Review of The Mothman Prophecies (2002) by Tycho D — 09 Oct 2009

"The Mothman Prophecies" is a kind of double episode of the X-Files that ends like a Smallville season finale. It feels very much like a remake of a supernatural movie of the 1970s, something Ira Levin could have written, and I was not surprised to learn that it was based on a 1975 book. Perhaps because that book purported to be about real supernatural events, the film does not bother to have anything to say: it does not explore any themes, not even "loss", which seems to be what it is about at first. It merely seeks to create an atmosphere of eeriness, using some clever cinematography and a disturbing soundtrack.

That the original book was certainly a hoax makes the whole film rather pointless, because it earnestly "documents" something that never happened, and doesn't even fit any supernatural category I believe in. I initially saw the "mothman" as an angel, portrayed in a non-silly, biblical fashion, but the book was called "Visitors from Space" and the film at one point describes "mothmen" as being "more advanced" than us, which suggests they are indeed aliens. But apparently author John Keel rejected the "extra-terrestrial" explanation of UFOs as early as 1967...

If you're looking for a Fortean movie, you might enjoy this one. But I personally do not think it really needed to be made.