THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES

By: BRIAN THOMAS
Review Date: Wednesday, June 05, 2002

The Mothman represents one of the oddest of Fortean phenomena. It's tenacious enough to be taken seriously, yet doesn't fit in well with any other such weirdness. Every few years we get a 'flap' of sightings people who see a tall, dark stranger with wings and glowing eyes. Sometimes he's accompanied by UFO reports, or strange messages. Sometimes the areas he visits suffer major catastrophes soon after. But the Mothman doesn't resemble the Greys, or other extraterrestrials common in UFO databanks. He doesn't fit in with cryptozoological targets like sasquatch or el chupacabra. The messages - a mix of prophesy, mind reading, and cryptic creepiness - isn't exactly what fans of Ouija boards and phone psychics are looking for. And he's too scary for the angel hunters. No matter how you look at it, the Mothman just plain makes everyone uncomfortable, which makes him the perfect subject for a horror film.

Unfortunately, the creators of THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES can't seem to get a handle on him either. They try to present the phenomena as completely as they can, taking eyewitnesses and turning them into characters. But they also try to make sense of it all, at least partially. Richard Gere, playing a stand-in for reporter John Keel (who wrote the book), is too Important an actor to just be abducted by aliens or see a ghost. It all has to mean something. When his John Klein a widower whose wife's death may have been caused by Mothman is inexplicably whisked away to a small town on the Ohio River, he can't be just another victim of cosmic weirdness like the local yokels. He naturally must have been sent there for some purpose, if he can just put the clues together to see it.

This may be a necessary conceit to lend the film dramatic coherence, but it's also the film's downfall. The main reason unexplained phenomena is frightening is because it's unexplained. When the folks in POLTERGEIST found out they were dealing with vengeful spirits who were upset about having a house sitting on their graves, it went from being a horrifying chiller to a supernatural adventure. MOTHMAN is only too eager to cross that line. We don't really understand that Mothman, but thank God he's out there, dropping clues to each upcoming disaster.

Be that as it may, until that line is crossed THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES is a reasonably effective spook show. Gere and company are in the grip of something undeniably supernatural with an inhuman intelligence. Given their situation, everyone reacts realistically by freaking out. Once the visitor's message is deciphered, there's a nicely filmed and exciting disaster climax and a warm & fuzzy Christmas ending.

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment has released the film on DVD with an excellent transfer. The many dark scenes are readable without appearing unnaturally light being in a dark room looks like a dark room. The insert liner notes include a helpful piece on the background of the Mothman incidents.

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