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FILM DETAILS

Certificate 12

Cast Richard Gere Laura Linney Will Patton Alan Bates.

Directors Mark Pellingham.

Screenwriters Richard Hatem.

Running Time 118 minutes

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The Mothman Prophecies
The mysterious phenomenon of the Mothman who may or may not appear as an evil omen, or not, who knows, is brought to the big screen to chilling affect

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Plot
Two years after his wife scrawled pictures of a moth-like creature while dying of a brain tumour, reporter John Klein finds himself in a small American town, unable to explain how he got there. He investigates a rash of Mothman sightings and becomes convinced that a disaster is about to strike.

Review
Until now, Mothman has been a lesser-known member of the cryptozoology Hall Of Fame, eclipsed by Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and the anal-probing alien greys.

John Keel's book, recounting his 1967 experiences with the phenomenon, has been around since 1975, but Mothman hasn't even managed a guest shot on The X-Files until this star vehicle.

It may be that the mythology is just too nebulous - the apparition seems related to the Irish banshee, showing up to foretell tragedy - to make a film subject. This movie certainly deploys a lot of unrelated spook stuff (as puzzling as it is creepy) before turning to more conventional suspense-disaster material for a Mothman-free, satisfying finish.

Following 1999's Arlington Road, this is the second Mark Pellington film in a row to concern a professional widower, hung up on his wifeÆs mysterious death, who sees a vast web of shadow conspiracy and becomes a prophet of doom.

However, Gere delivers a very different reading to Jeff Bridges' obvious nut. Sleek and grey in a coat that gives him his very own moth-look, Gere's sincerity and intelligence sells the Fortean bizarre far more than Alan Bates' unfortunate cameo in the traditional, discredited, mad professor role. John Klein is a rare paranoid who knows how others are likely to react to his story, and always advances cautiously as he makes the connections.

The film offers a sustained deployment of weirdness connected by mood and imagery, including buzzing phone messages from something which calls itself 'Idris Gold' and ambiguous sightings of the Mothman. There's even a Lynchian thing going on in which a farmer (Patton) mysteriously claims Klein has visited him three nights in a row as he shows up for his first visit.

Verdict
It’s unsettling for a while but has a severe dead-spot before the action climax. Gere does a great deal in solo scenes with no dialogue, suggesting that he might not be as alone in the dark as he seems.


Reviewed by Kim Newman

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Your Reviews

Average user rating for The Mothman Prophecies

Didn't Really Capture Me

One look at the trailer and the film could be a entertaining one. Instead, it's slow and with Gere's low mumbling tone of voice, it was quickly getting on my nerves. I couldn't really feel for any of the characters, it was over the top and the ending was badly rushed. It has a good and unsettling idea but it didn't capture me enough to be totally taken in. ... More

Posted by joanna likes films at 09:49, 16 May 2010 | Report This Post

Mothman

It's strange, because this film is not amazing, it's often filled with cliches, the dialouge is occasionally stale and the direction is average at best...but it's impossible to not love this movie. It's incredibly watchable and does genuinley get under your skin at times. Part of the attraction is that it's based on true events (which IS a truly incredible story) but the script doesn't seem to appreciate the surrealism and mystery of the true story and ends up treating it like a bog-standard mys... More

Posted by krisjcummins at 21:15, 17 January 2010 | Report This Post

RE: RE:

I like it.   CHAPSTICK!!!!!!! ... More

Posted by CORLEONE at 11:14, 13 October 2009 | Report This Post

RE: RE:

Creepy, there's a lot to catch in this movie, but good actors Richard Gere and Laura Linney keep it grounded. ... More

Posted by JoeyPottr at 04:44, 13 October 2009 | Report This Post

RE:

Just saw it today on Filmflex - really enjoyed it.  Gere gives a believable, even moving,  performance- as the empire review states, he is all too aware of how his claims will appear to 3rd parties so proceeds cautiously.  Some really creepy bits, not cat-jumping-out-of-closet creepy but something much deeper i.e. who visited the police station to ask about him?  The mothman?  His wife?  Creepy.  Also the scene where Gere speaks to 'Idris Gold' on the phone ha... More

Posted by verymetalmatt at 19:12, 11 October 2009 | Report This Post

A decent thriller with a some supernatural stuff to it. It`s well made and the film is exciting, especially in the first part in the darker scenes. Richard Gere gives for once a good performance and convinces, as does the always excellent Laura Linney. The story is a bit far-fetched though and feels at times (especially towards the ending) too forced. A dissapointment as well is the ending that almost ruins the movie. It doesn`t come that far though, mainly because of the strong first half of... More

Posted by TheGodfather at 09:51, 03 August 2008 | Report This Post

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