Skyline

PLOT

Jarrod and his wife Elaine arrive in Los Angeles, California for Jarrod's best friend Terry's birthday party. They celebrate with Terry's wife, Candice, and his assistant, Denise. During a private argument about whether or not they should move, Elaine reveals she is pregnant.

The next morning, blue lights descend from the sky, hypnotizing anyone who looks at them. The light causes people to become zombie-like and immobilized; they are then collected by the light machines. Jarrod and Elaine's friend Ray is taken, but Jarrod is saved when Terry tackles him. He and Terry go to the condominium roof to investigate the lights but are attacked by one of hundreds of flying alien drones. As they attempt to open the rooftop door, Elaine quickly opens it from the other side, accidentally looks directly into the aliens' light and is hypnotized, but Jarrod and Terry are able to save her and close the door.

Back in the condominium, Terry looks for his neighbor Walt so they can all leave in Walt's car. As Terry and Walt are hiding, Walt's dog runs towards the creature and Walt tries to stop it but he gets abducted. Jarrod believes the open water would be a safer place, since there are no machines over the sea. They encounter a bickering couple, Colin and Jen, also preparing to flee the building. As Terry's car exits the garage, it is flattened by a massive four-legged alien, killing Denise. Terry escapes, but is abducted as he flees. The trio retreat into the garage, where they encounter another alien lifeform in the shape of a large multi-tentacled squid that takes Colin and corners the rest of the group before the building's concierge, Oliver, slams into it with an SUV and finds Colin alive. When they try to free him, the squid creature comes back to life, sucking out Colin's brain and regaining its energy. Jen joins the group, but is abducted as they run back into the building. The four survivors remain hiding in the condominium.

The next day, the United States Air Force launches an attack against the alien spaceship and flying alien drones using stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicles and conventional drone aircraft armed with air-to-air missiles (a "jet engine" powered MQ-9 Reaper). Only one stealth plane (an X-47B) pierces the carnage and fires a nuclear missile, hitting the mothership, before it is destroyed. The detonation blows the ship apart and kills the aliens, but Jarrod discovered the aliens have survived and the ship slowly begins to repair itself. After Jarrod tells Elaine that the alien light made him feel powerful, he is adamant that safety must be found outside. Oliver wants to stay inside and tries restraining him. Jarrod physically starts changing as he lifts Oliver off the floor and vows that he will protect his family.

Helicopters arrive with soldiers as Jarrod and Elaine go to the roof hoping to catch a ride to safety. Oliver and Candice stay in the condominium, but are found when Candice accidentally exposes herself to the light and is abducted. Afterwards, Oliver attempts to kill a tanker alien by turning on a gas stove and igniting a lighter, causing the room to explode. The soldiers are thrown off the roof by the aliens and a squid alien attacks Jarrod and Elaine; the badly injured Jarrod kills it. Amid the aliens, they accept their fate, look into the blue light, and are sucked into the mother ship. A brief montage shows that cities such as London, Hong Kong and New York City, have all succumbed to the invasion and the aliens appear to have won.

Inside the alien ship, Elaine wakes on a pile of human bodies. Tubes are sucking human brains into machines; probes go through the pile looking for what they can find. Elaine sees Jarrod in the pile but has to watch helplessly as his brain is removed. She is probed, but left alone since she is pregnant. Elaine is transported to another chamber where other pregnant women have been sent. Meanwhile, Jarrod's brain, glowing red instead of the usual aliens' blue, is inserted into a new alien body. Animating the alien body, Jarrod seems to retain control, and comes to the aid of Elaine and their unborn child. Elaine recognizes him when he caresses her belly and her head. He then turns around to confront advancing aliens, and in between the credits, a series of still images depict "Jarrod" protecting Elaine and their child from the aliens.

CAST

Eric Balfour as Jarrod

Scottie Thompson as Elaine

Brittany Daniel as Candice

Crystal Reed as Denise

Neil Hopkins as Ray

David Zayas as Oliver

Donald Faison as Terry

Robin Gammell as Walt

Tanya Newbould as Jen

J. Paul Boehmer as Colin

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

a sequel entitled Beyond Skyline, which was released in 2017. The third and last film in the trilogy, Skylines was released in December 2020.