Parents' Guide to

Dark Skies

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Subtle but dull alien invasion movie has scares, edgy stuff.

Movie PG-13 2013 95 minutes
Dark Skies Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 7 parent reviews

age 3+

Delicious Movie for all of my peeps XD

OH HECK THAT WAS GOOD! :) That waS An AMAZING moVie!! Holy frEaking Moly I was on thE edge of my dang seat the whole darn film. My wife and I were watching this movie with our sweet 3 year old and he enjoyed the movie as well (my wife and I enjoyed the more subtle adult parts if yall get my drift ;) ). This movie is great-nothing is wrong with it, the actor reminds me of myself and that family. *SUPER DUPER* relatable. like seriously, extremely relatable.....It was so realistic and enjoyable! Check it out for a fun movie with a hint of spice lolz!

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
age 14+

Good movie, but vulgar lingo

My 12 and 16 year old were excited to see this movie, since it looked like it resembled the older movie Signs which is one of their favorites. They like scary suspense, not blood and gore. I thought the movie was actually pretty good and held my interest. I did not, however, like the language and inappropriate sexual references from the teenage son's thug friend. Everytime the kid came on screen I cringed, because something vulgar always flew out of his mouth. This made it quite awkward for us as a family. We all would've liked the movie alot more had this character been less vulgar. Read the main review, it's spot on as to what to expect, and decide for yourself if it is appropriate for your family.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
1 person found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7):
Kids say (18):

Without the aliens, the movie might actually have made an interesting drama. Director Scott Stewart, formerly of the San Francisco special effects house The Orphanage, has previously made two great-looking but jumbled movies, Legion and Priest, both drawing on strong ideas from the past but failing to make much new out of them. He continues in that vein here, although DARK SKIES is at least subtler and more character based than expected.

With the aliens, however, it appears to draw heavily on movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Poltergeist, building a mystery and making use of silences and empty spaces in addition to small character dramas. Unfortunately, it all adds up to very little. The story is oddly pessimistic. Nothing is learned, no victory is achieved, and even the expected "twist" ending is curiously dull. It's as if the aliens have already won.

Movie Details

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