10 Best Alien Abduction Horror Movies

Scott Stewart's sci-fi horror centres around the Barrett family, who find themselves bombarded by unexplained phenomena. Hundreds of birds crash into their home without explanation. The house alarm activates, indicating every entry point in the house has been broken into... at the same time. And when the mother appears outside her home with no recollection how she got there, she starts to believe an outside force is responsible.

What makes Dark Skies stand out is how it plays out like a haunted house story with a sci-fi twist. In fact, there's no indication the culprit behind these infractions came from space until later in the story. This vagueness works in the film's favour since the Barretts have no idea what they're up against, further emphasising their helplessness.

Despite the hammy dialogue and thinly written characters, the actors have little trouble elevating the material with their performances (especially JK Simmons, who plays an exposition-dumping ufologist).

Although jump-scares have a bad reputation, Dark Skies gets away with them, since they're innovative, uncliched, and above all, scary.

Also, the intruders' methods of messing with the Barretts are so creative, you'll be left wondering what the aliens are going to pull out next.