The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

In 1966-67 a series of weird, supposedly supernatural, events occurred in or near Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Much of what happened centered on local residents' purported encounters with UFOs; confrontations with "men-in-black"; phone calls from entities whose voices sounded electronic (or metallic); and sightings of a winged, semi-human creature that came to be known as "mothman". A few locals also were made privy to future predictions (prophecies), some of which in fact did materialize, but others didn't. One of the alleged predictions was a December, 1967 disaster that did occur, and which this film dramatizes.

Available literature suggests a high probability that some, though by no means all, of the Point Pleasant events were the resulting activities of a practical joker, a prankster, by the name of "Barker" (who died in the 1980s). Other events appear to have been too bizarre and too widespread to be attributed to a lone carnival barker (pun intended).

"The Mothman Prophecies" is not a very good factual account of the Point Pleasant events. Indeed, the film's setting is the present, not the 1960s, a fact which the film slyly evades. The filmmakers evidently decided to use part of the historical record, and then dramatize it, in a way that would have cinematic appeal to today's audiences.

And so, the film aims to be a supernatural thriller, a suspenseful study in the theme of what is real vs. what is not real. There's lots of dark atmosphere with offbeat, gyrating camera shots, ominous music, and dialogue to match. The overall effect is one wherein unseen forces are lurking in the shadows.

For some viewers, this supernatural tone thus provides intense escapist entertainment. For me, the hocus-pocus factor was too high, and the film exuded a sense of forced melodrama. Further, the film did not lead to any satisfactory resolution. What it did lead to was a nicely staged reenactment of the real life December, 1967 disaster.

Maybe someday someone will make a documentary about the men-in-black element of the Point Pleasant events. If the underlying research is honest and thorough, the resulting film could illuminate a 1960s drama that, while not supernatural in nature, had, and still has, implications that are as scary as they are real.

Fmovies: Starting off promisingly with X-Files creepy events (deaths and visions) this young persons horror movie has a suitably tense edge. Based on a myth last discussed in great detail in the 60s, this is a modernised version of the legend of the Mothman, a mysterious figure who comes to people to foretell disastrous events. There is an air of Saturday night channel 5 about this film, but don't let that discourage you as its in the upper echelons of b-movie fair.

Richard Gere is surprisingly entertaining as someone who essentially doesn't say much and just gets creeped-out. A lot. His character isn't that challenging for any actor, so there won't be any Oscar gongs headed his way for this. Laura Linney is excellent as the town sheriff, like someone straight out of Twin Peeks. The other characters are pretty much just there to move the plot along, rather than to catch your interest.

The first half hour or so is entertainingly tense, but then the film lulls for the plot in the middle. The ending is satisfyingly and beautifully tidy, with a wonderful action sequence that clears up the vast majority of the weirdness from earlier on. The tight ending, while pleasurable and final is also one of the reasons that the movie isn't better than it is. There is no sensation upon leaving of question or edge. No concerns about turning the next corner for fear of what might be there. This is perhaps why this movie feels like Channel 5, and perhaps why its a 12 not a 15. Essentially its a creepy movie and not an out and out horror.

I just got back from the first showing of the first day of release of The Mothman Prophecies, and I am left with only four short words:

Go see it. NOW!

Simply put, The Mothman Prophecies is the scariest horror movie since RING, Since many Americans won't be able to see RING for quite some time, they should consider tasting another slice of the terror pie with "Mothman". It's already a strong candidate for best horror film of 2002...and even as a hardcore genre fan, I'd have to put it on my list of favorite horror movies of all time.

I had been fascinated by the Mothman myth since 1995, when I first read of its existence in a book of legends and folklore. Since then, I've often thought about making a horror film based on the story. And as you might guess, some one clearly beat me to the punch! The film takes some bizarre, allegedly true events that occurred in the mid-60s in Point Pleasant, West Viriginia and updates the strange phenomena to present day using a somewhat fictionalized story.

Richard Gere plays John Klein (a character that I assume is based on real life author John Keel), a Washington Post reporter whose wife dies of a brain tumor shortly after a bizarre, seemingly unexplainable car accident. After she dies, he finds pictures she drew during her final days, pictures of a bizarre looking winged creature with glowing red eyes.

Flash forward two years. Klein is on his way to meet the governor of Virginia, when his car breaks down. He goes to get help (I won't reveal the creepy details of this sequence) and learns that he is nowhere near his destination. Rather, in the space of 90 minutes he has somehow managed to travel 400 miles to Point Pleasant, West Virginia. There he encounters Sgt. Connie Parker (played by Laura Linney), who tells him of the many strange going ons in the town...specifically, the accounts of a bizarre creature from witnesses who are by all accounts reputable. She shows him a sketch that one witness drew of the creature, and it is nearly identical to the bizarre drawings Klein's wife had done before her death.

You can probably guess where the film is headed from this point; in fact, that's part of the beauty. Astute viewers will always be one step ahead of the characters onscreen, and one step behind...The Mothman, or just director Mark Pellington. Each is pretty damn good at scaring people.

Pellington his his second feature, Arlington Road, a top notch thriller along the lines of Rosemary's Baby. Here he goes for a more Twilight Zone approach, with the "did it really happen?" factor of films like The Amityville Horror, Snuff, and Cannibal Holocaust thrown in for very, very good measure. Pellington has been gaining quite a bit of critical attention for this film, and rightfully so. If he keeps up, one can see Mark Pellington, Victor Salva, and Alejandro Amenbar doing for the horror/thriller genre what John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and Dario Argento did for it in the 70s.

