Dark Skies

Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Released on: May 28, 2013.
Director: Scott Stewart
Cast: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo, Kadan Rockett, J.K. Simmons
Year: 2013
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The Movie:

Written and directed by Scott Stewart , 2013's Dark Skies, released on Blu-ray by Anchor Bay Entertainment, takes place in modern day American where Daniel Barrett (John Hamilton) does what he can to make ends meet while dealing with the difficulties of trying to find a job. Thankfully his wife, Lacy (Keri Russell) works as a real estate agent but times are still tough when you've got a thirteen year old named Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and a younger kid named Sam (Kadan Rockett) to feed and care for.

Their seemingly quite average suburban life starts to take a strange turn when a series of bizarre events starts to circle around them. One morning Lacy comes downstairs to find articles in the kitchen arranged in strange ways and then the next morning they find all the pictures missing from the picture frames in the living room. When three different flocks of birds all come hurtling towards their house at the time, her concern becomes fright and Daniel installs some security cameras - it seems that some sort of presence is coming in and out of the house even going so far as to physically mark their children. The cops are no help, but an expert on similar events (J.K. Simmons) is willing to talk to them. Unfortunately, he lets them know that although they are no alone in experiencing events like this, they really have no choice but to go it alone. His only advice? Stick together as family, sometimes that's enough to fend of 'they greys' but the Barrett's are soon experiencing blackouts and memory gaps and as crazy as they may appear to others, the threat they face is very real and not going to go away on its own.

Definitely taking a page out of the 'less is more' playbook, Dark Skies builds really nicely to a grim but satisfying conclusion. More clever than the generic title would lead you to believe, the film's 'twist' at the end is a bit too easy to figure out if you're paying attention, but otherwise this one works and it works well. Made on a reasonably modest budget, the filmmakers are smart enough to keep things in the shadows, which in the context of how the characters in the movie actually see things, winds up making a whole lot of sense. The movie is also smart enough not to spell everything out for us, leaving large parts of what actually happens on screen open to your own interpretation. There are a few superfluous plot threads that don't add much to the proceedings, including a kinda-sorta romantic angle between Jesse and a neighborhood redhead, but otherwise, this is a fairly lean, well played horror picture that manages to evoke some good atmosphere and a few solid scares without the need to lay on the gore or heavy effects work.

Performances are strong across the board. Russell is good as the concerned mother, the conflict that arises between her and Josh Hamilton is not only believable but under the circumstances completely believable. J.K. Simmons isn't stretching as an actor here but he's his typically reliable self and his supporting turn is a welcome one. Probably the biggest surprise is the acting from young Dakota Goyo and even younger Kaden Rockett. Child actors are often a 'make it or break it' deal in horror movies but these two pull it off successfully.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Dark Skies looks about very good on Blu-ray, framed here at 2.40.1 widescreen and presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. Detail is very strong and black levels are good. Colors are accurate during the brighter scenes but there aren't a lot of those and much of the movie takes place indoors and in the dark. As such, often times it's pretty bleak looking, but it definitely suits the material and when things do take place outside, such as the BB gun chase scene in the woods, colors look terrific. This is in keeping with the tone of the film and it more or less works in its favor. Color scheme aside, skin tones look good, nice and natural, and there are no issues with compression artifacts to note. This feels like an accurate representation of what the filmmakers were going for here.

The main audio option is a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix in the film's original English language, though removable subtitles in English SDH and Spanish are also included. No complaints here, really. The audio here is definitely solid, particularly during the scenes involving the unusual activity that occurs during the film's finale. Dialogue stays clear and there are some very effective moments that use the surrounds to nice effect. The levels are well balanced and as you'd expect from a brand new movie like this there are no problems with hiss or distortion and this is an impressive and effective sound mix that suits the storyline rather well and succeeds in helping to successfully build some good atmosphere and tension.

The main extra is a commentary track with Writer/Director Scott Stewart, Producer Jason Blum, Executive Producer Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Editor Peter Gvozdas. It's a fairly active talk that has Stewart leading the charge as they cover some of the ideas that didn't make it into the final version of the movie, casting choices, effects work and the reasoning behind some of the technique on display in the movie.

Aside from that we get just over fourteen minutes of deleted scenes, some of which are quite interesting. A lot of them involve the reactions of different neighbors in the area, and there's a different take on some of the events that take place during the ending as well. Stewart provides optional commentary of this material. Menus and chapter stops are included here and a few promo spots for other Anchor Bay properties play before those menus load. As this is a combo pack release, you also get a DVD version of the movie and an Ultraviolet copy as well.

The Final Word:

Dark Skies was a pleasant surprise, a PG-13 rated horror film that uses mood and atmosphere in place of sex and violence to tell a good story and to showcase some impressive performances. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray looks and sounds excellent and while it's not jammed to the rafters with extras, the commentary and deleted scenes are worthwhile. All in all, a pretty solid release.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!