Post by StevePulaski on May 29, 2013 17:00:17 GMT -5
Rating: ★½
It's beginning to become "same review, different movie" for modern entries into the horror genre, and when it finally comes down to sitting face-to-face with the computer screen to write the review I'm almost met with a form of writer's block. I need to remain fresh as a writer but honest as a reviewer, and try being both after you've just seen a film like Scott Stewart's Dark Skies, a horror film that almost doesn't feel like it is trying. A consistent, dreary bore, it combines almost every element that makes the contemporary mainstream horror genre such a drudge to endure.
The film is about a purebread white suburban family that begins experiencing paranormal activity through their youngest son. He claims to be haunted by "The Sandman," with activity ranging from the alarms being triggered in the middle of the night to just the kid not being able to sleep. It gets to the point where the well-to-do family doesn't know what kind of therapeutic treatment, if any, the kid needs and they seek out professional help. It just so happens the kid may be haunted by aliens and be more troubled than any of his parents thought.
This kind of film is becoming so very tiresome. Was it just a few weeks ago when I reviewed Mama, another horror film that didn't seem to really care if it was actually exercising its genre appropriately? One would be hardpressed to find another genre in film today that is so content with being bland and unambitious as the horror genre. Hollywood has come to the realization that if they produce and fund a horror film for little-to-no money at all they can make an enormous return for almost no hard-labor on their part. One could say that the horror genre has always been this way but at least there was more of an emphasis on quality than there is now. Try and find a horror film today that doesn't deal with paranormal activity, the found footage genre, demons, exorcisms, or is a sequel to a popular franchise.
The film was directed by Scott Stewart, who has somewhat formulated a career out of making medium-budget science-fiction films with a theistic-twist to them. Dark Skies seems to lack the religious undertones Stewart's other films Legion and Priest appeared to have, but I think I would've favored that instead of the abundance of ineffective jump scares, uninteresting characters, obligatory plot conventions, and lacking atmosphere.
When the film was over, I contemplated if the film would make my "worst of the year list" for 2013. I then revisited the list I make every year, citing which films I find to be the best, worst, and only decent of the year in order to see if I could find a place at this moment. I thought to squeeze it in, but I kept finding others that nudged it out of a spot. It would be more accurate and faithful to call out the films that are genuinely bad rather than the ones that are just seemingly without ambitions or ideas.
Starring: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo, Kadan Rockett, and J. K. Simmons. Directed by: Scott Stewart.
It's beginning to become "same review, different movie" for modern entries into the horror genre, and when it finally comes down to sitting face-to-face with the computer screen to write the review I'm almost met with a form of writer's block. I need to remain fresh as a writer but honest as a reviewer, and try being both after you've just seen a film like Scott Stewart's Dark Skies, a horror film that almost doesn't feel like it is trying. A consistent, dreary bore, it combines almost every element that makes the contemporary mainstream horror genre such a drudge to endure.
The film is about a purebread white suburban family that begins experiencing paranormal activity through their youngest son. He claims to be haunted by "The Sandman," with activity ranging from the alarms being triggered in the middle of the night to just the kid not being able to sleep. It gets to the point where the well-to-do family doesn't know what kind of therapeutic treatment, if any, the kid needs and they seek out professional help. It just so happens the kid may be haunted by aliens and be more troubled than any of his parents thought.
This kind of film is becoming so very tiresome. Was it just a few weeks ago when I reviewed Mama, another horror film that didn't seem to really care if it was actually exercising its genre appropriately? One would be hardpressed to find another genre in film today that is so content with being bland and unambitious as the horror genre. Hollywood has come to the realization that if they produce and fund a horror film for little-to-no money at all they can make an enormous return for almost no hard-labor on their part. One could say that the horror genre has always been this way but at least there was more of an emphasis on quality than there is now. Try and find a horror film today that doesn't deal with paranormal activity, the found footage genre, demons, exorcisms, or is a sequel to a popular franchise.
The film was directed by Scott Stewart, who has somewhat formulated a career out of making medium-budget science-fiction films with a theistic-twist to them. Dark Skies seems to lack the religious undertones Stewart's other films Legion and Priest appeared to have, but I think I would've favored that instead of the abundance of ineffective jump scares, uninteresting characters, obligatory plot conventions, and lacking atmosphere.
When the film was over, I contemplated if the film would make my "worst of the year list" for 2013. I then revisited the list I make every year, citing which films I find to be the best, worst, and only decent of the year in order to see if I could find a place at this moment. I thought to squeeze it in, but I kept finding others that nudged it out of a spot. It would be more accurate and faithful to call out the films that are genuinely bad rather than the ones that are just seemingly without ambitions or ideas.
Starring: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo, Kadan Rockett, and J. K. Simmons. Directed by: Scott Stewart.