Dark Skies (2013)
 
An intensely evocative, absolutely spine-tingling thriller that paints an empathetic portrait of realistically strained modern-day suburban domesticity before little by little introducing a rasping pall of doom decidedly a bit more troubling than some missed mortgage payments. For long stretches, "Dark Skies" works like gangbusters, courageously delving into bleak subject matter colliding with some money shots that just may have audiences searching for a pillow to cower behind.
A/A-
Released in theaters by Dimension Films and distributed on home video by Anchor Bay/Starz, "Dark Skies" features an atmospherically terrific high-definition picture transfer that befits a relatively low-budget but slick, wholly proficient 2013 film. Inky blacks and nicely resolved nighttime scenes stand at impressive contrast with the bright, highly detailed daytime scenes set in and around its bucolic suburban neighborhood gone awry. Only some slight banding rears its head, but only eagle-eyed viewers will notice or be too concerned by it. Meanwhile, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track moves between subtlety and moments of roaring, bass-heavy immersion. Indeed, this isn't best-of-the-best audio material, but that is because the film doesn't call for a non-stop speakers workout. When it does, however, it more than delivers the goods.
Audio Commentary with writer/director Scott Stewart, producer Jason Blum, executive producer Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, and editor Peter Gvozdas, Alternate/Deleted Scenes
Highly recommended.
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