The Mothman Prophecies | | Cast : | Richard Gere, Laura Linney | | Director : | Mark Pellington | | Studio : | Columbia Tristar Hom | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | January 25, 2002 | | DVD Released Date : | May 04, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 09, 2005 | | Summary | The lead character in this supernatural thriller... | Content
 | ...is peculiar abstract, and this is the kind of movie who claims your attention. There's no obvious plot, it is very mysterious and quiet between a few minor "shockers" that will make you jump in your seat.
Is it a good thriller?
Yes, if you're a fan of the genre -and you're a bit patient. If you need something to happen often in a movie not to bore you out, this might be something you should stay away from -personally I found it very intense, well acted and produced. But it is different. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 10, 2005 | | Summary | The strange events that happen around the MOTHMAN Legend... | Content
| I am intrigued by stories of unexplained phenomenon. When hundreds of people from different locales who have never met each other all describe the same, strange thing that cannot be explained...it makes you wonder what else is out there. A perfect example of this is the legend around the MOTHMAN.
Based on a book by paranormal investigator John Keel, this spooky, X-Files-type supernatural thriller is purportedly based loosely on true events that occurred in the small town of Point Pleasant, WV, in 1966-1967. Richard Gere stars as journalist John Klein, an up-and-coming reporter devastated by the death of his beloved wife Mary (Debra Messing) following a car accident. Mary saw a mysterious vision immediately before the crash, a haunting image of a moth-like creature. Two years later, Klein is driving to an interview with the governor of Virginia when he suddenly finds himself hundreds of miles out of his way in a small town on the West Virginia-Ohio border. He discovers that strange events are occurring there, including sightings of the "mothman," as well as UFOs and bizarre alien-like telephone calls. Klein stays to investigate, despite the protests of skeptical cop Connie Parker (Laura Linney) and the initial hostility of spooked local Gordon (Will Patton). He soon discovers that sightings of the mothman are historical portents of doom and disaster, omens that may foretell a terrible cataclysm about to strike Point Pleasant. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 29, 2005 | | Summary | True to the book, not the supposed real-life monster | Content
| Mothman supposedly existed and was a creature that scared several people in the 60's. A book was written about the moral and supernatural angles of these sightings. This film is based on that book, not so much the creature itself, and as a result this is not an accurate horror/monster movie but instead a decent but disappointing supernatural thriller.
Having thoroughly read the history of the alleged titular creature, Mothman, I was at first quite disappointed in this film. The real case dealt with people who were supposedly chased by a tall, bird-like man creature with glowing red eyes and incredible speed. The creature did strange things like flying without flapping its wings, and it sounded like a woman screaming. The case, never officially solved, allegedly involved UFOs, although barely a legitimate link to them was made.
Instead of being based on these things, the film is more directly based on a book of the same name, which itself was more of a hypothetical study of what Mothman may mean and represent. A focal point in the film is how the sighting of the monster allegedly preceded disasters. In actuality, the creature was only scantily reported to have been seen around the Ohio river bridge when it collapsed in the late 60s. The film showed this collapse and is its finest scene. But then it adds extra mysterious details to the event, such as Mothman's ability to make people dream such an event before it happened, etc. This is an example of the film being based on the more glamorous ideas in the book instead of focusing on the facts of the case itself, which were far more interesting and would have made for a more frightening movie.
The movie is, however, well done. It takes itself seriously, is well acted, and features very good mood music and ambience. It sets the mood, leading up to some great scenes such as one in which the main character talks with the alleged creature on the phone. It's creepy stuff, but scenes like that are all too rare in this film. It had a lot of promise and was well done, but I had my hopes up for more of a thriller along the lines of the Sixth Sense, which was well written and acted but still had its fair share of visual chills. As it stands, the Mothman Prophecies is good, and I give it credit for getting a lot of facts and references to the actual case correct. But I was hoping for something much more based on the incidents as they were reported, as opposed to an opinionated book that merely theorized what may have really happened. If you liked the movie at all, I suggest you look up the actual Mothman case and see if you're more interested, as I am, in the supposed real-life creature of 60's West Virginia |
| Rating | | | Date | March 29, 2005 | | Summary | Look--in the sky--it's a bird! It's a plane! It's--MOTHMAN! | Content
| In the dizzyingly action-packed tradition of "Spider-Man" and "The Hulk", "The Mothman Prophecies" is the fast-paced story of the reclusive Mothman, a gossamer-caped crimefighter who swoops down on the Forces of Evil from his secret underground base in the hills of West Virginia.
