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Beyond Skyline
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| Beyond Skyline | |
|---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Liam O'Donnell |
| Written by | Liam O'Donnell |
| Based on | Characters by Joshua Cordes Liam O'Donnell |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Christopher Probst |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Nathan Whitehead |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Vertical Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $14 million[1] |
| Box office | $992,181 [2][3] |
Beyond Skyline is a 2017 American science fiction action film written, co-produced and directed by Liam O'Donnell in his directorial debut. It stars Frank Grillo, Bojana Novakovic, Jonny Weston, Iko Uwais, Callan Mulvey, Yayan Ruhian, Pamelyn Chee, Betty Gabriel, and Antonio Fargas. It is the sequel to the 2010 film Skyline and the second installment in the Skyline film series, set concurrently with the events of the first film.
The film was released on December 15, 2017, in the United States by Vertical Entertainment. Unlike its critically panned predecessor, Beyond Skyline received mixed reviews, with several critics calling it an improvement over the original.
Plot
[edit]Mark Corley, a Los Angeles police detective, helps his estranged son, Trent, out of jail just as an alien invasion begins.[a] Much of the city's population is taken up into various spaceships by a blue light. Mark leads a group of surviving humans through underground subway tunnels to escape, though most of the humans are killed or abducted. The survivors, Mark, Trent, transit operator Audrey, and homeless man "Sarge" (who is immune to the blue light due to his blindness), escape to the marina following the city's nuclear destruction, only to be abducted into the alien flagship.
On board, Mark tries to find his son and storms his way into various chambers, where he meets up with survivor Elaine and her transformed husband Jarrod.[b] Elaine explains that Jarrod retains control of his mind despite being transformed into a bio-mechanical alien soldier. Though Elaine is only three months pregnant, her pregnancy has accelerated and she gives birth to a daughter.
Elaine dies during the delivery, and Mark and Jarrod team up to destroy the ship by setting alien explosives inside the control systems. When Jarrod is killed fighting the alien leader, Mark rescues Audrey but is too late to save his son. Trent has his brain taken and placed in another alien bio-mechanical machine creature. The dying Jarrod destroys the ship, which crashes in rural Laos.
Mark, Audrey, Sarge and the baby escape from the spaceship which starts to repair itself. Sarge dies from his wounds shortly after the group meets Sua and his sister Kanya, who belong to a drug cartel and fight against both aliens and local rogue ex-policemen bandits. While trekking through the jungle, they discover that the human baby grows at an accelerated rate, from an infant into a three-year-old in just one day. Sua and Kanya lead the rest to a hidden human resistance hideout located in local ruins. In addition, the leader of the rogue policemen, Huana, intercepts them but is disarmed and captured by Sua.
Harper, a medical officer and former drug chemist, examines the baby girl and learns about her unique DNA. He believes her blood may be the key to defeating the aliens. Using the child's blood and recovered alien technology, Harper develops the serum that he believes will free the bio-mechanical soldiers from alien control and restore their human personalities.
While on a patrol, Kanya encounters an alien and sacrifices herself by luring it into an old minefield left over from the Vietnam War. The ensuing explosion destroys the alien, but gives away their location to the ships searching for the baby. They converge on the human base. During the resulting battle, several members of the resistance are killed, including Harper. Mark enters an alien ship and uses his serum to turn the mind-controlling blue light into a red light that frees the mind-controlled soldiers. Before he can deploy it, the aliens attack and rip out the cannon containing the light. Sua frees a jailed Huana so that he can fight for the resistance. Mark, Audrey, Sua and Huana then make a last stand to fight back the aliens.
Trent, his mind restored after encountering his father, also fights back. During the battle, the child fixes the cannon, which Trent uses to kill the alien leader and release the red light, freeing the bio-mechanical soldiers. With Earth saved, Audrey names the girl Rose after Mark's deceased wife.
Ten years later, Rose, now a fully-grown adult, has taken control of an alien ship, and Trent is her second-in-command. Rose leads freed bio-mechanical soldiers and humans in an assault on the other alien ships around the Moon, including the mothership.
Cast
[edit]- Frank Grillo[4] as Mark Corley, a detective, Trent's father, and Rose's adoptive father.
- Bojana Novakovic as Audrey, an LA transit worker.
- Jonny Weston as Trent Corley, Mark’s estranged son and Rose's adoptive brother.[5]
- Callan Mulvey as Harper, a doctor of the human resistance.
