Dark Skies

I try to go at films without bias, it’s only fair, but when I see that a film I’m about to watch was produced by the same people that brought you Insidious and Paranormal Activity, a film and franchise I’ve grown to abhor, I just went in expecting very little from Dark Skies. Good thing.

The film follows a family in dire straits. Their house is on its way to foreclosure, both mother and father are out of work, money issues are putting a strain on mommy and daddies marriage and the kids are far from oblivious to the shouting matches going on at night. To make matters worse strange things are beginning to happen in the house at night from a trail of food leading out to an unlocked patio door to family members losing time and control of themselves.

Dark Skies was horrible because it starts off with a family that has zero likeable characters in it. The mom and dad are at each others throats, one son is a teenager project all the typical stereotypes that make you instantly hate him for being so cliché, and the other son is barely even a character at all. There’s no motivation to become involved in any of the characters.

Aside from the poorly written family, and even the one dimensional neighbors, the main characters are all idiots making the most clichéd and idiotic moves that might have worked back in the 80’s when horror was in full swing, but plays like amateur night in this day and age. I know Hollywood isn’t as concerned with putting out quality films these days, but this film was a huge joke whose punch-line falls flat and whose execution is clumsily delivered. Note to self, no more watching films produced by these folks.

PICTURE QUALITY:
Dark Skies is at least a pretty clean film that takes advantage of its high definition outing. It’s clean looking so every detail is in frame which helps with misdirection. Color is fantastic and clarity is very smooth aiding in bringing you into the world of the film without much suspension of disbelief. Forested area’s look natural, skin tones look organic, and night time scenes look solid. Nothing to complain about as far as picture quality goes so at least you get a pretty good experience in that category. What you see as the story pans out is a different story.

BONUS FEATURES:
~BD/DVD/UV Versions
~Alternate and Deleted Scenes
~Commentary with Writer/Director Scott Stewart, Producer Jason Blum, Executive Producer Brian Kavanaugh-Jones & Editor Peter Gvozdas