Dark Skies

Sinister goings-on in suburbia make life a living hell for Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton and their two sons in this taut science-fiction shocker, which sees unseen forces invade the family home. Burglar alarms are tripped, pictures are stolen from frames, flocks of birds crash into the house and the youngest boy is communicating with a shadowy figure he calls "The Sandman" - but is it an alien visitor, and, if so, what are its motives? Writer/director Scott Stewart delivers some pleasing jolts in a story that owes much to Poltergeist, but tends to signpost too many of its scares and plot twists. Russell and Hamilton convince as the initially sceptical parents who come under suspicion from neighbours, but are eclipsed by the subtle performance of Dakota Goyo as their troubled eldest son.