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The Latest Viral News for Films and Beyond!

Skyline Review: Are Special Effects Enough To Make A Movie?

Dan Koelsch, November 13, 2010

The alien invasion thriller Skyline opened up this weekend, and the question on everyone’s mind was if special effects can replace big names, set pieces, and budget to make a convincing sci-fi film. Skyline definitely answers the question, though you may be surprised by the answer. Get the full review (with mild spoilers) after the break.

Skyline is directed by FX gurus (and brothers) Colin and Greg Strause, whose only previous directing gig was Aliens vs Predator: Requiem. After working on many sci-fi projects through their FX company Hydraulx, the brothers decided to see if they could make their own movie and on a tight budget. How tight? Only $10 million dollars. This was achieved mostly through using C-list or lower actors and a single set (Greg Strause’s condo building in Marina Del Rey, CA). They made up for it by doing over 800 VFX shots, taking the recent development of high concept films on low budgets to the extreme. But, does it make a good movie?


The film starts off on Day One of the attack. Couple Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and Elaine (Scottie Thompson) fly out to Los Angeles for their friend Terry’s (Donald Faison) birthday. Terry has made it big in Hollywood, so he lives in a Penthouse and has a pretty extreme party. After mostly everyone leaves for the night, they are woken up by bright blue lights decent from the sky. We find out that the light takes over your body and compels you to come out in open so “they” can snatch you. After the first wave, Jarrod, Elaine, and Terry, as well as Terry’s wife Candice (Brittany Daniels) and assistant Denise (Crystal Reed), have to figure out how to survive this horrible event.





The group eventually teams up with apartment employee Oliver (David Zayas) as the humans start to fight back on Day Two. The big ships in the sky aren’t the worse of what these things have to offer. These aliens are unique in that everything seems to be organic, including the ships themselves. There are several different types of aliens that go around hunting down any remaining humans, and all of them are menacing.


This movie is definitely intense. There are effects around every turn, and they all look great. This is how you make a small film look big, especially with the wide views of the Los Angeles landscape. The aliens are scary and gross, and their reason for coming looks to make sense at least on face value. Sure, the acting is only so-so, but when you have the start of an intergalatical war, big explosions and stealth bombers certainly make up for any flaws (including minor plot holes, continuity issues, and questionable dialogue/character choices).


Overall, I was actually impressed with Skyline. This could have been a trainwreck, but writers Joshua Cordes and Liam O’Donnell kept the story simple while the Strause brothers made the visuals stunning and massive. While the cliffhanger ending may upset some people (the bros are already working on a sequel), the final scene is truly badass.


Final Grade: B-

Reviews ReviewSkyline

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Comments (6)

  1. Kstoltz says:
    November 13, 2010 at 8:56 pm

    I trust you Dan, but….damn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEYlfmdvf5g&

  2. MovieViral.com says:
    November 14, 2010 at 3:11 am

    Haters gonna hate. I don’t know what people were expecting.

  3. Kstoltz says:
    November 14, 2010 at 5:20 am

    A romcom, from the looks of it.

  4. tenToesUp says:
    November 15, 2010 at 6:53 am

    Are Special Effects Enough To Make A Movie?

    NO!!! Not even close. This movie was occasionally beautiful, but utterly pathetic.

    The crowd and myself were openly mocking the film during the showing. What were supposed to be serious scenes incited laughter throughout the theater. The ending was almost identical in effect to district 9.

    $10.50 and two hours that I would love to have back!!!

  5. Kushbulove says:
    October 27, 2011 at 8:18 am

    I love this movie…….

  6. G Man says:
    June 28, 2012 at 2:14 pm

    Well just the fact that Hollywood calls a $10 million low tight budget itself is mind blowing. So what will people say about my supernatural action thriller “JACOB’S EYE” that I shot under $20K ? Here’s the teaser to it..I’m really curious to see what people think. Teaser:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTU5SaCpdyg&list=UUuLnmSxV3UmKySPMFwTW6nw&index=0&feature=plcp

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