• Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Privacy
  • Cookie Policy

THATFILMGUY

Film Previews, News, Reviews and Lists

  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Lists
  • Five Stars
  • News
You are here: Home / Film Reviews / Dark Skies (2013) review by That Film Guy

Dark Skies (2013) review by That Film Guy

April 5, 2013 by That Film Guy Leave a Comment

Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. Opening with these immortal words of Arthur C. Clarke, Dark Skies, the third film by Scott Stewart blends horror with supernatural science fiction. The fact that the popular  computer game XCOM: Enemy Unknown used the exact same quote six months earlier should by no means impede upon the quality of the film. It does not however, help it to draw such instant comparisons, especially when the title is exactly the same as a cult television series from the mid-1990s.

After Lacy Barrett (Keri Russell) and her husband Daniel (Josh Hamilton) host a BBQ for friends around the neighbourhood, they retire to bed with their children Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and Sammy (Kadan Rockett). During the night, Lacy hears a noise and goes downstairs to find food  from the fridge spread all over the floor. Assuming it was a wild animal, the family clear up the mess and go about their daily lives. However after discovering items from the kitchen arranged in an odd fashion and hearing all of their alarms going off simultaneously  they begin to suspect something is wrong. Meanwhile Sammy begins to have nightmares about a strange figure called ‘The Sandman’ who he blames for all the strange happenings.

Ignoring the obvious problems that plague so many horror films ‘Why does no one ever turn on any lights?’ ‘Why do they insist on splitting up even though they’ve been strictly told not to?” Dark Skies main problem is actually with the pacing and suspense. The premise is decent enough if cliched, but the direction is at best workmanlike and at worst, lazy. There are obvious potential scare moments that are teased but never fully realised and when the big jump moments actually do happen they lack scare factor and simply rely on loud noises rather than meaningful suspense.

The final problem with Dark Skies lies with the characters. We’re used to seeing caricatures and stereotypes who behave in a predetermined way, but we’re also used to caring about said characters. The parents of the Barrett family are so dull and frustrating that there’s a temptation to hope that bad things do happen to them. Hamilton’s father is stressed, petulant and a prickish failure, while Russell’s Lacy is cold, distant and so painfully thin that it’s tough to imagine her being able to survive a strong gust of wind, never mind a home invasion. Worse than the parents though are the children who are unbearable. Some grace can be granted to the younger Sammy, although the timing of his speech patterns is distracting. Dakota Goyo, best know for his somewhat unhinged turn in Real Steel, has grown a little older, but has somehow become more annoying.

The advertising of Dark Skies uses the tagline ‘They’re coming’ an obvious riff on the Spielberg/Hooper 1982 classic Poltergeist which used ‘They’re here’ to such chilling effect. There are shoe-horned references to Poltergeist throughout like static from the television at key moments, communication of a child trapped who knows where and there’s even a famous character actor cast as an ‘expert.’ Sadly not even the appearance of the excellent J.K. Simmons can save the film and to invite such comparison is a dangerous game, especially when your product is so mundane and disappointing. In fact while noting the similarities with other films and games, I was just reminded how good Poltergeist and XCOM actually are and how I wished I was watching or playing them instead of suffering through Dark Skies.

 

 

Thomas Patrick

 

« Previous
The Stuff (1985) review by That Film Punk
Next »
The Gatekeepers (2012) review by The Documentalist

About That Film Guy

A new group of film reviewers in the finest traditions of ThatFilmGuy.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Sponsor Website

JEDINET LINK

TOP LIST

Top 30 Christmas Films

Top 30 Christmas Films

  Love Actually (2011) It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Elf (2003) A Christmas Story … Read More

Top 30 Horror Films

Top 30 Horror Films

Our list of the Top 30 Horror Movies of all Time. Do you Agree?.........Horror films are one of the … Read More

Top 30 Comedy Films

Top 30 Comedy Films

Our list of the Top 30 Comedy Movies of all Time. Do you Agree?.........One of the most popular and … Read More

Top 30 Animated Films

Top 30 Animated Films

Our list of the Top 30 Animated Movies of all Time. Do you Agree?.........The animated film genre … Read More

Top 30 Film Trilogies

Top 30 Film Trilogies

Our list of the Top 30 Movie Trilogies of all Time. Do you Agree?.........Before the 1970s a film … Read More

Top 30 Classic Action Films

Top 30 Classic Action Films

Our list of the Top 30 Classic Action Movies of all Time. Do you Agree?.........Catering for the … Read More

© 2022copyright Thatfilmguy.com and Trafford Innovations Limited