Review of The Mothman Prophecies (2002) by Ben W — 15 Jul 2008

When I read reviews, it seems to me that the critic always starts off with the good things and leaves the bad for last. This is not always good, because as readers we now have bad stuff fresh in our memory instead of what we really should focus on - the great stuff! Well I'm no movie critic, I'm a movie lover. I'll start with the bad stuff, which isn't much.

Richard Gere is a good actor. Although he has certainly aged with dignity, he looks a little too old to be matched up with Debra Messing, who plays his wife. Gere doesn't look half as young as in that picture on the poster ? either heavily retouched or taken at least 10 years ago. On the other hand, maybe Debra Messing is too young to be matched up with Gere? I suppose it all depends on which actor/actress you like the most, because they both did a great job. Regardless, this was just my first impression when I saw the two together. On another note, I really wish we would've had a least one more close encounter with the Mothman before the movie ended. I wanted to see the entity just a little bit more.

The plot of the movie is vaguely based on supposedly real events, if you didn't know that already. This could easily be just another marketing trick, but regardless of the Mothman being real or not, this movie is very real and it's scary as hell. The Mothman is probably one of the most eerie villains ever created for the movies. He fits right in there with entities like Sadako (of Japanese Ringu trilogy) that seem more like forces of nature rather than actual beings. This Mothman seems so naturally, innately evil, as he completely destroys the life of every victim he contact. Intentionally or unintentionally, he plays with our senses and emotions, throwing us into a mind corroding half-reality. In fact, in reality many reports of encounters with the Mothman have been compared to ?alien? abduction encounters where the victim experiences a dream like state. The creators of this movie have definitely done their homework in these fields. Whatever the Mothman is - an alien, a demon, a ghost, or a banshee etc, he is totally ethereal with the physical laws, our human perception of reality. Simply an abomination; and that is what makes this movie so hauntingly frightening.

Like director Mark Pellington states, ?it's a struggle between art and commerce.? I don't know how well this movie did at the box office nor do I care - in my opinion, art and commerce equals quality and thus go together inseparably. The shots throughout the movie are truly tasteful. There is thought behind every shot and every transition. You feel the presence of the Mothman in the form of his glowing red eyes, manifesting themselves as paired red lights that come naturally with urban surroundings. The forgotten backlights of parked cars, road maintenance stop signs, even a pair of red light decorated Christmas trees just to name a few examples. Two other important components that make this move great are the score and sounds. The constant music pad greatly adds to the feeling of unease. It becomes almost unbearable with the disturbing Mothman encounters. The sound design match the visual design perfectly, sending cold shivers down your spine as well as making you jump.

See it, own it.