Every good horror movie has deep meaning within it. It contains more than just cheap thrills and suspense. Rather, truly excellent scary movies feature characters the audience can sympathize with and a plot that relates to the problems of contemporary society. That way, as the protagonists defeat the monsters or ghosts or whatever else in the film, the viewers can vicariously defeat the problems they face in their real lives. Considering that criterion, "Dark Skies" is a commendable example of the genre.
The film tells the story of the Barretts, an average American family from suburbia. Though normal on the outside, the Barretts are actually experiencing problems threatening to tear the family apart; father Daniel is unemployed and cannot find work, mother Lacy is a realtor unable to sell a particularly awful house, and older son Jesse is becoming rebellious as he enters his teenage years. But things escalate from bad to worse when younger son Sam starts exhibiting bizarre behavior, and soon the entire family is being affected by the paranormal. Eventually the Barretts discover aliens who wish to abduct one of them for experiments are targeting them. The only way to prevent it is to come together as a family and fight for survival.
The movie is creepy throughout, but what makes "Dark Skies" compelling is the societal issues it examines. In today's world there are numerous families struggling financially and being attacked by those troubles just like the Barretts. Such families often cannot cope with the pressure of those problems much like the Barretts at first disagreed with how to handle their supernatural occurrences. And just as Daniel fretted over what the neighbors thought of their situation, so many actual patriarchs and matriarchs also worry about their public image. All of these connections to reality make the film more engaging, and the turning point of the family banding together to overcome their problems is made especially satisfying.
The actors portraying the Barretts - Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo, and Kadan Rockett - are all extraordinary in their abilities to make these characters in such unusual circumstances believable and relatable. J.K. Simmons was also interesting as the haunted alien expert Edwin Pollard.
While its ending may not leave everyone happy, "Dark Skies" is an enjoyable film recommended for fans of truly good horror movies.
The Setonian gives this movie 4 out of 5 stars.
Sean Quinn can be reached at sean.quinn@student.shu.edu.
