Review of The Mothman Prophecies (2002) by M G — 09 Apr 2012

The summary of the reviews for this film is as follows: "A creepy thriller that poses more questions than it answers." I know American audiences love leaving the theater not only happy but comprehensively informed, but come on -- this film was made about a mystery. The phenomenon is so wonderfully incredible as to defy logic and transcend our cultural fund of knowledge about things that exist on the fringes of science and everyday life. This is one of the film's strengths -- not a weakness.

This film made my Top 10 list. Some of the negative reviews of this film are obviously from knuckledragging mouthbreathers who'd rather watch Creature from the Black Lagoon. One of the popular albeit juvenile criticisms among Netflix reviewers is that they were never shown the Mothman. The MOTHMAN PROPHECIES has to remain true to the MOTHMAN as a genuine curiosity -- a natural phenomenon -- about which little can be known based on the language through which it manifests. Yes, the events in this film really occurred --but rather than sit through a dry documentary, we are treated to a ful-bodied depiction of the events in all its gritty realism, right down to what we don't know. You don't think John Klein (Richard Gere), as a seasoned investigative journalist, didn't need to know more and didn't struggle mightily with the limits of what he was allowed to know? This film is in part about how we cope when a genuine mystery is laid at our feet.

The description of the MOTHMAN bares an uncanny similarity to a material embodiment / incarnation of a Jungian archetype -- a perceptual template / structure rooted deep in the foundation of the human psyche that cannot be apprehended directly but only experienced through symbols or through the material of one's own life/mind. The MOTHMAN really does beg certain questions about the existence of intelligences that can reside within our own collective psyches or, in physics language, possibly in an electromagnetic substance through which it can interact with us by using our brains as electrical receivers. In any event, this film manages to spark intellectual curiosity about an unexplained phenomenon while also building a creepy atmosphere around these unknowns. I noticed the language of the MOTHMAN is very much like that of dreams, relying on alliteration "InDrID colD" and structural symmetry. The message he receives at the bar "MARY WILL CALL / GEORGETOWN / FRIDAY / NOON" has a mathematically improbable structure of 12 / 10 / 6 / 4, which contains a number of symmetrical relationships among the numbers (also a feature of dreams).

So if you can show some tolerance for uncertainty and stand for 2 hours to be titillated by mysteries and engaged intellectually into speculating yourself about how to characterize and explain these unknowns, then you'll love this film. If not, go rent Ghostbusters.