Dark Skies (2013)

Posted on February 12, 2015 by emmakwall

Dark Skies – Netflix horror film review

Dark Skies is a horror / sci-fi movie directed by Scott Stewart. It stars Keri Russell, Dakota Goyo, Kadan Rocket (interesting names here) and Josh Hamilton as a family who are targeted by a mysterious, dark force seemingly drawn to their suburban home.

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I watched this on Netflix last night with my brother, he had seen it before and I worked out the twist ending before the end – much to his amazement and adoration (sorry Harry but you were impressed).

And whilst yes, this film does have much predictability (please see check list below) it was still pretty good and creepy. I’ve seen so many ‘atmospheric’ spooky movies recently where nothing really happens until the last 15 minutes so I was pleasantly surprised to find jumps and scares aplenty, right from the beginning.

But yeah, I did make a bit of a check list of ‘familiar’ scenes…..

  • Youngest kid gets visited at night by an entity he believes to be a friend. He draws crayon pictures of his new friend which horrified mother looks at with her hand over her mouth – dad refuses to believe anything is wrong.
  • Hurried internet research interjected with dismayed but comprehending expression – cut to scene of the sun rising, character asleep over keyboard.
  • Obligatory visit to The Expert who is found on the internet but happily lives within driving distance.
  • The Expert has newspaper clippings all over the wall. Eccentric personalty but helpful.
  • Dad refuses to believe anything is wrong.

So in many ways this was a standard things that go bump in the night movie with weird occurrences building up to scarier and harder-to-explain situations. But I did enjoy it – and I did jump once or twice too.

Dark Skies reminded me a little of Poltergeist and a little of Signs. It’s one of the creepier alien movies I’ve seen and had a supernatural edge more reminiscent in ghost movies. Though it did have the odd cliché or twelve, all the scary scenes were executed well and there was plenty going on to keep me entertained.

Right from the start there were some pretty good visual scares which I wasn’t expecting. I was happy about this as I hate it when nothing happens for ages (Paranormal Activity).

Dark-Skies-Movie-1024x623

The soundtrack wasn’t particularly memorable but sound effects were used well, with buzzing and high pitched sounds used for ‘sci-fi’ effect. It was uncomfortable listening to it in places, adding to the tension and felt evocative of older science fiction movies.

My favourite line from the movie came from actor J.K. Simmons who played The Expert. He used a really cool analogy when asked by the frantic mother why her family were being targeted by scary extra-terrestrials. His response – “Does the lab rat understand why the scientist puts a probe in his head and gives him brain cancer?”- was pretty cool I thought.

All in all this is no masterpiece but certainly a fun watch. An enjoyable film which is riddled with cliché moments but also has plenty of scares and intrigue. Performances were good, plot was coherent and as I’m a fan of scary movies, I enjoyed it. The only thing I didn’t like too much was the ending, but that’s mainly because it made me feel a bit sad.

Time for some Creepy Pasta:

I saw an alien when I was younger. Well I say ‘saw’ I’m quite capable of believing I didn’t see it, buuuuuut who knows. I still remember it to this day. I saw it out of my bedroom window which was on the ground floor. It was late at night, dark and the alien was staring in the room at me with a very grumpy expression. I stared for a while, then turned on the light and he/she vanished.

Here is a drawing of the alien as I remember it to be. Yes I’m no artist but I really remember its eyes and mouth facing downwards, giving an angry and moody appearance. He was grey / silver in colour and very thin.

DSC_0157

(I probably just watched too much X-Files at an impressionable age)

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About emmakwall

Films, books, soundtracks, good humour
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45 Responses to Dark Skies (2013)

  1. vinnieh says:
    August 10, 2015 at 10:00

    Love that drawing at the bottom of the post.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff says:
    February 13, 2015 at 14:32

    Nice review Ems! I wanted to watch this , but we never got around to it and now we no longer have Netflix 😦

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. SusanElizabeth says:
    February 13, 2015 at 07:47

    I can’t read this one yet because I’m seeing it this weekend on Netflix, I shall return!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. movierob says:
    February 13, 2015 at 05:32

    doesnt seem like something i’d like, but great review as always Em!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. lauren says:
    February 12, 2015 at 20:22

    The dad was pretty annoying and I would have liked more of J.K. Simmons (actually most movies would be improved with a bit more J.K Simmons), but it was an easy watching film.

