Dark Skies

As Hollywood PG-13 horror entries go, Dark Skies isn’t particularly bad. The acting is relatively nuanced for this kind of thing, and the effects here are actually relatively efficient without being gratuitous. However, while the premise is comparatively more novel than those of the recent glut of haunted house and/or possession flicks, the delivery is still pretty much nothing more than a repackaging of all the tropes and themes that have defined horror over the last few years. It’s Paranormal Activity without the found-footage approach, and with aliens substituting for poltergeists. After an interminable amount of character development, the last half hour is actually pretty compelling, as the stakes are raised and the dysfunctional family under assault from paranormal forces bunkers down to fight off some pesky illegal aliens. Cinemark 14 7. Rated PG-13.