DVD Movie Rating for: Mothman Prophecies

3 Out of 5

Movie Plot of: Mothman Prophecies

When John Klein, a Washington Post journalist, and his wife Mary finally find the house of their dreams, they just can't believe their luck. On the way back from the bargain, Mary nearly runs over a caped, winged figure, jerks the wheel and skids into the sidewalk. She hits her head badly, and dies in the hospital a little later. John, completely devastated, soon finds some sketches his wife made after the accident. They all show a winged creature, yet there is no angel resemblance at all. Two years later, John all of a sudden finds himself one night in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. He has no idea how he has journeyed the 400 miles in less than two hours. In the small town, local cop Connie struggles with many sightings of a mothlike creature taller than a man being reported, while John believes that an explanation for his wife's fate can be found. The deeper John digs, the clearer the mothman's purpose arises - only to leave his life in immediate danger, as it seems.

DVD Production Details of: Mothman Prophecies

Director: Mark Pellington

Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby

Studio: Columbia Tristar Hom
DVD Features:
Commentary by director Mark Pellington

Theatrical trailer(s)

"Search for the Mothman" documentary

"Day by Day: A Director's Journey - The Road In" featurette

"Day by Day: A Director's Journey - The Road Home" featurette

"Halflight" music video

5 deleted scenes

Widescreen anamorphic format

Number of discs: 2

Cast of the movie: Mothman Prophecies

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

Photo Gallery of the movie: Mothman Prophecies

Click on one of the thumbnails to see the full size, high resolution photographs

Reviews of the movie: Mothman Prophecies

Starting off promisingly with X-Files creepy events (deaths and visions) this young persons horror movie has a suitably tense edge. Based on a myth last discussed in great detail in the 60s, this is a modernised version of the legend of the Mothman, a mysterious figure who comes to people to foretell disastrous events. There is an air of Saturday night channel 5 about this film, but don't let that discourage you as its in the upper echelons of b-movie fair.

Richard Gere is surprisingly entertaining as someone who essentially doesn't say much and just gets creeped-out. A lot. His character isn't that challenging for any actor, so there won't be any Oscar gongs headed his way for this. Laura Linney is excellent as the town sheriff, like someone straight out of Twin Peeks. The other characters are pretty much just there to move the plot along, rather than to catch your interest.

The first half hour or so is entertainingly tense, but then the film lulls for the plot in the middle. The ending is satisfyingly and beautifully tidy, with a wonderful action sequence that clears up the vast majority of the weirdness from earlier on. The tight ending, while pleasurable and final is also one of the reasons that the movie isn't better than it is. There is no sensation upon leaving of question or edge. No concerns about turning the next corner for fear of what might be there. This is perhaps why this movie feels like Channel 5, and perhaps why its a 12 not a 15. Essentially its a creepy movie and not an out and out horror.

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