowly develop, it reminded me a bit of films such as Poltergeist or the Paranormal Activity films, as strange things happen within the house, as if targetting the family living there but there is little to see, visually, to scare us, as such, for the most part. There is a pretty strong sense of foreboding but (pardon the pun) I didn't especially like being in the dark as to the specifics of what may be around said next corner.

I did, however, feel a bit frustrated by the attitude shown by the police during the plot - I won't elaborate for fear of providing spoilers. I also found myself feeling suspicious about various family members due to their behaviour and some plot aspects, so I suppose it was relatively good at providing a mysterious and tense atmosphere.

Cast wise, the wife, Lacy Barrett, is played by Keri Russel and the husband, Daniel Barrett, is played by Josh Hamilton, while son Sam Barrett is played by Kadan Rockett and Jesse is played by Dakota Goyo. I don't think I'm familiar with their work - the film did have a bit of a 'b movie' feel to it but thats not to say it was awful, although I don't imagine it had an excessively high budget to play with. The only cast member I recognised from other film cast lists was J.K. Simmons, who plays Edwin Pollard.

Content wise, the film contains sex related content, moderate violence including gun related violence, fist fights and self inflicted injury and some moderately strong language. There are scenes indicating drug use happens but we're not shown in any detail it actually being consumed. Otherwise, as I've mentioned previously, the film has quite a lingering sinister or mysterious tone to it and there are some sudden events which happen, that could fairly easily frighten young, child viewers. This film is very much a supernatural type of horror/thriller - I wouldn't say its especially scary to/for adults but it could pretty easily unsettle young kids. The film has been given a 15 rating due to said content.

The main idea behind this film is far from original and while its decently spooky, its not an especially memorable film. I liked some aspects of it but wasn't impressed by others and I suppose overall I'd have to go for a middle of the road, 3 star rating. I also felt that the ending left the viewer with unanswered questions, which can be quite frustrating for some.

I wouldn't say this is one of the better examples of this type of film but it isn't awful either. Its not bad, its intriguing and is quite tense but it isn't as chilly or sinister as other similar films I've come across before. Its alright, worth a watch, yes but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to encourage people to pay money to see it, so think of this as a decent enough watch if it comes on TV but otherwise not especially worth shelling out much money for. Some people may enjoy this more than others, as it depends on if your keen on this style of film, very much along the lines of Paranormal Activity - indeed the film was made by producers of said Paranormal Activity films, so I believe. If it sounds right up your street then yes I would recommend it but otherwise not so much, so I guess ill opt for undecided as middle ground.