Dark Skies (2013)
TOMATOMETER
Critics Consensus: Dark Skies writer director Scott Stewart has a solid cast, an interesting premise, and some admirable ambitions, but he can't figure out what to do with any of them, and the result is a dull, muddled effort that will bore all but the most devoted horror buffs.
Critics Consensus: Dark Skies writer director Scott Stewart has a solid cast, an interesting premise, and some admirable ambitions, but he can't figure out what to do with any of them, and the result is a dull, muddled effort that will bore all but the most devoted horror buffs.
Trailer
Photos
ADVERTISEMENT
Movie Info
From the producer of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister comes Dark Skies: a supernatural thriller that follows a young family living in the suburbs. As husband and wife Daniel and Lacey Barret witness an escalating series of disturbing events involving their family, their safe and peaceful home quickly unravels. When it becomes clear that the Barret family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying and deadly force, Daniel and Lacey take matters in their own hands to solve the … More- Rating:
- PG-13 (for violence, terror throughout, sexual material, drug content and language - all involving teens)
- Genre:
- Mystery & Suspense , Horror
- Directed By:
- Scott Stewart
- Written By:
- Scott Stewart
- In Theaters:
- Feb 22, 2013 Wide
- On DVD:
- May 28, 2013
- US Box Office:
- $17.4M
Cast
-
Keri Russell
as Lacy Barrett -
Josh Hamilton
as Daniel Barret -
Dakota Goyo
as Jesse Barrett -
Kadan Rockett
as Sam Barrett -
J.K. Simmons
as Edwin Pollard -
L.J. Benet
as Kevin Ratner
Related News & Features
-
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Supernatural Thriller Dark Skies
– Rotten Tomatoes
-
Critics Consensus: Snitch Talks a Decent Game
– Rotten Tomatoes
Dark Skies Videos
Friend Ratings
No Friends? Inconceivable! Log in to see what your friends have to say.
Critic Reviews for Dark Skies
All Critics (78) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (31) | Rotten (47) | DVD (4)
Time and again, Stewart squanders the opportunity to do anything remotely interesting or worthwhile ...
There's little to fear from this rather tame genre outing.
Dark Skies is sort of supernatural, but it's really more super natural....[it's] about the fragility of family, a muted meditation on how precious it is.
Stewart has some lofty ambitions, some of which he almost fulfills.
Those elements are employed with consummate dexterity.
Dark Skies is a bore that even the most forgiving genre buffs will find difficult to defend or endure.
Sneaks by being a retread, mainly because of the really thick tension and suspense [the director] pulls off with an effective score and sharp direction.
Dark Skies may not be a revelatory experience, but as a pure exercise in genre filmmaking, it excels.
Dark Skies won't totally scratch that itch for a good scare, but it's a welcome treat for those who follow the old X-Files credo, "The truth is out there".
When writer-director Scott Stewart eventually reveals his hand, the film loses its way, but Hamilton and Russell's solidly convincing performances keep things more grounded than you might expect.
Dark Skies unveils its horror slowly, creating a suspenseful ride that feels satisfying even though we're traveling a familiar road.
Dark Skies is a slow-burn paranormal horror film that spends way too much time on setup and not enough on reveal.
...the film, for the most part, contains many elements that have been employed in other similarly-themed endeavors...
The movie promises fireworks--and it delivers.
yet another example of horror that can't make up its mind, and as a result, can't satisfy
What body-snatches this beyond being another haunted-home flick is the attention to family breakdown rather than another scare around the next dark corner. It's more about eerieness and creepiness than outlandish confrontations and gory shocks.
It could be a test case for copyright law.
Expectations of originality soon cloud over, leading towards the kind of quick ending at 97 minutes which kills any sign of blue sky thinking.
It's never uninteresting.
A moderately effective supernatural tale, an allegory for our anxious times in which a suburban American family appears to be targeted by some malign force that is, as we used to say, "not of this world".
A baffling bore.
Zero points for originality, but interestingly messy at the same time.
There are some good ideas here, just not enough frights.
An old-fashioned scary movie; a sci-fi horror that is a workmanlike piece of film-making, with some effective shocks, cheerfully borrowing from other sources, most obviously Spielberg.
If the dour home-invasion chiller Dark Skies needs one thing, it's aliens with more novel ideas.
Dark Skies is a good story, well told and one that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Audience Reviews for Dark Skies
This movies goes into the "I was pleasantly surprised" category. The trailer was a yawner and the apparent premise initially screamed "overdone!" A family is creeped out by a a bunch of weird, unexplainable things happening in their suburban home. While this movie is not original as a whole, there are surprisingly original and creepy scenes to entertain even the most jaded horror fan.
While at first it feels like a "made-for-TV" movie, the performances start growing on you and as you finally get an idea of what is really going on, you're hooked. Compared to Director Scott Stewart's previous outings, "Legion" and "Priest," this is the best of the bunch, and frankly, the best of the most recent suburban, lamely titled fright-flicks (like "Possession").
Super Reviewer
This movies goes into the "I was pleasantly surprised" category for those movies that are better-than-you-expected. The trailer was a yawner and the apparent premise initially screamed "overdone!" (Family is creeped out by a a bunch of weird, unexplainable things happening in their suburban home.) While this movie is not original in any way as a whole, there are surprisingly original and creepy scenes to entertain even the most jaded horror fan. While at first it feels like a "made-for-TV" movie, the performances start growing on you and as you finally get an idea of what is really going on, you're hooked. Compared to Director Scott Stewart's previous outings, "Legion" and "Priest," this is the best of the bunch, and frankly, the best of the most recent suburban, lamely titled fright-flicks like "Possession."
More
Super Reviewer
It's quite clever that the makers of Dark Skies have picked three overdone genres; Psychological horror, Alien horror and Haunted house horror and somehow make them feel fresh and original. It's 1 part Poltergeist to 2 parts Close Encounters with a sprinkle of Body-snatchers for good measure. I didn't see the twist coming and it didn't suffer from the usual cliches such as 'Dad doesn't believe', 'Dog dies first' etc. The last few scenes were a little undercooked but I quite liked them for their originality and experimental risk. I don't really get most modern horrors but I thought this was pretty good.
MoreSuper Reviewer
3 3/4's. Creepy. Eerie. Decent job with the spooky background music, too. For once, a decent ending, too. Bad endings ruin films for me...this one pulled off a good one.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Dark Skies Quotes
- Edwin Pollard:
- People think of these beings invading our planet as some great cataclysm, but it's not like that at all. The invasion already happened. You cannot escape them. Sooner or later, when they're ready, they will take your family.
- Daniel Barrett:
- Leave my son alone!
Discussion Forum
Discuss Dark Skies on our Movie forum!
