Dark Skies

**
Release Date: April 5th 2013

As the Barret family's peaceful suburban life is rocked by an escalating series of disturbing events, they come to learn that a terrifying and deadly force is after them.

Director: Scott Stewart (Priest, Legion)

Starring: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo, Kadan Rockett, J.K Simmons

Dark Skies goes from the worries and horror of life to the worries and horror of the supernatural. Daniel (Josh Hamilton) and Lacy Barrett (Keri Russell), and their two sons Jesse and Sam look like the normal, suburban living family. This is not the case, as they struggle with their finances; Daniel finding a new job, and Lacy finding it tough to sell a property.

As if that wasn't difficult enough for the family, they start to have paranormal activity in their house. From rearranged kitchen utensils and blackouts to flocks of birds flying at their house and amnesia, it's not looking like its going to get easy quickly.

Dark Skies struggles to break the pack of horror films. It's cliche after cliche, but that's to be expected when watching a certain genre. What it doesn't do is scare in the right places. The one time that it does, however, it's hard to take it seriously. What it does do is take on a different twist, and instead of usually involving ghosts and ghouls, it's an alien invasion (of sorts).

The acting is a little disconcerting when it comes to the parents. This adds to the lighthearted feel to the film especially when the couple seek out Edwin (J.K Simmons). They try too hard.

What I believe makes a great horror film is the evil force that the characters within have to contend with and the fact that it (whatever it is) cannot be seen. What we conjure up in our brain is far scarier than seeing the real thing. The mind plays tricks, sort of similar to a living nightmare. Dark Skies does not follow this path. It's not worth watching a horror if you're on the verge of laughing at it.

Overview: This film displays some similarities with The Shining and Paranormal Activity with its home video usage. Don't expect to be wowed here, but go in with an open mind.