Mothman

Mothman starts out... essentially it's like another one of those ridiculously common ghost movies. Characters become targeted, some die mysteriously and survivors must discover how to survive.

The monster itself tends to emerge from whatever reflective surfaces are available to murder victims.

The protagonist is visiting and reporting on the town. Killing her first wouldn't raise any suspicions so naturally the monster goes around killing the permanent citizens first.

But things reach their lowest when the monster starts rampaging, ignoring the previously-established rules completely. This scene doesn't make sense in the context of the previous events and is likely caused by a rewrite. Another problem is the main cast; many were murdered without making any impression.

'Mothman' was yet another miserable 'original' film that SyFy decided to torture viewers with. Who at the SyFy Network is drinking the wrong Kool-Aid? They need to hire knowledgeable and intelligent decision makers when it comes to their line-up and production processes. The only thing redeemable about 'Mothman' is that the acting is above average for SyFy original features. The cast did a pretty good job with such a crazy, undeveloped storyline and script. The special effects were really pitiful - worse than the old dinosaur flicks from the 50's and 60's. With today's technology, someone with creativity and skill could have created much better effects with home computer equipment. I believe that any movie worth making is worth making right - as right as possible anyway. This starts with the writers of course. A solid plot, storyline and dialog really are the most important - special effects can enhance or destroy a film as well. Continuity is a major element in both, in order to eliminate possible holes and aid in believability. I guess the production company didn't have anyone who could provide continuity for the script or work-flow during filming and editing. Oh well. And why the heck did 'SciFi' change their name to 'SyFy'? Ridiculous!

I admit that I do dislike most of the movies airing on the SyFy channel, but I watch them out of curiosity to get novelty value or to see if either of them are actually surprisingly watchable when there is nothing or little else on. Mothman as I've said is not SyFy's worst by a long shot, but it is not very good, as a matter of fact it is rather weak.

The acting is better than anticipated though none are particularly great, but they are undermined by stock and stereotypical characters, a very rushed and underdeveloped story, a laughable script and when they seemingly realised that they only had twenty minutes left and had not finished telling the story the writers decided to include a twist. Unfortunately this twist is utterly moronic leading to one of the weakest endings I've seen in a while.

In conclusion, not the worst but weak. 2/10 Bethany Cox

In Point Pleasant, land of the legend The Mothman, a group of seven teenage friends accidentally kills the boy Jamie (Alex Hardee) in a prank by the river and they decide to cover up the incident simulating an accident.

Ten years later, the journalist of the Washington Weekly Katharine Grant (Jewel Staite), who was one of the seven teenagers that murdered Jamie, is assigned by her editor to return to her hometown to prepare a matter about the 10th Mothman Festival. She reunites with the other six friends that have stayed in the town and sooner they are murdered one by one by The Mothman. Katherine and her former boyfriend Derek (Connor Fox) seek help with an old blind man Frank Waverly (Jerry Leggio) that has been luring The Mothman for many years trying to save their lives from the punishment of the entity.

"Mothman" is a lame collection of clichés about a vigilante entity that punishes the sinners. The predictable plot is a mess, the CGI is very poor and the acting is reasonable but the cast has a very poor material to work. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Castigo Mortal" ("Mortal Punishment")

Swimming in a West Virginia river, six mature-looking teenagers tease (Jared's) younger brother Alex Hardee (as Jamie). They tell him the scary story of the legendary "Mothman" monster. During a strange water game, the cast pulls each other's legs down in the water. Somebody suffers a mishap and the swimmers, led by Jewel Staite (as Katharine Grant), decide to make the death seem like an accident. It already was an accident, and their repeated head-bashing only makes it look worse. However, nobody seems to notice. The kid's not dead, either; you can see him breathing. Maybe that's why the resuscitation attempt was so half-hearted...

Ten years later, Ms. Staite returns to town. A Washington DC reporter, she has been assigned to write a story on the legendary "Mothman" monster of Point Pleasant...

Staite meets the old gang after almost killing one of them in another accident. Quickly, supernatural stuff begins to happen. Probably, the monster is out to punish the cast for making an accidental drowning look like an accident. There is also a parallel incident involving blind resident Jerry Leggio (as Frank Waverly). The leading man is Connor Fox (as Derek Carpenter). The cast is attractive and the special effects are serviceable. Director Sheldon Wilson uses the red eye symbolism well and keeps the cameras steady. Unfortunately, as we get more of the Mothman and the murders, it looks sillier. The story never really makes any sense.

*** Mothman (4/24/10) ~ Sheldon Wilson ~ Jewel Staite, Connor Fox, Matty Ferraro, Jerry Leggio