Dark Skies is a moderately spooky film, well made but muddled. Not really a horror film but with hints of science fiction rather than the paranormal.

A family with mother (Keri Russell) father (Josh Hamilton),eldest son Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and youngest son Sam (Kaden Rockett) live an ordinary suburban life. Pretty soon things go bump in the night, doors slam, furniture moves, the alarm goes off. One of them sees a figure standing over the bed and strange symbols appear in the children's bodies.

They consult an alien expert Pollard (JK Simmons) who tells them that they are haunted by beings called the 'Grays' and other families have suffered similar intervention usually leading to a child being abducted.

The film is well made but just generic and never really excites.

A happy suburban family are menaced in their home by an unknown force. Characters begin to experience strange goings on during the night, where they are assailed by odd visions and behaviour. Research reveals that others have experienced similar things. An oddball expert is called in to help explain things and work them out. The family begins to fall apart from the stress caused by these supernatural activities.

Yes, this sounds like just another haunted house flick a la INSIDIOUS, THE CONJURING, MAMA, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, SINISTER, and a dozen others from recent years. The twist with DARK SKIES is that aliens are to blame, but it makes very little difference in the scheme of things. This is a par for the course sci-fi/horror movie that manages to waste an extensive budget in favour of doing absolutely nothing new.

What we get are uninteresting characters doing dumb things in response to their situation. I'm sorry, but Keri Russell (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III) just isn't a strong enough actress to bag the lead role like this, and she's really out of her depth as she struggles to create a truly convincing character. In fact, the only pro here is J.K. Simmons, and he's only in a cameo scene.

Instead we get tons of boring dialogue, a lot of creeping dread (via an effectively spooky soundtrack) and some dodgy CGI scares of people without eyes and barely-glimpsed figures and the like. It's all very predictable and, I have to say it, not in the least bit scary. Chalk it down as another Hollywood flick devoid of wit, intelligence, and originality.

The Barretts are a regular suburban family. But strange things start happening. When Lacy Barrett (Keri Russell) decides that aliens might be responsible, even her husband Daniel (Josh Hamilton) can't accept it. Finally they seek help from an expert Edwin Pollard (J.K. Simmons).

This was a slow moving boring unoriginal grind for the first half. They basically threw everything at it; oddly arranged stuff, possessions, birds flying into the house, strange electrical and video interference. It's all copied from far better movies. The husband Daniel's disbelief is beyond frustrating. Once he stops being stupid, the movie is able to move much better.

This is not a spoiler. The whole alien thing is basically given away from an opening quote from Arthur C. Clarke. But the aliens are the salvation of this movie. With them, the movie is able to close out strong.