OK, OK, I'm kidding. That's not what the movie is about, I just couldn't help myself.
Alright now: "The Mothman Prophecies" is a tastily creepy little mood piece that takes hearty helpings of conspiracy theory, precognition, UFO abductions, hauntings from beyond the grave, and Men in Black, throws them in a big cauldron, stirs and seasons with plenty of dark, brooding, atmosphere, and serves it up with a whallop.
And what a whallop! If you're looking for 8-foot tall Mothmen swooping down from the trees and carrying of their screaming victims, then you should look elsewhere, because that's not what this deliciously spooky film is all about. But "The Mothman Prophecies" snuck up on me, whalloped me with its unrelenting creepiness, and left me confused, spooked, and wanting more, and really---what more can you ask of a film?
"Mothman" centers on the strange adventure of its grieving widower hero John Klein (played---erm, affably by Richard Geere), a Washington Post reporter and political analyst. Two years after his wife dies of a brain tumor following a mysterious car accident, he is dispatched to Virginia to interview the governor. Four hours later, his car breaks down on a lonely stretch of rural road, his watch stops, and, afflicted with a strong case of the creeps, he walks up the road to get help at a nearby house.
That's when things in "The Mothman Prophecies" take a wonderful little detour for the Strange.
The man who comes to the door of the first house Gere comes to greets him with a surly "that's him again" and a shotgun---and seconds later, Gere finds himself huddled inside Gordon Smallwood's (played to distracted perfection by fine veteran character actor Will Patton) shower, held at gunpoint. When policewoman Connie Parker (played inquisitively by Laura Linney) arrives, the shoe drops hard: Gere has been knocking on Smallwood's door for three nights in a row. Oh, and instead of being in the middle of Virginia, he's in Point Pleasant, West Virginia---400 miles from where he should have been.
Director Mark Pellington takes this fine start and just keeps ratcheting up the creepiness from there; not a single second of the film's running time is wasted, and Pellington crafts an atmosphere of impending dread, doom, and general menace. And he's got some good material to draw on: "Mothman" is based on the book by John Keel (who wrote the screenplay), which deals with events that actually took place in 1966 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
So what do you get for your money? You get roughly 100 minutes of sheer, spooky creepiness, with very little gore---and this movie doesn't need it. When I finished "Mothman Prophecies" and crawled into bed, for the first time I noticed just how easily the shadows in my bedroom could cloak---well, something big, something Mothlike. Brrr....
You get Richard Gere, who in this film, anyway, is no great shakes. He has two expressions: Affably confused, or Confusedly affable. But it's alright, and it works for the most part. Laura Linney is a curious choice; sympathetic, but always appearing as if she's on the edge of revealing something. Patton plays his Gordon with a nice broth of simmering paranoia and kookiness, and steals the show. English actor Alan Bates has a hammy turn as Dr. Alexander Leek, who, asked about the mysterious Mothman, contends "we're not allowed to know."
But the real star here is the technique used to build up a sense of otherworldly menace: Pellington's strange camera shifts (and kudos also to Fred Murphy, who did the cinematography), half-seen shadowy figures, dizzying aerial shots, cameras that swoop down on their subjects. It all works well, a little too well, in that you're totally keyed up by the film's final credits.
In addition to that, the movie boasts two of the creepiest sequences in terror movie history: try not to have goosebumps when Gere has a whispered phone conversation with the mysterious Indrid Cold, or when, confused and trembling, he waits for a promised phone call from his 'wife'.
This is nasty, shivery stuff---just make sure your nightlight is working for when the film is over.
JSG
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| Rating | | | Date | January 09, 2005 | | Summary | More atmosphere than substance -- but plenty of atmosphere | Content
| People who are more geared towards plot and pacing probably won't enjoy this movie, as it is a "mood piece" which does not, when you step back and take a hard look at it, have much to offer in the way of a plot. But if you're in the mood for some shivers, you'll enjoy it. The atmosphere is well set, lent extra creepiness by the soundtrack by Tomandandy (The end credits song, "Half Light," is especially haunting). I would never have thought that the sight of Debra Messing -- now of "Will and Grace" fame -- could send a chill down my spine, but in this movie they pull it off. If, like me, you love the questions more than the answers, this is a movie for you.
MINOR SPOILER:
I'm also very fond of "subtle business" in scary movies, and there's a beaut in this one. Keep an eye on Richard Gere's reflection in the door mirror; shortly after he burns his hand on the tea kettle, if I remember correctly. If you've already seen this movie, I bet you missed it -- look again. |
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