New Dark Skies Poster Is For The Birds

If one watches the Dark Skies trailer for the first time, they might be inclined to think Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs somehow hooked up and had a film baby. The previews have done a decent job of laying down a spooky atmosphere, but instead of keeping the frights on tight lockdown, they throw them at viewers, hoping to get them in theaters to see a handful of other jump scares that will probably lead to a disappointing ending. If this ends up being an incorrect assessment, the blame lays at my feet, next to a pile of dead birds.

Empire has released a new quad poster for Dark Skies, and aside from the fact that the skies are actually covered up by a bunch of clouds (not exactly dark), it appears the film's bird motif is too strong to be left behind. A giant flock surrounds the house of the film’s lead characters, the Barrett family, and judging from what the previews tell us, these birds are probably all ready to drop in a synchronized bird thunderstorm upon the house below. Considering this is a film about aliens, it’s unclear why they’re keeping the promotions so ornithological. What does the poster below say to you?

Dark Skies tells the doom-laden story of a suburban family, Daniel (Josh Hamilton) and Lacy (Keri Russell) Barrett and their children Sam (Kadan Rockett) and Jesse (Dakota Goyo), whose lives are disrupted by a series of horrifying events, and long the way they discover that a deadly force is after them. Since most of the promotional interviews tell us that the central conflict involves aliens haunting their kids, it’s unclear why these ads are so one-dimensional. See for yourself if a bird in the sky is worth a few hundred in your yard when Dark Skies opens nationwide on February 22, 2013.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native, and is often asked why he doesn't sound like that's the case. His love for his wife and daughters is almost equaled by his love of gasp-for-breath laughter and gasp-for-breath horror. A lifetime spent in the vicinity of a television screen led to his current dream job, as well as his knowledge of too many TV themes and ad jingles.