Dark Skies

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Dark Skies

PG-13

2013

1h 37m

Sci-Fi

Mystery & Thriller

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

42%

Tomatometer

93 Reviews

49%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Lacy (Keri Russell) and Daniel Barrett (Josh Hamilton) share a peaceful life in the suburbs with their sons, Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and Sam (Kadan Rockett). However, that peace soon shatters with a series of disturbing events that escalate. When it becomes clear that their family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying, deadly -- and possibly alien -- threat, Daniel and Lacy draw on their courage and determination to protect their family and identify what is after them.

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Critics Consensus

Dark Skies writer director Scott Stewart has a solid cast, an interesting premise, and some admirable ambitions, but he can't figure out what to do with any of them, and the result is a dull, muddled effort that will bore all but the most devoted horror buffs.

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

12/04/2018

3/5

Alas, several decades of Majestic 12 conspiracy theories work to undermine the novelty and Stewart's best efforts. Fun, nonetheless.

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Drew Taylor

IndieWire

12/04/2018

C

Alien abductions are a truly terrifying idea, and building an alien abduction movie on the template of "Poltergeist" is a great idea. But "Poltergeist" had one thing "Dark Skies" is sorely in need of: follow-through.

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Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

12/04/2018

3/5

Dark Skies is utterly generic, down to a meaningless title lifted from the 1996 X-Files knock-off TV series.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

09/20/2023

2/5

Apart from a handful of visually striking sequences causing a visceral reaction, there's too little story to invest in.

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Victor Stiff

Victor Stiff Reviews

11/02/2021

While it's slow and features thinly-sketched characters, it's still capable of getting under your skin to unnerve you.

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Damond Fudge

KCCI (Des Moines, IA)

06/29/2020

[The movie] is just an OK idea with just an OK execution. It's not very frightening or original.

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Nathan J

@NathanDirector Jul 6

Rating: 6.2/10 ⭐️ Threw this on for the 4th of July because an alien horror flick with a holiday climax sounded fun. Honestly really liked how this grounds classic haunted house vibes with a tense extraterrestrial threat. What Worked: • Russell and Hamilton give great, emotional performances that make you care. • The build-up of kitchen anomalies honestly kept me completely on edge early on. • J.K. Simmons completely pops, adding chilling gravity to the alien lore. The Friction: • The family drama bits in the middle part really dragged for me. • Some subplots with neighbors and doctors honestly felt a bit muddled. Verdict: Watch for a solid alien thriller with great suspense. Skip if you want a fast action war.

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The W

@TheWagners Jul 4

Stupid movie full of jump scares, and for some reason the aliens are supernatural. Tons of jump scares and nonsense.

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Michael J

@RT29377897 Mar 25

Es una estupenda película,infravalorada en su época, inquietante y aterradora

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Downriver R

@Downriver Jan 8

It's actually a pretty good horror thriller. When it comes to alien/supernatural films we don't got a ton a actually good movies. We got signs/war of worlds and a few others that are decent movies. This one hits the right notes and actually scares you. Great cast Great acting and great storyline

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Daniel L

@Hotchopeppa Dec 20

Awesome alien abduction movie. Definitely one of my favourites. No idea why this has such bad scores. I've watched it multiple times and always enjoyed it. It's very creepy and builds nicely to a climactic ending.

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Roy T

@Lean6 Dec 19

I saw this movie years ago. I watched it again at the end of 2025. All I could do afterwards was search online for the sequel... unfortunately, there wasn't one. I seriously can't understand what is going on with the reviews. It just shows me that I shouldn't even bother to look at reviews to decide whether to watch a film.

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Scott Stewart

Director

Keri Russell

Lacy Barrett

Josh Hamilton

Daniel Barrett

Dakota Goyo

Jesse Barrett

Kadan Rockett

Sam Barrett

J.K. Simmons

Edwin Pollard

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Synopsis

Lacy (Keri Russell) and Daniel Barrett (Josh Hamilton) share a peaceful life in the suburbs with their sons, Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and Sam (Kadan Rockett). However, that peace soon shatters with a series of disturbing events that escalate. When it becomes clear that their family is being targeted by an unimaginably terrifying, deadly -- and possibly alien -- threat, Daniel and Lacy draw on their courage and determination to protect their family and identify what is after them.

Director: Scott Stewart
Producer: Jason Blum
Screenwriter: Scott Stewart
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: Alliance Films, Blumhouse, Automatik Entertainment, Robotproof
Rating: PG-13 (Drug Content|All Involving Teens|Violence|Language|Sexual Material|Terror Throughout)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 22, 2013, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 21, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.4M
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Datasat, Dolby Digital