THE SKY HAS FALLEN (2009)

Directed/Written by Doug Roos.
Check out the trailer here!!

Here’s another film that has barely over an hour of running time but would have worked so much more effectively as a short 30-minute film. Filled with some decent action scenes and some genuinely creepy and downright scary scenes of monsters, aliens, and terrifying darks, THE SKY HAS FALLEN takes the well tread road of post-apocalyptic lore and fills it with some very nice moments.

The actors in this film are trying their damnedest to be at their most serious. Not a smile is cracked in this film as a man in black with a pair of pistols which never run out of bullets and a samurai sword (Lance played by Carey MacLaren) and a woman in peril (Rachel played by Laurel Kemper) meet in a forest on the run from pustule ridden diseased zombies, shadowy aliens, and a white robed alien leader. Well, they run from these monstrosities until they stand and fight. And they do stand and fight. Often. In fact, there are more than three segments of the man in black and the woman in peril slashing and blasting zombies and aliens which look impressive (especially since all of the fight scenes involve bucketloads of blood and close ups of slashes, bullet wounds, and gouges), but ultimately feel repetitious and dull, especially since the actors and the monsters move so slow while doing them.

The effects here are damn good. The action scenes make sure to zoom in on every slice, slash, and pierce the swords and bullets inflict. Though this effects showcase does slow the narrative down to a screeching halt, it looks good while doing so. But narrative wise, the whole story of THE SKY HAS FALLEN is light. Each of the two survivors has a story. Each has had to endure much as the alien zombie plague hit. Each is distrustful of the other. Making each not very interesting as they divulge their secrets, their insecurities, and inner thoughts in a monotone and flat delivery of lines numerous times throughout the story.

Though the narrative shambles, writer/director Doug Roos does a fantastic job establishing a sense of unease and terror. There is a scene where Rachel reads from a journal which is probably one of the most effective in the film as it tells the tale of a mother protecting her daughter then watching her succumb to the plague. Another recount of the first night of the alien zombie attack is filled with moody moments and punctuated by some extremely scary jump scares. The action scenes are well framed and if the actors in them weren’t moving so slow, the pacing of the scene itself is great considering the low budget.

In the end, THE SKY HAS FALLEN is filled with the familiar but plays out in a pretty great way. With some better actors, a more substantial script, and maybe a decision to speed up the action scenes a frame or two per minute, Doug Roos has a pretty good film here. Roos shows enough talent in the script and a few key scare scenes to make me very interested in what he has in store for us next. Though THE SKY HAS FALLEN is short (just around an hour long), I think some nips and tucks here and there would make this into an extremely effective and intense 30-minute horror film.