The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

Described by director Mark Pellington as "a psychological mystery with naturally surreal overtones," The Mothman Prophecies begins like an ambitious episode of The X-Files. Richard Gere brings adequate torment, portent, and ambiguity to his role as a Washington Post reporter and grieving widower plagued by a mysterious, unseen urban legend known as the Mothman. Pellington develops subtle doom and gloom that's as effective as the paranoid streak he brought to Arlington Road. As the Mothman terrifies a West Virginia town, he remains an enigma, glimpsed almost subliminally. This--along with a magnificently creepy soundtrack--amplifies the movie's surreal overtones while keeping everything else (unsettling phone calls, prophesied disasters, suggestions of the afterlife) completely unexplained. With Laura Linney and Debra Messing in underdeveloped roles, The Mothman Prophecies feels a bit underdeveloped itself (and ends in desperate need of Mulder and Scully). But if you like your weirdness open-ended, this moody thriller's worth a look. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Yawn

Having always had an interest in psi phenomena, & having read many of Keel's books & essays in magazines, I wanted to see it to see if Hollywood could actually make a decent film of a genuinely interesting phenomenon- whether a true encounter with the unknown, or as myth-in-the-making. The film starts off in late 1999 with Washington Post political reporter John Klein (Gere- 1 of America's hammiest actors) & his wife Mary (Debra Messing from tv's `Will & Grace') looking to buy a house in the DC area. Driving home they are in an accident when Mary swerves off the road after having a vision of some red-eyed creature coming toward their car. She hits her head, is hospitalized, & found to have some tumor that could warp her perceptions. A few weeks later she dies. Gere weeps, but discovers his wife filled a notebook with the creature she saw- some dark angelic being. Gere is solemnity itself. 2 years pass & he's on his way south from DC to go to Richmond, Virginia to interview a possible Presidential candidate: the state's governor. Driving at night he somehow ends up 400 miles west of his destination- in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. His car breaks down & he knocks on the door of a house. Gordon & Denise Smallwood (Will Patton & Lucinda Jenney) answer. Gordon pulls a gun on John & holds him prisoner in his bathtub until town cop Connie Parker (Laura Linney) arrives. She convinces the Smallwoods to let John go. They claim he has harassed them the past few nights. Connie takes John to stay at a motel & the next day his car is towed, but turns out to be in perfect working order. Mysterious music & MTV-like film cuts intone this, & every hum-drum occasion.... This is a film too bad to be good & too good to be so bad it's good. DULL is the watchword, unless watching Richard Gere's Shatnerian reactions to a phone ringing is your idea of edge-of-the-seat horror. That Mothman never makes an appearance would be fine if the film gave us something else, or kept a mystery worth keeping- but nada. & this is perhaps the only `action' film I can recall where a gratuitous love story would have improved the tale. Laura Linney's Connie is the only character developed to any emotional or deep extent, or which induces any concern. She radiates a down-home sensuality, yet John never makes a move, even after saving her. Not even a peck on the cheek. Loser! September 19, 2008

Very Strange INDEED

This movie is based on an incident which actually occurred, but the film as presented isn't entirely accurate. What initially drew my interest is my fascination with cryptozoology and unusual, paranormal-type occurrences which appear to be completely unbelievable; however, something out of the ordinary IS going on. Richard Gere and Laura Linney play the lead roles superbly; the rest of the cast certainly make the film BELIEVABLE. The film moves along at a comfortable pace: Despite the bizarre nature of the story, one will not be left behind in confusion as the movie unfolds. (It might be best to say: "Let the movie come to you.") As many have written before in each person's review of MOTHMAN, it is indeed unlike any film one may have seen. What's more, it has been reported that a "mothman" like entity appeared in the Minneapolis area prior to the tragic bridge collapse within the last two years. This film IS worth the time to watch--perhaps two or three viewings might be necessary to grasp a highly mysterious tale. August 15, 2008

A satisfying film

I wouldn't categorize this as a horror/thriller or anything of the sort. It's a different type of movie and it's hard to really place it anywhere. It has a dramatic plot with an eerie supernatural element. Its more of a mystery. A pretty decent one at that. Supposedly based off some factual event, the film does a good job of keeping us in suspense and really keeps us guessing. If there really is something called the Mothman, then I really would not want anything to do with that.

The acting is quite fine, the score effective. It is nothing super extrodianary, but it does feel different than many other films in this genre, which is again, hard to really place. Never boring, it will keep your attention, but after it's all said and done, it is probably mostly forgettable. August 5, 2008

Don't bother with the movie; read the book!