- Iko Uwais as Sua, the leader of an underground human resistance.[6]
- Pamelyn Chee as Kanya, the sister of Sua.
- Yayan Ruhian[7] as Huana, a militia leader.
- Betty Gabriel as Jones, an LA cop.
- Antonio Fargas as Sarge, a blind homeless man.
- Jacob Vargas as Garcia, a police officer and friend of Mark.
- Lindsey Morgan as Captain Rose, leader of the resistance, Mark's adoptive daughter, and Trent's adoptive sister and daughter of the late Jarrod and Elaine.
- Samantha Jean as Elaine, a captive woman and the biological mother of Rose. (originally played by Scottie Thompson in the previous Skyline film)
- Tony Black as Jarrod in a flashback. (originally played by Eric Balfour in the previous Skyline film)
Production
[edit]In November 2014, Variety announced that Iko Uwais would join the cast, alongside Frank Grillo, Bojana Novakovic, and Yayan Ruhian. Liam O’Donnell wrote the script for the film, also wrote the script for the first film, will now direct as well as produce with Greg and Colin Strause serving as producers also.[8][dubious – discuss] The Strause Brothers were the directors of the first film, Skyline. Matthew Chausse will also produce. Uwais and Ruhian will also serve as fight choreographers on the film.[7]
The film's visual effects and production were done by Hydraulx.[9]
Filming
[edit]Principal photography began in December 2014, with shooting in Yogyakarta and Batam, Indonesia. and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[10][11][6][12] The finale of the film was shot in the Indonesian Prambanan temple complex, though the script suggests that it is located in Laos.[13][14]
Release
[edit]The first film had a PG-13 rating but the sequel was given an R rating by the MPAA. On Alien Day 2017, set photos were released to show what the aliens in Beyond Skyline looked like for the sequel. The first trailer was released on August 16, 2017. The film premiered at Sitges Film Festival October 8, 2017. The film went on to screen at several genre film festivals including Toronto After Dark, Trieste Science+Fiction, Austin Other Worlds, Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival, Rio Grind Vancouver, and was the closing night film at the inaugural Cinepocalypse in Chicago on November 9. Beyond Skyline was released on VOD and Digital on December 15, 2017, and on DVD and Blu-Ray on January 8, 2018.[15]
Reception
[edit]This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2018) |
As of May 2025[update], the film holds a 70% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews with an approval rating of 5.50 out of 10.[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[17]
Sequels
[edit]A third film, Skylines, again directed by O'Donnell and produced by the Strause brothers, was released on December 18, 2020.
In January 2024, it was announced XYZ Films had acquired the international rights to the fourth Skyline film, titled Skyline: Warpath.[18]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "TSkylines' Breaks Barriers in Sci-Fi Screenwriting". blog.finaldraft.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "Beyond Skyline". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
- ^ "Beyond Skyline (2017) - Financial Information".
- ^ Kristy Puchko (November 2014). "Skyline Is Definitely Getting A Sequel, Here's Who Is Starring". Cinema Blend. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ Sean Decker (March 11, 2015). "Exclusive: Jonny Weston Joins Beyond Skyline". Dread Central. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ a b James White (November 9, 2014). "Frank Grillo Goes Beyond Skyline". Empire Online. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ a b Brent Lang (November 8, 2014). "'Raid' Star Iko Uwais Joins 'Beyond Skyline'". Variety. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ Kevin Jagernauth (November 7, 2014). "Casting: Frank Grillo To Lead 'Skyline' Sequel, Noomi Rapace Has A 'Price' & More". Indie Wire. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ Carolyn Giardina (June 25, 2014). "VFX House Hydraulx Aims to Expand Business Model With Production Services". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ Frank Grillo (December 21, 2014). "Me and my boy #ikoUlwais #BEYONDSKYLINE Gonna miss beating the shit out of each other. #brother". Frank Grillo's Verified Twitter. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ Bojana Novakovic (December 22, 2014). "Shhh. The set's asleep. #BeyondSkyline @ Prambanan Temple, Yogyakarta, Indonesia". Bojana Novakovic's Verified Twitter. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
- ^ Howard, Kirsten (December 13, 2017). "Liam O'Donnell interview: Skyline, Beyond Skyline". denofgeek.com. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
... Once we landed Frank [Grillo] in the fall of 2014, we had to shoot pretty quickly because he had so many other projects in his schedule. So we started production in December...we finished everything in Toronto, the only place in North America you can shoot on real subway tracks, in May 2015.
