Skyline (2010)

Jarrod and his pregnant girlfriend Elaine travel to Los Angeles to meet his old friend and successful entrepreneur Terry, and his wife Candice. Terry gives a party in his apartment for ... See full summary »

Directors:

Colin Strause, Greg Strause

Writers:

Joshua Cordes, Liam O'Donnell

Stars:

Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, Brittany Daniel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eric Balfour	...	Jarrod
Scottie Thompson	...	Elaine
Brittany Daniel	...	Candice
Crystal Reed	...	Denise
Neil Hopkins	...	Ray
David Zayas	...	Oliver
Donald Faison	...	Terry
Robin Gammell	...	Walt
Tanya Newbould	...	Jen
J. Paul Boehmer	...	Colin
Phet Mahathongdy	...	Airplane Mom / Bartender (as Phet Mahathongdy O'Donnell)
Byron McIntyre	...	Limo Driver
Jackie Marin	...	Girl in Pool
Tony Black	...	Guy at Party
Eliza Till	...	Girl at Party

Storyline

Jarrod and his pregnant girlfriend Elaine travel to Los Angeles to meet his old friend and successful entrepreneur Terry, and his wife Candice. Terry gives a party in his apartment for Jarrod and offers a job position to him in LA. Terry's assistant and lover Denise (Crystal Reed) and his friend Ray (Neil Hopkins) sleep on the couch in the living room, but in the dawn of the next morning, the group is awakened by mysterious beams of blue light. Ray stares at the light and is taken by the mysterious force. The group of friends try to escape from the alien invaders.

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Plot Keywords:

light | drawing | apartment | party | blue light | 

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Taglines:

If you think you can hide...if you think you can resist...if you think you can survive...You haven't seen the light.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, some language, and brief sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Skyline: La invasión

Filming Locations:

Cove Condominiums - 13650 Marina Pointe Drive, Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£513,338 (UK) (19 November 2010)

Gross:

$21,371,425 (USA) (17 December 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rogue, Hydraulx, Transmission Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are over 800 VFX shots in the film, more than most franchise tent poles.

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Goofs

When Terry pulls back the blinds and says "There's something down there," the camera cuts to a foggy street. One of the giant aliens is visible for about 2 seconds, but the aliens don't actually arrive until later in the movie.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Elaine: [a bright blue light shines through the blinds and the bed shakes] Oh, how's it morning already?

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Connections

Followed by Skyline 2

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Soundtracks

"WHERE MY MONEY AT"
Written by Ryan Montgomery and Nicholas Warwar
Performed by Royce Da 5'9"
Courtesy of Make It Count Records and Gracie Productions

User Reviews

Great Effects, Godawful Script

First, let's work on some maths: "Skyline" is an alien invasion flick that has a touted US$10 million budget! This amount is a shoestring for an alien attack film - it is not even enough to pay the salary of an A-list star! So now you can do the maths and understand why there are no big stars here.

If you had seen the trailer you might have been impressed by the CGI effects of the tentacled UFOs. This is probably where all the money have gone. Everything else, from its lame script and B-grade TV stars to its sets, are all hotch-potch and downright rudimentary. It is an exploitation film that seems destined for DVD.

Synopsis: After a night of heavy partying at a posh condo in Los Angeles, a bunch of friends are awakened in the early hours by mysterious beams of light from the skyline. Those who gaze on the light get entranced - like moths to a flame and get 'burnt up'. Yup, the alien ships have landed and the survivors at the condo unit, Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and his fiancée (Scottie Thompson, pictured below with Balfour), and their friends Terry (Donald Faison of TV's "Scrubs") and Candice (Brittany Daniel) must find a way to escape the aliens' grasp. But where can they run? There are so many things wrong with the movie that I don't know where to begin. The film, directed by the Brothers Strause who did the effects for "The X-FIles", centres the action inside the condo unit so much that we get the impression that LA is deserted and the only folks left are those in the half-empty building. No attempt is made to show the scope of the 'body snatching' and its effects on the millions of other city-dwellers.

Next, the main characters are being portrayed as such selfish and unsavoury people that we root for the aliens to take them away. This may be because the writers have not bothered to flesh out their backgrounds, except for a few predictable turns. The only one who comes on as real is David Sayas (of TV's "Dexter" fame) who plays the building supervisor. Also, the dialogue is lame and clichéd. The writers must have had the notion that audience interest can be sustained if they have the characters yell at one another.

There's no doubt that Strause brothers provide exhilarating special effects - but they need to work on getting a good story to go with their CGI magic. Otherwise it is just a damn waste.