‘Dark Skies’ Trailer: ‘Paranormal Activity’ With Aliens?

You've got to hand it to Blumhouse Pictures: they sure know how to sell and open a horror movie. Between the 'Paranormal Activity' films, 'Insidious' and 'Sinister,' producer Jason Blum is currently leading the horror movie pack, creating the trends that everyone else in the industry is following. The next film to be released by his company looks like it's cut from the same cloth as the rest, but with one big change -- the ghosts and demons have been replaced with aliens.

The feature debut of special effects veteran Scott Chales Stewart, 'Dark Skies' appears to follow the template of past Blumhouse productions. You've got a normal family in a seemingly normal home. You've got a kid who starts to act a little odd. You'e got bumps in the night and other creepy shenanigans. Heck, you've even got the aging expert who's called in to figure out what's going on (played here by the tremendous JK Simmons). Of course, the fact that it's aliens instead of something more mythologically supernatural is a twist on the formula, but let's face it: they've found a formula that works and they're sticking to it.

But hey, at least the trailer is pretty scary! If any of the creepiness in the two minute preview translates to the finished film, no one is going to care if the set-up is derivative. It's been a long time since we've had a truly frightening alien invasion movie, so we're ready for one. The ball's in your court, 'Dark Skies'!