So dark that even the birds can't see...

"Dark Skies"

written and directed by Scott Stewart

Starring Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton and J.K. Simmons

Rated PG-13

97 Minutes

There's haunted house movies, there's alien movies; and then there's "Dark Skies," which fuses both into a chilling and effective feature about a family that gets put through the ringer by unseen forces.  With fine-tuned performances by Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton, "Dark Skies" plays with the atmosphere of "Poltergeist" with a touch of "Signs" mixed in.  It also has a pretty bonkers climax with a bold and well-earned twist ending that I didn't see coming.  This is another February release that gives you your money's worth.

Writer-director Scott Stewart is only on his third feature film after the underwhelming "Legion" and "Priest."  Perhaps with "Dark Skies" he is coming into his own.  This is a well-directed film, with a structure that starts out calmly enough, before unleashing a relentless series of haunting images and frightening events.  Stewart wisely avoids jump scares, and his script gives the characters honest reactions to the things happening around them, without turning them into idiots.  Much of that comes from the convincing performances by Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton - it's really easy to believe in their strained marriage.

Russell plays Lacy Barrett, a real estate agent struggling to sell an outdated home.  Her husband Daniel (Josh Hamilton) is an out of work architect and is three months behind on the mortgage.  As if their economic struggles weren't enough, they begin noticing some strange things around the house; like the entire kitchen pantry stacked up to the ceiling in the middle of the night.  At first, Lacy suspects maybe her son Sam (Kadan Rockett) has some sleep walking issues, but when all the family photos go missing, she suspects something more sinister is happening.  Their oldest son Jesse (Dakota Goyo) is at that awkward transition between puberty and manhood, which is difficult enough to manage without problems at home.  He has a tender way of calming his younger brother at night; by communicating with him via walkie-talkie from his room.

Before long, the weird stuff starts to get out of control.  For instance, nobody seems to be able to explain why three separate bird migrations slammed into their house at once, resulting in hundreds of dead starlings on their lawn.  And what of the mysterious marks and bruises that begin to appear on the boys?  Or Daniel's bizarre rash behind his ear?  To reveal much more would be to spoil to fun, which by this point might suggest a ghost is to blame.  Not quite.  Although, Daniel does eventually discover something shocking on security camera footage after Lacy claims she saw...someone in the house.  This causes them to contact Edwin Pollard (J.K. Simmons), who is an "expert on these things." 

There is some really nice effects work worth a mention, and Stewart relies on stark imagery rather than overdoing it on CGI, although much of the climax benefits from some expert use of it.  There are a couple transition shots that stand-out as well, which trigger changes in the narrative before things get truly nuts.  The ending might be disappointing for some, but it reveals such a gut-punching twist that it works.  Plus, considering what the Barretts learned from that Pollard wacko, I'm not sure that any conventional happy ending is possible.  How about that - the movie is called "Dark Skies" for a reason.

Not to be confused with 'Snatch'

'Snitch'

written by Justin Haythe & Ric Roman Waugh

directed by Ric Roman Waugh

Starring Swayne Johnson, Rafi Gavron, Barry Pepper and Susan Sarandon

Rated PG-13

112 Minutes

Dwayne Johnson, the actor formerly known as 'The Rock', has tried hard to move away from his professional wrestling persona by starring in a series of preposterous action roles.  Surprisingly, "Snitch" provides him his most understated performance yet in a movie that is better than you'd think, but still bears the mark of an amateur director.  It also has one of those giveaway title cards that says "based on a real event," which means you can expect at least half the feature to be a total work of fiction.

The director is Ric Roman Waugh, who has been a stuntman in nearly 50 feature films, which may explain an incomprehensible chase scene that happens in the first few minutes of "Snitch."  Jason Collins (Rafi Gavron) is running from the DEA after they bust in to intercept a shipment of ecstasy pills that Jason just received.  As he hops fences and sprints back alleys, the cameraman seemingly sprints right along behind him, resulting in one of the worst cases of queasy-cam I've ever seen.  Mercifully, Jason is swiftly caught and the camera work calms down for the duration of the feature.

While "Snitch" claims to be based on a real event, I question the film's depiction of a completely irresponsible and stubborn state prosecutor played by Susan Sarandon.  She tells Jason's father John Matthews that in order for her to reduce Jason's sentence, he will be required to dime out other drug dealers or known traffickers.  Problem is, Jason doesn't know any and the pill incident was only the result of a stupid mistake.  John accepts this, and offers to bring in a big shot cartel leader all by himself.  This is where the film strains credibility because the Sarandon character goes for the idea almost without hesitation.  

Matthews owns a construction business and enlists the help of an employee named Daniel (Jon Bernthal) who has a connection to a big time drug runner.  Daniel is trying to go straight and support his family, but after introducing John to Malik (Michael Kenneth Williams), he is forced to go on the first run with John as a show of good faith.  Apparently even in the drug trade, professionalism is paramount.  The first run is monitored by Agent Cooper (Barry Pepper), who tries to bring reason to the situation by telling John how deep he's getting.  Cooper holds off on nabbing Malik when he realizes that on the receiving end of the money is Juan 'The Mole' Pintera (Benjamin Bratt), a cartel leader who wears some very fancy sun glasses, but never does much else.  

This sounds like the perfect set up for a climax full of shoot-outs, explosions and double crosses but "Snitch" stays pleasantly grounded in the tension that builds on John as time runs out.  Oh sure, there is a riveting freeway chase and a couple close scrapes, but they aren't sensationalized for a carnage-hungry audience.  In fact, the PG-13 rating stays true to its expectations, and delivers the goods without foul language and excessive violence.  Dwayne Johnson is also pretty convincing as an average Joe who is just trying to save his family.  Considering his bulking size, that's no easy task, but he pulls it off.

With some practice and a truly great script, Ric Roman Waugh may emerge as a competent director in the years to come.  "Snitch" is certainly a good try, and considering its release at the tail end of box office dumping season, you could do worse for weekend entertainment in February.  And I'd like to see Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson fill his resume with a few more roles like this; where he isn't expected to pummel everything just because he's built like Mr. Universe.  Although, he totally could have taken that sissy cartel guy.  Just sayin.