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Dark Skies

Play trailer Poster for Dark Skies PG-13 2013 1h 37m Sci-Fi Mystery & Thriller Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 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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Dark Skies

Dark Skies

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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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Critics Reviews

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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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review 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. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 See more Daniel L 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. See more 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. See more Ryan S 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! See more Sameir A 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. See more Andrew C Jul 30 Ok so I love scary movies and this movie is the one that truly gave me nightmares. See more Read all reviews
Dark Skies

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Cast & Crew

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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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Dark Skies

Keri Russell as Lacy Barrett in "Dark Skies." Keri Russell as Lacy Barrett and Kadan Rockett as Sam Barrett in "Dark Skies." Josh Hamilton as Daniel Barrett in "Dark Skies." Josh Hamilton as Daniel Barrett in "Dark Skies." Kadan Rockett as Sam Barrett in "Dark Skies." Keri Russell as Lacy Barrett in "Dark Skies." Josh Hamilton as Daniel Barrett and Kadan Rockett as Sam Barrett in "Dark Skies." Dark Skies (2013) Dark Skies (2013) View more photos

Movie Info

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
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