Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Fresh and Exciting

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

As a Pittsburgher, this movie is somewhat important, as it was filmed here and in nearby Kittanning, PA. Which is somewhat humorous, as Point Pleasant, WV isn't far at all. They could have just filmed it there. There's a mothman statue, after all.A lot of the script was changed, as this movie is based on the work of John Keel, the paranormal researcher who wrote the book The Mothman Prophecies. Pellington rejected numerous screenplays that were literal takes on Keel's work, instead wanting to explore the psychological damage that UFO witnesses endure. In the book, Keel went into deepest, darkest West Virginia to interview folks who had seen the huge winged beast called the mothman. At the same time, he began receiving strange phone calls, reports of mutilated pets, visits from men in black (in fact, Keel coined the term!) and it all ends with the collapse of the Silver Bridge across the Ohio River.Whereas the movie posits that the collapse was never solved, experts determined that an eye-bar in the suspension chain caused its failure. And in reality, 46 people died, not 36.The movie is therefore fictionalized, sharing the story of Washington Post columnist John Klein (Richard Gere) and his wife Mary (Debra Messing) being involved in a car wreck that leads to her dying of a brain tumor. Before she passes, he finds a notebook filled with pictures of a strange beast.Between time distortions and loops, strange phone calls, visitations from his dead wife and premonitions, this film does a good job of conveying the terror and confusion that the paranormal can unleash.My theory has always been that nuclear waste near Point Pleasant unleashed holes in the time/space continuum and the mothman, a fifth-dimensional creature, was unleashed on our 3D space - bringing weirdness in its wake.There's a great shot at the end of this film, where the cars drift to the bottom of the river and holiday gifts float and headlights stretch out into nothing. It's probably the eeriest scene I've seen in awhile. According to IMDB, Gene Warren III and five other model-makers, plus two production assistants, spent three full months to fabricate every piece of the bridge set from scratch. He estimates 20,000 individual pieces of steel went into the construction, in order for the ultra-photo-realistic 1/6th scale model suspension bridge to support all the model vehicles and ultimately collapse like a full-scale steel bridge into the water. It really shows - this practical effect looks perfect.I usually don't enjoy big budget films, much less ones that take so many liberties with their source material, but this one always wins me over. It's worth a watch.

I am fully aware that The Mothman Prophecies divides opinions among fans of the horror genre. That is not even taken into consideration whether people believe these events occurred or not. It is just one of these films. I first seen The Mothman Prophecies ten years ago - late night on TV. I had never even heard of it before. It was just by mere luck that I stumbled upon it that night. I was just transfixed by it and the fact that it was inspired by true events made it even the more awe-inspiring. It was actually the legend of The Mothman that ignited an interest in the paranormal for me. I subsequently read all the books about the events that inspired this film.John Klein (played by Richard Gere) is a Washington Post who loses the love of his life, Mary (played by Debra Messing). Two years have passed since her death and he is still trying to come to terms with the loss of his wife. He is drawn to the sleepy town of Point Pleasant where the residents are plagued by strange sightings and events that have cursed them for the better part of a year which builds to the distressing climax. This is a slow atmospheric moody movie. The film is like a melting pot of different genres, from drama to mystery to thriller to horror. Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Will Patton and Debra Messing put in strong performances here. The whole film feels like an episode of The X-Files and why wouldn't it? This is the kind of stories that made The X-Files so popular. It stands out from the crowd in that it offers something different to the horror goer, more profound and existential.It really is a well made film with excellent cinematography and special effects. The sound, feel and touch of the film is eerie and spellbinding. It has many 'spine-tingler' moments that will keep the most demanding horror goer on the edge-of-their-seat. It is a beast of a movie. I guess the reason it is so misunderstood is that they want a conclusion, something to tie up with a little bow and bury in the backyard but that doesn't always have to be, in fact, what you don't understand is often more terrifying.

Mark Pellington's The Mothman Prophecies takes a harrowing look at a curious set of events that did indeed occur for real in the rural West Virginia area. Now, just how much of what we see in the film actually happened is eternally unclear, but I've read up on a lot of it and there's enough testimonials, independent of each other, to both justify the film and shiver your spine. A myriad of inexplicable phenomenon plagued those poor people for some time back then, including visions, eerie phone calls and a mysterious red eyed creature in the shape of a giant moth. Businessman Richard Gere and wife Debra Messing come face to face with what appears to be this entity one night on a lonely stretch of highway, causing a grisly car crash and leaving Messing in a dire psychological state. With the help of a local policewoman (Laura Linney), Gere unwisely tries to figure out this terrifying mystery by putting himself way closer to the occurrences than I would ever go, experiencing the stuff of nightmares along the way. Pellington comes from a music video background and as such he is incredibly adept at creating style and atmosphere (his opening credits for Arlington Road are almost as foreboding as anything in this film), two key elements in successfully telling a tale such as this. Gere wanders around in a daze most of the time, distraught over his wife's condition and obviously influenced by forces unknown. Whatever is out there remains blessedly unseen save for a few hurried glimpses, say, behind a tree or at a kitchen window momentarily, spurring heart attacks from both audience and the poor sods stuck in this brooding bad dream. Rounding out the cast is Alan Bates as the obligatory historian who has seen this all unfold previously in some far corner of the world, and an excellent Will Patton in a frightening turn as a rural farmer who comes who becomes tragically influenced these dark forces. No one plays disturbed quite like him, a jittery, resolute calm always playing around in his eyes, the perfect presence to set anyone on edge. The finale sort of emerges from the chrysalis of dark atmospherics into large scale disaster mode, a choice which didn't really work for me. I would have preferred to have it kept intimate and creepy right up until some kind of moody end, but they went with fireworks instead. Not enough to hurt the film of negate what came before though, it's just too good of a time in the haunted house to be dragged down by anything, really. Chilling stuff.

I was so excited to see this coming on TV. Good TV, no commercials, no cutting, the full movie. Actually had famous people in it. Had great viewer reviews. Woohoo!!After one hour I was so bored, I thought something has to happen any minute now. 30 more minutes, nothing. 20 more minutes, nothing. Whoever said this was good, scary, horror, thriller, interesting, entertaining, worth the watch for any reason at all -- sure doesn't expect much from a movie. It was sooo boring, a nap in an ant hill would have been less painful and more interesting. Even in the middle of the night, by yourself, out in the woods in a tent with spooky bloody snarly howling all around you, the hook hanging from your car door handle is a better story than this stupid movie. Don't waste you time.