Some critics have been apt to attack the film for its reliance on classic horror movie conventions...as if this is a bad thing. It's quite ironic, considering that it is the film's good old fashioned sensibility that makes the proceedings so overwhelmingly effective. It does not rely on cheap scares, post-PC "gore", or loud sound effects to jolt its audience. The film's power is rooted in its fundamentally chilling story, and taken to another level thanks to Pellington's assured directio

The Mothman Prophecies fmovies. (**** out of *****)

What a wonderful and rich role for Gere who should maybe experiment more in movies that deal with the realms of the unknown.

A much respected reporter for the Washington Post John Klein (Richard Gere) is about to have his life turned upside down when his wife dies in an automobile accident that seems to have been caused by a mysterious flying creature which he never did see himself. The plot takes Gere to the Ohio/West Virginia border where he meets with the local residents who all seem to be having their troubles with strange lights, weird phone calls and a bird like creature which they call the Mothman. Klein investigates the mystery at the cost of his own sanity and career.

The film is very scary but lacks the pace and fibre that made the John A. Keel's book an awe inspiring read. There are no Men In Black, UFO's, alien impregnated women, phone tapings or a clear resolution to some of the character's fate. In fact only about 10% of the book is actually reproduced in the film. The other 90% seems to have been plucked from an episode of the `X-files'... but what a good episode it is! This is a film that has high production values. The lighting, camerawork, sound and editing are always on top form which is something that prevents the movie from disappearing into the ranks of science fiction B movie hokum. `The Mothman Prophecies' looks simply `weirdly' gorgeous on the big screen.

There is not enough Mothman revealed to the viewer but country folk Gordon Smallwood (the well cast and superbly acted Will Patton) creates a much needed conduit into the effects that the Mothman has on the people of Point Pleasant and this is what the film is really all about - The consequences that the supernatural can have on the psyche of a small backward town's population. Although the ending is Mothman free it certainly does jolt the emotions and evokes a sort of belittling sympathy for the human beings of this planet.

Watch this film and then go read the book for a much better look at really went on. All in all, the film is a spine-chilling riveting stuff and well worth repeated viewing even though it never truly escapes its `X-Files' feeling.

This gets high marks for suspense alone. It is a very tense movie, guaranteed to keep the first-time viewer glued to his/her seat. It might even raise a few hairs on the back of your neck!

Dramatic music also helped with the suspense. In addition, we get some fine acting performances from Richard Gere, Laura Linney and Will Patton.

Don't be fooled, however, with the "based on a true story" tag line. It might be "based" but that could mean only a very, very small part of this film was actual; the rest presented for dramatic purposes. This film is a good case of that, from what I've read.

Nonetheless, it's interesting, has good visuals and decent sound and some genuine creepy moments. This definitely a film to have on DVD, as opposed to VHS, although I suppose at this point, few people buy tapes anymore anyway. Those looking to curl up on the couch with a good thriller: give this movie a look.

While several horror movies advertise themselves as being "based on true events," they are usually just fabrications of the actual material. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's" brutality and nightmarish setting make the movie's inspiration(the Ed Gein murders) something to look into, especially since the events inspired "Psycho" and "The Silence of the Lambs." "The Amityville Horror" is a question of truth or myth. Was that house haunted? We don't know, mostly because Hollywood had to exaggerate everything. However, 2002's "The Mothman Prophecies" comes along, and when one is knowing of the real story and John A. Keel's book, the movie makes you think differently about "true story" horror. Music video director Mark Pellington has given us a movie that not only interests genre fans, but actually pulls through on bringing you a big case of the creeps.

Washington Post writer John Klein is happily driving with his wife Mary one night after going house hunting. Suddenly, something catches Mary's eye and the car swerves and crashes. John visits Mary in the hospital before she dies, and one of the last things she asks him is "You didn't see it, did you?" We ask ourselves, what exactly did she see? We don't know. Strangely, John finds himself in the West Virginia town of Point Pleasant within hours, where weird things are occurring. Lights are flashing across the sky, John is getting strange phone calls, and people are reporting that they've seen a large winged creature with red beaming eyes. John teams up with Point Pleasant sheriff Connie Mills to discover what is going on in this town. What is the moth-like creature attacking this town's locals? What does it want? Is it intending to do harm or is it an omen of things to come?

When faced with the observations presented in Keel's book, "The Mothman Prophecies" only makes a few minor changes, including the time the actual events took place. The story shifts from the 1960's to present day. But otherwise, it stays very true to its source material, which leaves the audience completely in awe. Director Pellington and screenwriter Richard Hatem refuse to let the story be fabricated, and we love them all the more for it.

This supernatural chiller keeps its suspense factor high by not treating the audience like idiots. It doesn't stick to any of the usual horror standards. No one says "I'll be right back." The film doesn't succumb to boobs and gore. The script keeps the relationship between John and Connie from turning the movie into a sappy love story, which makes the leading characters more sympathetic and pure at heart, thanks to Richard Gere and Laura Linney's great performances.

What really gets to you about "The Mothman Prophecies" is that you are left questioning right up to the end what this creature's motivations are. You never know if the apparition exists to warn people of future disasters or to bring fear into the hearts of the townspeople. We're also not really sure if the Mothman is actually real. What if it's just a figment of imagination, what our minds want us to see and believe? We're always more frightened when we don't know what we're supposed to be scared of. A nice addition is Pellington's decision to stick to the "less is more" formula, and he does it extremely well. He never shows us the monster, only flashes of light in varied colors