- ^ Wira, Ni Nyoman (November 1, 2017). "Uwais-Ruhiyan duo at it again in 'Beyond Skyline'". thejakartapost.com. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
The film was shot in Toronto in Canada, and Batam and Yogyakarta in Indonesia, including at Prambanan temple.
- ^ Knight, Jacob (December 19, 2017). "BEYOND SKYLINE Review: Frank Grillo Destroys All Monsters". birthmoviesdeath.com. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
...cinematographer Christopher Probst (Mindhunter) stops to admire the fact that he's shooting a good chunk of this movie in Indonesia (standing in for Laos)... setting the humans' final stand against this invading, grey matter sucking horde on the steps of Yogyakarta's Prambanan Temples.
- ^ ""Beyond Skyline" A Corner Harder: Aliens Attack with R Rating". Movie Jones. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ^ "Beyond Skyline (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
- ^ "Beyond Skyline Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (January 16, 2024). "XYZ Picks Up U.S. Rights To Martial Arts Alien Invasion Pic 'Skyline: Warpath' Starring Iko Uwais & Scott Adkins; First Look Images Revealed". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
External links
[edit]Beyond Skyline
View on GrokipediaPlot and characters
Plot
The film opens amid an alien invasion of Los Angeles, where massive motherships emit hypnotic blue beams that abduct countless humans, echoing the events of the prior Skyline film. Mark Corley, a Los Angeles police detective, helps his estranged son, Trent, out of jail just as the invasion begins. Mark leads a group of surviving humans, including transit operator Audrey and blind homeless man Sarge (immune to the beams due to his blindness), through underground subway tunnels to escape, though most are killed or abducted. The survivors reach the marina following the city's nuclear destruction but are ultimately abducted into the alien flagship.[5][6] Aboard the enormous ship, Mark searches for Trent and allies with fellow abductees Audrey, Sarge, and survivor Elaine, evading grotesque alien creatures and navigating the labyrinthine interior. Their exploration reveals the aliens' horrific process of harvesting human brains to fuel biomechanical hybrids and weaponry, including the discovery of Jarrod—the survivor from the Skyline invasion—who has been transformed into a powerful hybrid, his mind partially intact. Elaine, three months pregnant, gives accelerated birth to a hybrid daughter but dies during delivery. Mark and Jarrod team up, setting alien explosives in the control systems. Jarrod is killed fighting the alien leader, but in his dying act destroys the ship, causing it to crash-land in rural Laos, where Mark rescues Audrey but learns too late that Trent's brain has been extracted and placed into a biomechanical machine creature.[6][1] Mark, Audrey, Sarge, and the baby escape the self-repairing wreckage. Sarge dies from wounds, and the group meets Sua and his sister Kanya, members of a local drug cartel fighting aliens and rogue ex-policemen bandits. They trek through the jungle, where the baby grows rapidly from infant to three-year-old in one day, and reach a hidden human resistance hideout in local ruins. The bandit leader Huana is captured. Medical officer Harper, a former drug chemist, examines the child—named Rose after Mark's deceased wife—and determines her unique DNA and blood could defeat the aliens. Using Rose's blood and recovered alien technology, Harper develops a serum to free biomechanical soldiers from alien control and restore their human minds.[1][6] Kanya sacrifices herself luring an alien into a Vietnam War minefield, alerting alien ships searching for Rose. The aliens attack the base, killing several resistance members including Harper. Mark injects the serum into an alien ship, turning the mind-control blue light red to free soldiers. The aliens rip out the light cannon, but Sua frees Huana to fight. Mark, Audrey, Sua, and Huana make a last stand. Trent, his mind restored upon encountering Mark, fights back. Rose repairs the cannon, which Trent uses to kill the alien leader and release the red light, freeing the hybrids and saving Earth. Audrey names the child Rose.[6][1] Ten years later, the adult Rose has taken control of an alien ship, with Trent as her second-in-command, leading freed biomechanical soldiers and humans in an assault on the remaining alien ships, including the mothership, around the Moon.Cast
The principal cast of Beyond Skyline features Frank Grillo in the lead role of Mark Corley, a determined Los Angeles detective searching for his abducted son.[7] Bojana Novakovic portrays Audrey, a resourceful transit operator who aids Mark.[7] Jonny Weston plays Trent Corley, Mark's estranged teenage son.[7]| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Iko Uwais | Sua, the leader of a local resistance group |
| Callan Mulvey | Harper, a medical officer |
| Yayan Ruhian | The Chief, a fierce local fighter |

