As some people have extreme cravings for chocolate, I have my own cravings for horror films. Filling my craving, I watched “Dark Skies,” directed and written by Scott Stewart, producer of “Sinister,” “Paranormal Activity,” and “Insidious.”

Daniel (Josh Hamilton) and Lacy Barrett (Keri Russell) live the quiet suburban life with their two sons, Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and Sam (Kadan Rockett). They’re a normal family with everyday problems like trying to pay bills as Daniel is unsuccessfully job hunting, and Lacy can’t make a house sale. Suddenly, their life is turned into a chain of extremely unusual events that can only be explained as supernatural occurrences.

After “Dark Skies” was released on Feb. 22, the only things I knew about the movie were from the trailer and the previews from Cinemark online. Since it’s a sci-fi/horror film written by the man who brought us the twisted movie, “Sinister,” this film has great potential to be a hit in the box office. The plot of the movie is put together well until the ending. A successful plot for a scary movie would certainly be considered one to keep on his or her toes the whole time, and this film did that. “Dark Skies” started off slowly considering it introduced the family through their common lives. Nothing suspenseful happened until a third into the movie. Once the strange events happened to the Barretts, the movie quickened its pace. It has consistent suspenseful occurrences to create a very thrilling movie. In the last thirty minutes of the film Stewart threw in a huge unexpected twist in the ending, which created a gasping response from the audience in the theaters.

The actors and actresses did fantastic jobs at making the movie extremely realistic. Hamilton played his role as the stressed out, unemployed husband and father looking for a new job while trying to take care of his family and pay for the bills. He didn’t seem overly desperate in character, which would be hard in that role. Russell did well in acting as the working wife and mother, trying to make up for her unemployed husband. Her character was well thought-out with how she responded to what strange things were happening to her family. Both of the young boys acted exactly how I would see young brothers. Jesse takes care of Sam, teases him, and etc. The boys also played into their roles very well in the fact that they made the movie creepier, especially when Sam says the “Sandman” visits him at night.

For the most part, the movie came together nicely and had more advantageous features than disadvantageous. The characters worked out perfectly and realistically, as well as the music and sound effects, which make a great impact on the tone of the movie. Despite the slow beginning, the movie was well worth seeing, and hopefully you don’t get visited by the “Sandman.”