


It may involve a callback to an early bar scene where Jack receives a tiny crystal from his friend who offered them the cabin. Instead, the final act is frustratingly bizarre, initially teed up to be wonderfully thought- provoking only to become disappointingly ambiguous. The heroes quarantine against an invasive threat sweeping the nation and decimating urban populations like New York City, while listening to voicemails from concerned relatives who don’t know whether to believe what they heard on “Fox & Friends.”Īlas, truth is stranger than fiction, as the president isn’t infected in this movie. In a way, the aliens are an unintended but prescient commentary on the coronavirus. We won’t spoil what the aliens look like, but let’s just say that they’re much cuddlier than “War of the Worlds” or “Independence Day” - at least they seem so on the surface. Sure, the cheesy visual effects are low-budget, but they fit the tone of the movie. Sometimes, the characters move too slow for their own good considering a deadly threat is hunting them, while a hallucination sequence is enjoyable but not adequately explained. Once the invasion plot begins, the twists and turns are consistently amusing like “Raising Arizona” (1987) or “Tucker and Dale vs. Jack has an easier time unplugging than Su, who is so addicted that she could have starred in the scary Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma” (2020). They even test the lack of Alexa as soon as they reach the cabin. The script also cleverly handles the business of cellphones, as the couple discards their devices for a peaceful vacation. As the protagonists embark on their trip, Jack delivers eerie foreshadowing: “It’s not the end of the world if we forget something.” Numerous pieces of dialogue contain double meanings. Not only is the dialogue admirably authentic, debut feature writer/directors Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson are adept at setups and payoffs. Business & Finance Click to expand menu.All members of the family - mother Lacy (Keri Russel), father Daniel (Josh Hamilton), and their two sons, Jesse and Sammy - experience gaps in their memory. A massive flock of birds flies into their house. The younger of their two boys has what looks like an epileptic fit. Then, all the sensors on the home security system are set off simultaneously. The Barrett family is living an idyllic life in the suburbs until a sequence of strange occurrences makes them think something is terribly wrong.įirst, all their dishes and cookware are arranged meticulously overnight.


No parent likes having a sick child, so the thought of a possessed child is enough to prompt a full-on panic. Luckily, this 2013 thriller streaming on Netflix uses this to its advantage, turning what could be a tired plot into a surprisingly comforting watch.ĭark Skies is a 2013 alien thriller that preys on parental anxieties. A tongue-in-cheek viewing of Contagion is a lot bleaker in January 2021 than it was in February 2020. While those movies live on, their appeal is growing thinner by the day. There used to be a time, not too long ago, where people would actively watch movies that made them scared or anxious and enjoyed it.
