Dark Skies
Dimension Films | Release Date: February 22, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
11
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Film.comStephanie ZacharekFeb 26, 2013
Dark Skies is about the fragility of family, a muted meditation on how precious it is...it does affirm that genre filmmakers who work with their eyes, their hearts and their brains still walk among us. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenFeb 27, 2013
More chilling than terrifying, this movie’s predatory aliens are creatures that mostly mess with people’s heads prior to abducting them. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyClark CollisFeb 22, 2013
While there are some scares along the way, Stewart foolishly gives away the whole kit and caboodle plot-wise with an opening quotation from Arthur C. Clarke. Read full review
63
New York PostSara StewartFeb 22, 2013
Mostly, though, it all ends up feeling like a lost, minor episode of “The X-Files:” A little scary, a little silly and catnip for those who want to believe. Read full review
60
Total FilmKen McIntyreMar 25, 2013
As a shocker, Scott Stewart’s (Priest) film is solid, but it’s the thoroughly depressing backdrop that you’ll take away. Read full review
60
Time OutA.A. DowdFeb 26, 2013
The real mystery of Dark Skies isn’t who’s pulling the paranormal pranks — it’s lanky visitors from above, not vengeful spirits from beyond — but why Dimension is treating this reasonably effective potboiler like something that should be hidden away at Area 51. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis HarveyFeb 23, 2013
In the end, a pretty good buildup to OK payoff without any real surprises en route makes Dark Skies feel just enough above average to make one wish it had one memorable spark of conceptual inspiration up its sleeve. Read full review
60
The New York TimesAndy WebsterFeb 23, 2013
Dark Skies certainly parades textbook genre trappings...But those elements are employed with consummate dexterity. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasFeb 22, 2013
Good horror films are imprinted by the fears and anxieties of the day, converting real-life atrocities into abstracted scares; mediocre ones are imprinted, too, but with trends and commercial formulas. If Dark Skies resurfaced on TV or brain implant 20 or 30 years from now, horror fans would be able to carbon-date the film almost to the month. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweFeb 26, 2013
Approaching the first half of the film fairly conventionally, Stewart then misses the opportunity to capitalize on shifting to more full-on genre mode. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanFeb 22, 2013
The movie builds a moderate, if less than monumental, level of spookiness, regardless of your ignorance. It’s a workmanlike piece of suspense. Read full review
50
The PlaylistDrew TaylorFeb 22, 2013
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. Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreFeb 21, 2013
It’s a passably chilling bit of nonsense that builds on the past, the tropes of the genre, and relies on them for the odd jolt and the occasional ironic laugh. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenFeb 22, 2013
Really the biggest problem with Dark Skies is that Stewart can never quite decide just what story he is telling — a slow-burn horror parable or paranoid invasion flick — or whether to focus on this character or that, instead struggling to string together scares regardless of how they fit together overall. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanFeb 22, 2013
The pacing is so tedious and the action so unexciting that it's a real thrill when J.K. Simmons shows up as a wry alien expert — and a huge disappointment when he disappears a few minutes later. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiSep 9, 2014
In extending itself to reach a conventional feature length, however, it becomes a below-average programmer in which brief moments of interest are interrupted by long stretches of boredom. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesPeter SobczynskiFeb 22, 2013
Dark Skies is a bore that even the most forgiving genre buffs will find difficult to defend or endure. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineFeb 22, 2013
Scott Stewart's Dark Skies is the definitive horror film for the Tea Party era. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Adam NaymanFeb 21, 2013
The characters are reluctant to believe in the face of overwhelming evidence, mostly because writer-director Scott Stewart doesn’t want to play his hand too early. By the time the movie is over, it’s easy to see why he kept his cards close to his chest. He’s not really holding anything. Read full review
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