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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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

@RT24087858 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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Ryan S

@RT36272707 Oct 7

Absolutely worth your time. Have watched thousands of horror movies and this one gets under my skin even on repeat watches. Ignore the critic reviews and give it a shot!

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Sameir A

@RT21611577 Sep 9

Not a bad movie at all. You can find some similarities to Happening and Close encounter, but this is worth trying for horror fans.

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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