La Prophétie des ombres

In 1966-67 a series of weird, supposedly supernatural, events occurred in or near Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Much of what happened centered on local residents' purported encounters with UFOs; confrontations with "men-in-black"; phone calls from entities whose voices sounded electronic (or metallic); and sightings of a winged, semi-human creature that came to be known as "mothman". A few locals also were made privy to future predictions (prophecies), some of which in fact did materialize, but others didn't. One of the alleged predictions was a December, 1967 disaster that did occur, and which this film dramatizes.

Available literature suggests a high probability that some, though by no means all, of the Point Pleasant events were the resulting activities of a practical joker, a prankster, by the name of "Barker" (who died in the 1980s). Other events appear to have been too bizarre and too widespread to be attributed to a lone carnival barker (pun intended).

"The Mothman Prophecies" is not a very good factual account of the Point Pleasant events. Indeed, the film's setting is the present, not the 1960s, a fact which the film slyly evades. The filmmakers evidently decided to use part of the historical record, and then dramatize it, in a way that would have cinematic appeal to today's audiences.

And so, the film aims to be a supernatural thriller, a suspenseful study in the theme of what is real vs. what is not real. There's lots of dark atmosphere with offbeat, gyrating camera shots, ominous music, and dialogue to match. The overall effect is one wherein unseen forces are lurking in the shadows.

For some viewers, this supernatural tone thus provides intense escapist entertainment. For me, the hocus-pocus factor was too high, and the film exuded a sense of forced melodrama. Further, the film did not lead to any satisfactory resolution. What it did lead to was a nicely staged reenactment of the real life December, 1967 disaster.

Maybe someday someone will make a documentary about the men-in-black element of the Point Pleasant events. If the underlying research is honest and thorough, the resulting film could illuminate a 1960s drama that, while not supernatural in nature, had, and still has, implications that are as scary as they are real.

Except for its obvious moments of self indulgence and lethargy, the most of the screenplay's inventive writing was extremely effective. Not only was I emotionally invested, but the film also possessed a hypnotic, surreal quality that kept my eyes and mind transfixed on whatever was unfolding.

I am perplexed as to how works of this quality could remain unnoticed for so long, when works of limited value and output almost always garner the greatest attention from both the public and reviewers. Irrefutably, it is one of the most overlooked and underappreciated psychological thrillers ever.

"In the end it all came down to just one simple question. Which was more important, having proof or being alive? Trust me. I turned away years ago, and I've never looked back."

John Klein (Richard Gere), a Washington Post reporter, finds himself somehow drawn to a small town in West Virginia. In fact, his car dies, along with his cell phone and watch. He knocks on a nearby house to call for help, and the man who answers the door attacks him, saying Klein's been around three days in a row. But has he?

Two years earlier, John's wife died from injuries sustained in a car wreck, and before she died, in an apparent delirium, she had been etching weird drawings. Could her drawings have some connection with this town?

Based on true events, The Mothman Prophecies follows John through his search for the truth. People in the town report seeing a strange being - are they lying, or are they misinterpreting? Are they simply seeing UFOs, or is there more to the story? Intrepid reporter that he is, John wants to know more - although of course his thirst for knowledge is accompanied by a need to know what happened to his wife (why did the car crash?).

Thrillers such as this one are hard to come by. It's not exactly a horror movie, but there are more than enough creepy moments to send a few chills reverberating through your body. It's a film that relies less on special effects than on such quaint ideals as character motivation and development and atmosphere. In fact, this movie's just brimming with atmosphere. We've all seen those cheesy movies in which a car runs out of gas along a desolate country road, and then BAM - some serial killers make dinner or belts out of the hapless occupants. But in this case, the monster is hardly ever seen, thereby heightening the scares.

At the centerpiece is Gere as Klein. I've never, ever been a Gere fan; it seems to me he has one expression. He's never been terribly emotive and has been known in recent years more for the age disparity with his female costars than for anything else (they get younger, he stays the same old dude). Call him ruggedly handsome if you will, but vacuity is never really appealing.

But this is not your typical Gere at all. He definitely turns in the best work of his career. Sure, he was appealing in Pretty Woman, but it was Julie Roberts' movie. Officer and a Gentleman? Ok, but that was Lou Gosset Jr.'s movie. Primal Fear? Red Corner? Runaway Bride? No, no, no. This is acting on a ledge for Gere. It's a true departure from the romantic comedies and the sly psuedo-mystery/dramas. Ordinarily, I would think such a movie would expose Gere for the terrible actor he is. But I would be wrong. This movie was so well written and directed that Gere rose to its level, rather than sinking it. That's a huge credit to him as an actor.

