Dark Skies Initiative

Dark Skies (2013) is just what we were looking for, and very much according to formula. It is movie of possession, like Insidious, for example, but not actually supernatural.

It stars Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton as a husband and wife with two sons. Hamilton is looking for work while Russell is a maybe-not-too-successful real estate agent, so money is tight. The younger son, Kadan Rockett, is 8 or 9 and likes his older brother to tell him scary stories over a walkie-talkie set at night. The older, Dakota Goyo, is 13, and has been hanging out with a somewhat obnoxious older boy. So things aren't perfect, but the family is strong.

Then odd things start to happen. The contents of the kitchen cabinets are balanced in odd geometric designs. Each family member, starting with Rockett, has some sort of fit, where they become unresponsive and harm themselves. The burglar alarm goes off when no one is in the house. And odd wounds and bruises appear on them all, but especially Rockett.

The police treat this as a psychological issue - kids acting out or possibly abuse. The neighbors begin to pull away, and they Russell and Hamilton even begin to doubt each other. Then Russell finds a website and it all becomes clear. SPOILER - aliens.

They go to consult with J.K. Simmons, an expert in alien abduction, Hamilton is skeptical at first, but Simmons tells them exactly what they are going through. He has no solution - says he has been hounded by the Greys for years. And worse, he predicts that they will eventually abduct one of them, probably the first one they possessed, Rockett. But if they fight back, they may be able to drive them off, and make them bother someone else.

Although this is directed by Scott Stewart and produced by Blumhouse, it has a touch of James Wan about it. The ordinary family, with problems, sure, but happy. The creepy happenings, maybe explainable, maybe not. Even the creepy music, which Simmons refers to as a ringing sound that seems to come from inside your own head. The suspicions of neighbors and authorities, which cuts off the possibility of help. Then the esoteric expert who explains it all - and helps or not. 

Maybe not all that original, but well done. Just tense enough to be scary, but not traumatizing. Ms. Spenser was satisfied, and it didn't give me nightmares. Good job.