Mysterious beings cross a recession-era middle class American family in Dark Skies, a thriller from the producers of Paranormal Activity, Insidious and Sinister.
The style of the film feels somewhat like a documentary or found-footage film, with music being non-existent to minimal throughout. And this is unsurprising, since producer Jason Blum worked on Paranormal Activity. However, the scares in Dark Skies owe more to Steven Spielberg than anyone else. When Keri Russell (“The Americans”) as Lacy Barrett goes into her kitchen to see all the contents of her cabinets stacked up in strange patterns, it reminded me of the chair-stacking scene from Poltergeist. Also owing homage to that film is a scene with patriotic music blaring from a distorted television screen, and the beings terrifying the family appear to be focused on the youngest child.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t say at least one scene has some Hitchcock influence, as well.
There are some scary moments that, had I seen in the theater, I may have jumped a bit, but on the television screen I felt they provided much less of an impact. And truly the most terrifying moments in the film are the realities of life facing the family: late mortgage, joblessness, child protective services and the increasing ostracism by friends and neighbors.
I had more desire to see Lucy, her husband Daniel and their two kids have something good happen to them for once than I did at discovering what malevolent forces plagued them. And how much of their bad luck is owed to the unseen enemy? Something seems driven to destroy their lives, from without and from within. And as their world spirals out of control, they realize time is running out, and their lives are in danger.
I liked the creepy factor of the film, and I thought the performances were well done. But after the credits rolled, I’m sure I had that look on my face. You know the look. The one that says, “What did I just watch?” and you’re trying to piece it all together in your mind. It’s an okay film with an abrupt ending, but the film is just so . . . sad, in many ways. And, it’s just plain weird. But weird is okay. It was the jumbled ending and not very exciting “twist” that lowered my opinion of Dark Skies.
Here’s a clip from one of the more bizarre scenes:
The Blu-ray and DVD special features include commentary with Writer/Director Scott Stewart, Producer Jason Blum, Executive Producer Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Editor Peter Gvozdas as well as alternate and deleted scenes from the film.