The Mothman Prophecies

Starring:Nesbitt Blaisdell, Dan Callahan, Shane Callahan, David Eigenberg, Ron Emanuel, Yvonne Erickson, Christin Frame, Richard Gere, Lucinda Jenney, Laura Linney, Harris Mackenzie, Ann McDonough, Debra Messing, Zachary Mott, Scott Nunnally, Will Patton, Tom Stoviak, Bob Tracey, Tom Tully (II)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

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

Customer Reviews:

Heads are spinning.......2007-05-15

Richard Gere plays a husband who can't figure out how his life was suddenly turned upside down by an unidentified, winged creature in this Science Fiction/Thriller. When his wife sees a strange image that causes her car accident, husband and wife are both haunted by an entity that appears to have 'noticed it's been noticed'. The question is, what does this entity plan to do about it and why? Gere stars as a reporter who must seek the answers to these strange questions, but in doing so will he destroy his own sanity?

Chrissy K. McVay - Author

Slow-Moving But Decent.......2007-02-01

I liked The Mothman Prophecies but I think it was a mistake to try to tie this movie in as much as it was with the hysterical tall tales that arose after the Silver Bridge collapse at Kanauga, Ohio/Point Pleasant, West Virginia in December 1967. In doing that, filmmakers unintentionally detracted from their genuinely eerie plot and instead left themselves open to constant, kvetching criticism that "none of that happened!" Of course it didn't. This is a movie. Duh. Leaving all that behind, The Mothman Prophecies is a fun film to watch even if it could have sped its pace up a bit. The "Chap Stick" scene was one part giggly funny and three parts chills down your back spooky, and it was little moments like those that made the supernatural elements work when they could easily have been overpowered by the investigative overtones that held the story together. I also felt the entire movie was somehow a subtle homage to The X-Files, with Richard Gear coming close to playing up on the old "Wow, David Duchovny looks like him" talk, but he was ultimately so upstaged by Laura Linney's performance that it's easy to miss that. This is a good movie but not a classic. It's well worth seeing once or twice, and it will probably give susceptible people the creeps. Not quite four stars but a little better than three.

Does The Future Already Exist ?.......2007-01-28

This story gets involved with the issue of 'precognition' which is the ability of someone (or some 'thing' in this case) to be able to see and foretell the future.

This is an interesting subject.

Some people believe that it is possible not only to see other times but to travel there physically.

One theory is if you travel back in time and for example kill your parents we wouldn't notice the effect of your actions in this time but you would have created an alternate history. A 'parrallel' time.

What does this mean ? I have no idea.

But it raises the question of how can it be possible to see the future unless the future already exists in some form ? Otherwise it wouldn't be possible to see the future now because something could happen to change it.

This is all far beyond human comprehension but anyway the hero of this story is involved with some sort of force or creature who can predict the future.

The creature has been interacting with the population of a small town using telephones, visions, dreams, apparitions, etc.. The usual bridges to other dark dimensions.

But the moth man creature never comes out and says exactly what's going to happen. It just gives small clues and glimpses. That's where the 'adventure' comes in.

The opening credits indicate the story is based on actual events. Doing that in and of itself creates problems with this type of story.

Like many horror / new age type movies this story walks a fine line between being suspenseful and being utterly rediculous.

Supposedly the mysterious Great Pyramid tells the destiny of our human race encoded in the markings on the walls inside the pyramid.

Perhaps our future is really 'written in stone'.

Jeff Marzano

The Philadelphia Experiment ~ Michael Paré, Nancy Allen, Eric Christmas, and Bobby Di Cicco (DVD - 1984)

The Outer Limits - The Original Series, Season 1 ~ Outer Limits (DVD - 1963)

The Outer Limits - The Original Series, Season 2 ~ Outer Limits (DVD - 1963)

It's All a Bit Muddled........2007-01-24

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.

Could have been a lot better.......2007-01-20

Richard Gere should retire and I would like to know who Debra Messing is related to, the girl is so one trick pony. Well I think the mothman should have made an apprearance during the film. But sll you hear is his/its voice on the telephone, I guess he had a lot of quarters

The Mothman Prophecies (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Heads are spinning
Slow-Moving But Decent
Does The Future Already Exist ?
It's All a Bit Muddled.
Could have been a lot better

The Mothman Prophecies (Special Edition)
Starring: Nesbitt Blaisdell , Dan Callahan , Shane Callahan , David Eigenberg , and Ron Emanuel
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items: