There are some combinations of actors and lines that were never meant to be. One of them is mild-mannered Josh Hamilton brandishing a shotgun and bellowing “Leave. Us. Alone!” It just ain’t right.
Up till this point, though, “Dark Skies” delivers some genuinely creepy moments, albeit with many a nod to earlier (and superior) scary movies like “Poltergeist.” And coming just a week after that freaky Russian meteor crash, when better to indulge in a little alien-abduction paranoia?
In the Barrett household, something is seriously amiss. Is it that unemployed architect Daniel (Hamilton) is quietly panicked about finding a job while the mortgage bills pile up? That his marriage to Lacy (Keri Russell) is falling apart, turning their two sons (Dakota Goyo, Kadan Rockett) into stress cases?
Or are extraterrestrials breaking into the suburban homestead at night and messing with all of their brains?
Option C gives the family something simple to unite behind, as strange nocturnal events ramp up from elaborate culinary sculptures to gushing nosebleeds and frozen facial features, while daytime calamities include a flock of birds hurling themselves against the windows and, later, Russell doing the same with her forehead. The younger son starts having nighttime conversations with someone he calls “The Sandman.”
Director Scott Stewart (“Priest”) ably conveys a low hum of dread under the suburban calm, and Russell and Hamilton, both thoughtful actors, radiate a low-key authenticity. Neither moves easily into shrieky hysterics.
The film, however, gets a little hysterical with the arrival of J.K. Simmons’ loony, Hunter S. Thompson-like alien expert, who exposits that the “greys” — those rubbery figures you may recall from “Close Encounters” or Roswell hoax photos — are here, they’ve been here for a while now, and they’re randomly selecting families on which to experiment.
The absurdity continues when, at the 11th hour, firearms and bolted doors become useful defenses against an enemy that has clearly demonstrated an ability to circumvent petty human defenses.
As you’d expect from “the producers of ‘Paranormal Activity’ ” (a tag line that somewhat diminished my interest), the Barretts also bust out nocturnal Webcams for a round of “To Catch an Alien Predator.” There’s a chilling wish-fulfillment here about child disappearances and how much easier it’d be to believe the villains come from outer space instead of down the street.
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.