This movie seems like a purposeful mangling of the Mothman story. The book is fascinating and would have made an excellent movie. It's too bad they didn't put the story in the movie, it could have been great. They should have set it in the time period when it really happened and not made it such a vague concept. It also had nothing to do with the investigator's wife; I don't even remember him mentioning a wife in the book. I was so disappointed in this movie. The book is great though! July 6, 2008

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES - An unusually fine horror film

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES was an outstanding five star horror film starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, and Debra Messing. This film was directed by Mark Pellington, edited by Brian Berdan and filmed under the direction of Fred Murphy. I mention these names because of the wonderful visual effects, great camera work and especially fine film editing which assisted the cast to relate the story. Last, but not least, the musical score is as original as it is strange and beautiful.

This film had outstanding acting, an absolutely great script and a well thought out plot. It was meticulously filmed, staged and edited which did not overwhelm the performance. Although it was not critically acclaimed, it was well received by fans and is one of the most visually expressive films I have ever watched.

While scarcely a documentary it is based on the collapse of the Point Pleasant Bridge. The plot involves a Washington Post reporter (Richard Gere playing John Klein) who is deeply in love with his new bride, her tragic and mystifying death and his exposure to dark forces that result when he is driven to leave town in despair.

One night while in a fit of depression he is drawn to Point Pleasant Virginia where several odd sightings of strange lights in the sky, and an inexplicable butterfly or moth like shape (Mothman) have been reported by a small but steadily growing number of people. More troubling is the fact that these folks are good townspeople, solid citizens and even local police, making it difficult to brush off reports as imagined. When this entity begins to make verbal communication it starts by saying "Be not afraid," and then goes on to make tragic predictions. Its last words are often "I will see you in time".

After being first drawn into this situation, Richards Gere's car gives out in the middle of a country road due to an electrical problem, conjuring up thoughts of X-Files UFO sightings, angelic or possibly demonic visitations. Once settled at a local motel he is bothered by several strange nocturnal phone calls, wrong numbers, un-requested wake up calls and ultimately hears via phone the voice of the mysterious Indrid Cold.

The reporter contacts a writer and expert on the subject who he learns was once a tenured professor of physics from Cornell. Alexander Leek describes his encounters with the Mothman starting with his receiving predicted disasters, trying to communicate warnings with the authorities and people at risk, being investigated, almost arrested, divorced, and estranged from his family. He last pleads with John Klein to back away from the situation. Mr. Leek made one last appeal saying "Do you know what four years in a psychiatric hospital can do to you? The real issue becomes which is more important, having proof or being alive?"

When asked on the phone by John Klein what the creature looks like it replies "It depends on who is looking". After the call the reporter brings a recording of the strange voice to a voice print analyst who determines that it was not produced by a human larynx as it is carried by too narrow a portion of the audio spectrum close to around 2000 Hz. The specialist identifies the voice as "artificial" (i.e., computer generated?).

After Indrid Cold convinces the reporter of his otherworldly nature he goes on to mysteriously predict the collapse of the Point Pleasant Bridge (something John Klein must put together for himself). Just when I was getting ready for the film to disappoint, the destruction of the bridge is convincingly presented in parallel with the telling of the remainder of the very mysterious plot.

The bridge collapse was I believe the result of skillful model and CGI work, and was exceptionally credible looking. Real world slow motion effects which amazed me included: reflected waves traveling along support cables when they were under tension and when relaxed, the flexing, yielding and rupture of ductile bridge structure, the realistic powdering and fragmenting of brittle materials (probably model work), falling massive segments of the bridge and submerged bridge structures and vehicles. In addition to being very realistic it was very artistically done, including the final scenes of vehicles under bridge debris on the river bottom with headlights still on, producing a strange otherworldly visual effect of blue light beams in the water.

In short, after the movie had delivered on every level it went on to provide during the last five minutes some of the most thrilling and realistic special effects I have ever watched. Many of the screen effects provide fleeting glimpses of the mothman, snatches of a strange face in a door mirror, or the fine detail of the morphing shape of a moth reflected in the pupil of a human eye. These hand crafted images hold up during slow scan and were often too subtle to be noticed on the first viewing.

If we can believe the reports, Mothman sightings have been taking place all over the world in areas of great tragedy and loss of life, including Chernobyl. While none of these sightings have been accompanied by verbal communication, the reports alone were sufficient for many of us to suspend disbelief and allow the story to take us along with it. This great movie is a must see for all fans of the paranormal who appreciate a fine film. I place this movie on a par with the production of JACOB'S LADDER and THE (original) HAUNTING.
June 8, 2008

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