The malicious alien race known as "the Greys" caused chaos for the Barrett family in Dark Skies' cliffhanger of an ending. The mysterious creatures descended on the family with no rhyme or reason, making them a truly terrifying group of villains.
The Blumhouse movie is a callback to the alien invasion sub-genre. The film follows Lacy and Daniel Barrett, who live an unassuming life with their sons, Jesse and Sam, out in the suburbs. Strange events begin to plague the Barrett family, and they eventually realize something sinister and otherworldly is to blame. Lacy and Daniel go to extreme measures to protect their sons and stop the aliens terrorizing their family.
The film's ending shows that the Barretts are ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts to save their family from an alien invasion, as the Greys abduct a member of their family. However, in a clever twist, instead of taking the youngest, Sam, as viewers were led to believe was going to happen, they chose Jesse. Their chaotic and unexplained presence in the Barretts' lives makes for a truly chilling finale. Here's a look at everything that happens in Dark Skies' ending.
Who Are The Greys In Dark Skies?
For a portion of the movie, the Greys are simply just a theory. Once Lacy becomes unbearably scared and perplexed by the strange happenings in their home, her research leads her to believe that an alien invasion is responsible for what they're experiencing. She and Daniel tracks down expert Edwin Pollard, who confirms her fears. He informs them that the Greys are a race of tall, sinister creatures hellbent on abducting children. They torment their victims by invading their bodies before making their final move.
Pollard has proof of the Greys' existence, but is unclear as to why they insist on abducting children. That lack of motive on the Greys' part adds a truly frightening factor to Dark Skies. There's nothing scarier than a villain without a motive, which makes them truly unpredictable. The fact that the Greys are supernatural beings capable of controlling human bodies makes them one of the scarier antagonists in recent Blumhouse movies.
What Happened to Jesse in Dark Skies' Ending?
As Sam is the first person in the family to experience strange occurrences, Lacy and Daniel are convinced he is the child that the Greys are targeting, but they are sorely mistaken. Dark Skies' final act sees Lacy and Daniel preparing for their final stand against the Greys, giving it everything they have to protect their youngest son. The aliens end up invading their home, luring Jesse away from his parents' protection, and abduct him before their eyes. It's a twist that was slyly set up with a throwaway moment. Lacy casually tells clients of hers that her oldest son was constantly sick as child, and Pollard later tells Lacy and Daniel that strange and unexplained illnesses or allergies are a sign that the Greys have their hold on a child. They were just so convinced it was Sam, they missed the clue.
After Jesse's abduction, Dark Skies jumps ahead three months in time. The Barretts are blamed for Jesse's disappearance, so they pack up and start over in a new home. Lacy mournfully pours over Jesse's childhood drawings, noticing that Jesse clearly had been drawing the Greys years ago. Just as she makes that connection, static comes on Sam's walkie-talking, and Jesse's panicked voice calls to his brother.
The film abruptly ends after Jesse makes contact, but it was clearly no accident that he reached his family. Dark Skies demonstrated that the Greys enjoy tormenting their victims; they freely invaded the Barretts' bodies and left enough marks on the boys to cause concern to neighbors that Daniel and Lacy were harming their sons. Dangling an out-of-sight Jesse in front of the Barretts with no hope of retrieving him is on par for the Greys, which is why they made such effective villains in Dark Skies.