    I’ve never seen an alien, and I think I would have freaked out if I saw an alien at my window as a kid. Who am I kidding I’d be freaked out now!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • emmakwall says:
      February 13, 2015 at 10:39

      Yeah he was annoying wasn’t he. When he was ransacking his son’s room to look for those photographs. It was like…….mate, chill out.

      Yes surprised they didn’t use him more, he was the most recognisable person in it (to me anyway) as well. He is always good!

      I think aliens are a scarier thought than ghosts!!! I don’t think I really saw one but I did see that image if you know what I mean!!!!

      Thanks for your comments Lauren 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  7. The Telltale Mind says:
    February 12, 2015 at 16:25

    I enjoyed this one, even with the familiar scenes. Wasn’t too shabby when all was said and done.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. newguy87 says:
    February 12, 2015 at 15:29

    nice review, i thought this was going to be awful, but it was surprisingly good with solid scares

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Justine B. says:
    February 12, 2015 at 14:39

    Nice one! I haven’t seen this as I tend to shy away from modern horror movies unless other people say they’re good enough to watch. I love the checklist of the clichés, that’s funny but so true! Seen it all so many times.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • emmakwall says:
      February 12, 2015 at 14:50

      I know exactly what you mean, most of them are so boring unfortunately!

      I wouldn’t say this was amazing, but I thought it was okay. And I did find it creepy.

      Thanks so much Justine! 🙂 glad you liked the checklist, honestly it’s beyond a joke sometimes, I know all films follow certain rules but come on…..! How many more times?

      Have you guessed all the boobs yet? :p

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Justine B. says:
        February 12, 2015 at 14:57

        And that is exactly why I don’t watch modern horror movies! Haha. That picture you drew was pretty creepy though.

        I guessed all of them except two! #2 and #9 are hard to get! Damn it, IPC!!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        • emmakwall says:
          February 12, 2015 at 15:03

          You are so good!!!! Are you still researching?

          I’m going to go and take another peak in a mo!

          Yeah so many modern horror films are rubbish. Becuase i like the genre i will sit through pretty much any of them. The worst one I’ve seen recently was Devil’s Due….it was just appalling. There are SOME good ones though. If you like creepy stuff I’d highly recommend The Orphanage, I really loved that! And it scared me as much as The Changeling did!! The 1980 ghost story I mean, not the Angelina Jolie one haha.

          Like

          Reply
          • Justine B. says:
            February 12, 2015 at 15:09

            I haven’t seen either of those, I’ll have to check them out! I love a good horror movie when I can find them. It takes me a while to catch up with good horror, I’ll only watch them during the day (I’m a big baby).

            Yeah still searching! Good thing I don’t have a boyfriend snooping through my stuff. My browser history probably makes me look like a perverted lesbian.

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
            • emmakwall says:
              February 12, 2015 at 15:47

              Haha! Call my cynical but I think any boyfriend would be rather pleased to find that search history on their girlfriend’s laptop!! haha! “Wow…she’s a dirty minx! Get in!”

              I’m a big baby too, I can’t really watch spooky films by myself and they tend to play on my mind before bed lol.

              The Orphanage is Spanish (i think Del Toro had some involvement but not directed by him) and still one of the best spooky ghost films I’ve seen. And The Changeling is a classic, you will love it!!!!! I hope!

              Liked by 1 person

            • Justine B. says:
              February 13, 2015 at 15:23

              Haha! You might be right, come to think of it. Hopefully the next one will appreciate my whose boobs accolades. Thanks for the suggestions!

              Liked by 1 person

            • emmakwall says:
              February 13, 2015 at 15:37

              You’re welcome 🙂

              I think he will be a very lucky guy and not just because of your kinky boob nature! haha

              Have a lovely weekend should I not speak to you again before…the end of Friday?!

              🙂

              Liked by 1 person

  10. theipc says:
    February 12, 2015 at 14:23

    Pen –

    Nice work – maybe I’ll give this a go sometime.

    Love Pen

    P.S. Don’t be alarmed but that was me peeking through your window to see what was going on.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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