Now, I need to differentiate between good acting and appeal. An actor can look good or be charming in a role and still be a bad actor; by contrast, an actor can look uncharming and turn in a great performance. But what's key is how the actor draws the audience in - do they sympathize with his plight? Are they on his side? How good of an actor he is will answer that question.

Gere's Klein starts out as an average joe, and then we get to see him slowly descend into madness - we even descend a little with him. That vaunted atmosphere is so vibrant and realistic that we turn when he turns and feel things he feels. This is an absolute hallmark of excellent filmmaking (by Mark Pellington, whose only other big film was 1999's Arlington Road). The writing is crisp and eminently believable, and the acting in addition to Gere (including Laura Linney, Debra Messing, and Will Patton) is simply superb. And don't forget the prophecies part of the title, either; this "Mothman" entity issues warnings to whomever it deems worthy. Which sounds good, as long as one can interpret them correctly. Apparently, many have not.

The story is based on actual events that took place in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, but this is no Amityville Horror story. With Amityville, one could distance oneself from the experiences of the family involved; we could say that it would never happen to us, it was only a movie. This is a little trickier with The Mothman Prophecies. It's a creepy, tingly movie that gets under your skin and crawls all over your heart.

This gets high marks for suspense alone. It is a very tense movie, guaranteed to keep the first-time viewer glued to his/her seat. It might even raise a few hairs on the back of your neck!

Dramatic music also helped with the suspense. In addition, we get some fine acting performances from Richard Gere, Laura Linney and Will Patton.

Don't be fooled, however, with the "based on a true story" tag line. It might be "based" but that could mean only a very, very small part of this film was actual; the rest presented for dramatic purposes. This film is a good case of that, from what I've read.

Nonetheless, it's interesting, has good visuals and decent sound and some genuine creepy moments. This definitely a film to have on DVD, as opposed to VHS, although I suppose at this point, few people buy tapes anymore anyway. Those looking to curl up on the couch with a good thriller: give this movie a look.

The Mothman Prophecies is a solid thriller. It's supposedly based on true events, but even if it weren't, it would be worth a look. Richard Gere stars as a Washington Post reporter who inexplicably finds himself in a small West Virginia town where a series of strange goings-on have been happening. His wife was killed two years prior in a mysterious car accident, and there seems to be a connection between her death and the strange happenings in Point Pleasant. Holding the key behind the mystery seems to be a large moth-like creature who tends to show up in places where the loss of human life is about to occur. Gere meets up with several locals who claim to have seen the Mothman, and after a while this creature begins communicating with him. The creature warns people of tragedies about to strike (plane crashes, earthquakes), and Gere thinks this creature can even put him in contact with his dead wife. Gere is given a warning about an upcoming tragedy near Point Pleasant, but can he act in time to stop it? Or should he even try? The film is very moody and sullen. The direction and photography are top drawer, and they enhance the mood greatly. The acting is terrific, as well. I usually can't stand Gere, but he's great in this film. Laura Linney would seem miscast as a local cop, but by the end of the film, she will have proved how truly talented she is. Will Patton is outstanding as a local resident who has several run-ins with the Mothman until it drives him crazy.

What exactly is the Mothman? According to this film, he's some type of oracle. He can see bad things that will happen, and he can even see through to the other side. Does he cause these tragedies? The film would seem to argue not. Though he may have caused the fatal car accident that took Gere's wife early on. Apparently the concept of the Mothman has been around for a while, but this film gives a pretty good explanation of it for those of us who had never heard of it before.

The film came up short of its $40 million budget in theaters. I blame this on a terrible marketing campaign, and some bad reviews from the big name critics. Don't let their reviews scare you away. This film is very good. I was hooked after seeing only a couple minutes of it. It was the very effective scene where Gere and Patton first meet up at his home one evening. That was well done! Be warned, however. The film will likely leave you feeling very mortal, and maybe even depressed. There is a really cool new-age rock song during the credits that also adds to the mood.

Consider this film a thinking man's Final Destination. The climactic scene at the end could have even wandered in from one of those movies. The Mothman Prophecies is worth about 8 of 10 stars.

The Hound.