Dark Skies

I have loved horror for years now. I could talk for a while about what decades stand out for me in the genre, who's the best scream queen and why George Romero makes such good zombie films. The family idea and building a creepy and intense atmosphere usually work for me. Classical films like Poltergeist, Pet Sematary and Cujo are some of my favorites. Insidious from 2011 is the closest recent horror movie like this. Now in 2013, comes Dark Skies which is somewhat similar to Insidious though Dark Skies has a bit more sci-fi to it and is a bit more memorable.

In Dark Skies, a family is being haunted through many ways by a dark force which we later learn are aliens.
The film does center around a family but it does lack development between the family members but this is not terrible in itself. Dakota Goyo plays the older teenage son and delivers a fine performance just as he did in Real Steel, and his career certainly appears to be on the upswing. Kadan Rockett plays the younger son and plays this sweet young character very well for his age. John Hamilton plays the father and this is frankly the weakest character but you can still see that Hamilton is trying here. Keri Russel plays the mother and is perfectly casted and really carries this movie with her performance.

The plot is anything but new. Dark Skies rips-off Poltergeist, Close Encounters, E.T. and Paranormal Activity very liberally. In a strange way though, that is why I kind of liked the film so much. It reminded me of movies I loved from my childhood and could be considered a homage by director, Scott Stewart to those films.

With a somewhat ambitious and overdrawn plot, there are going to be some things missing inside. That said, the plot elements felt realistic. The film includes both children trying to fit in while Dakota Goyo is experiencing some negative peer pressure while also learning about the opposite sex. The parents are struggling with a serious money issue which brings tension to the film and could cause the younger audience to wonder if that could happen to them. These plot elements are not new but they bring the story just a little closer to home.

Of course in a horror/sci-fi movie, the money is in the scary scenes. The first scenes involving the aliens were a bit scary but the movie is more creepy than anything and is that way throughout. Characters run and walk around aimlessly outside in the middle of the night, experience mental breakdowns and unexplained nose bleeds along with body injuries in the form of marks and scars. The ending is one that we have seen before but it is set-up a bit differently and leaves you with an eerie feeling.

Dark Skies is a film that works on being something else than what you normally see today as it draws from movies from decades ago. As I mentioned earlier, it is a film that left me with a special feeling because of that. I recommend Dark Skies.

4/5

Phantasm

 

During the 1970's, horror really seemed to be in a good groove. Of course, the genre started in the late 1800's with the classic novels of Frankenstein and Dracula but it really came into focus in the 1950's and 60's. After that, George Romero and Alfred Hitchcock started to make their mark with innovative films. Phantasm is one of those late 70's films that adds to a decade of classic horror films and pushed horror right into the 80's where it got even more special.


Phantasm has a plot that revolves around brothers trying to connect to the world and find themselves after the death of their parents and they meet a mortician and that changes things in some horrible ways. Actually this is not a very complete description but frankly it would be literally impossible to explain this movie in full detail.


This movie has references to another world and also there are many killers and also dwarfs. In short, this is one of the most interesting horror films around. It is very hard to imagine that anyone could think up some of this stuff. It is a mixture of many things and all very original stuff.

The movie has a very strange beginning and then gets very eerie with a strange mixture of characters. There is one killer named the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) who doesn't do very much and one named Reggie Banister who does a whole lot of everything. Micheal Baldwin plays the lead character, Thomas who seems very out place in this world but works well with the other lead, Bill Thornbury for a breakout performance.


The direction here is a little questionable as the film lacks structure somewhat and at times it is hard to see where it is going. It also has an ending that raise many questions and seems a bit out of place considering what came before. That said, Phantasm is a film that was not going to be without flaws just because of what it is.


I don't really know a lot of what this film is and it is probably best described as a cult film. A cult film from the 1970's that made us look at horror films a little differently.

3.5/5