The Mothman Prophecies

The Mothman Prophecies

The Mothman Prophecies
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DVD details

Actor: Alan Bates, Debra Messing, Laura Linney, Richard Gere, Will Patton
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: German (Subtitled); German (Original Language), DTS 5.1; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Published), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: NTSC
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 119 minutes
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures

DVD Reviews of The Mothman Prophecies

DVD Review: It's All a Bit Muddled.
Summary: 3 Stars

I've never read the novel that THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES is based upon. I am, however, familiar with the events that took place between November 1966 and December 1967 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. I first heard about The Mothman when I was in the second grade and read a book about monsters in the United States. The story scared me so much that for days I had nightmares and was afraid of looking out of windows. I soon conquered my fear, but in doing so, forgot about Mothman. That was until I saw a special about the creature and Point Pleasant on the Sci-Fi channel a couple years ago. It was through that show that I learned a movie, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES had been made about the events surrounding the 1966-1967 events in Point Pleasant. I finally got around to watching the movie recently.

The movie takes place in a modern setting and revolves around a man named John Klein (Richard Gere), a successful journalist for the Washington Post. John and his wife Mary (Debra Messing) finally find and agree to purchase their dream home. On their way home after the meeting, Mary sees a winged creature with red eyes jump at her and swerves off the road onto a sidewalk. John is fine, but Mary sustains a severe head wound which leads doctors to discovering a tumor in her brain. Not long after, she dies.

Two years later, John is driving out of D.C. and in less than two hours discovers that somehow he's traveled over 400 miles and is outside the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. When he approaches a nearby house, he is held at gunpoint by the home's owner until the police arrive. It seems that a man looking just like John has been knocking on their door for the past two evenings at 2:30am. A local police officer, Connie (Laura Linney) arrives on the scene and calms the situation. Connie isn't surprised by John's story because in the last few months in Point Pleasant a lot of strange things have been happening: strange lights, vivid dreams, haunting voices, bizarre physical illnesses, etc. The most unusual of the events are the reports and sightings of a creature the locals have begun referring to as The Mothman: a giant humanoid with wings and large red eyes. Upon seeing drawings of the creature, John is reminded of Mary and the sketches she drew of the creature she saw. He knows they are one and the same and John sets out to find how deep the connection goes and what exactly the mothman's purpose is.

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES is a well directed film with some very talented actors. I like director Mark Pellington's film ARLINGTON ROAD and I really enjoy Laura Linney's work (though I could care less about Richard Gere). However, I really didn't enjoy the movie. To begin with, the film takes place in a modern setting while the events at Point Pleasant, which is what the film is based upon, occurred in the late 1960s. I thought the movie was going to be a period piece, but it turned out to be no such thing. Though there is a basic plot, the movie is highly disjointed with quick cuts moving from one scene and setting to another. I understand that this was done purposely as a way to produce the confusion the citizens and John feels in the audience, but I simply found it frustrating. Also, even though the Mothman can be seen several times in the movie, he is never seen clearly or in his entirety. Once again, I believe this is done for affect, but I wish the creature would have been seen clearly at least once. It might have just been me, but I found the deep friendship that developed between John and Gordon Smallwood (Will Patton) to be completely unbelievable. Actually, I found the whole idea of how John was able to become almost a citizen of Point Pleasant to be unrealistic. I'm from a small town and yes small town people are very friendly welcoming, but they are also very protective. I don't think the people of the town would have adopted John as quickly as they seem to do in the movie.

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES is often found in the horror isle of the local video store, but the movie isn't a horror movie. It's more of a psychological thriller/suspense tale.

Overall, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES is the type of movie that you might enjoy if you like one of the actors that stars in the film or if you're a fan of the director. I'd also recommend it to people who have an interest in the event that took place at Point Pleasant, though remember that the film is set in the present and doesn't offer any real suggestions about anything (it also avoids the whole UFO and G-men that were also seen in the area). For the casual movie watcher, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES will probably be a mixed bag with just as many people liking it as there are who didn't enjoy it. Watch at your own risk.
More The Mothman Prophecies reviews:
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Description of The Mothman Prophecies

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
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