The Mothman Prophecies (2002)

Director:

Mark Pellington

Writers (WGA):

John A. Keel (novel)
Richard Hatem (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 January 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

What do you see?

Plot:

A reporter is drawn to a small West Virginia town to investigate a series of strange events, including psychic visions and the appearance of bizarre entities.

Plot Keywords:

Policewoman | Bridge Collapse | Car Accident | Dead Wife | Female Cop

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Richard Gere	...	John Klein
David Eigenberg	...	Ed Fleischman
Bob Tracey	...	Cyrus Bills
Ron Emanuel	...	Washington Post Reporter
Debra Messing	...	Mary Klein
Tom Stoviak	...	Brian
Yvonne Erickson	...	Dr. McElroy
Scott Nunnally	...	Orderly
Harris Mackenzie	...	TV Journalist
Will Patton	...	Gordon Smallwood
Lucinda Jenney	...	Denise Smallwood
Laura Linney	...	Connie Mills
Tom Tully	...	Motel Manager
Zachary Mott	...	Otto (as Billy Mott)
Ann McDonough	...	Lucy Griffin

Also Known As:

Mothman (USA) (working title)
The Mothman (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for terror, some sexuality and language.

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Hungary:16 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Lakeshore Entertainment

Trivia:

The Mothman is hidden at various points in the movie for only a couple frames, including the wire on the bridge and in the reflection of the mirror on the door Richard Gere slams.

Goofs:

Continuity: When John is driving on the freeway we see the lights of headlights on his face, but other shots of the car show no cars coming towards him.

Quotes:

[first lines]
John Klein: Jesus!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Adam & Eva (2003)

Soundtrack:

Joy to the World

you will mysteriously lose 2 hours and $7.50 on this dud

There's a good 5 minute story buried in this subjectively shot movie that tries too hard and utterly fails to scare. I was filled with dread as the credits appeared over a meaningless running shot of office fluorescent lights and close-ups of everyday, irrelevant, inherently unscary objects. As the film progresses we get more irrelevant close-ups, disorienting angles, hand-held camera shots, rapid editing and fast drum-beat soundtrack. And more close-ups. Soon you'll be wishing you took some dramamine. The movie tries to make EVERYTHING scary, with the result that nothing seems scary. There are a few standard "jolts" when something appears out of nowhere - the usual filmic way of saying "Boo." But after a dozen times of the now-cliche camera zooming to and away from a character, the panicked look he's left with seems probably caused by a sudden camera in the face rather than a ghost. The creepiest-potential moment when Indrid Cole (aka Kindred Spirit?) phones our hero is dissipated by the excessive layering of visuals. Soon any plot or sense of realism is lost - what about our hero's job? what day or night is it? what does he do most of the time in Point Pleasant? why and how does his initial meeting with a young couple happen at night in the quarry instead of the day, and do they really mention all the sexual details we see as they relate their mothman encounter? All the irrelevent camera shots encourage the viewer to ponder irrelevent questions: Is that little guy in the sound lab making a music CD of his glass-lip rubbing? Do ethereal mothfolk really leave slime when hit by a car, and are there accident attorney mothpeople that represent them in mothcourt? To make something creepy or uncanny you need some realism to subvert, as one can see in "One step beyond" and "Xfiles." By becoming more and more erratic, this movie not only seems unbelievable but manages to undermine the credibility of the real events.