The Mothman Prophecies

It begins as a very interesting and atmospheric horror movie that later suffers from its overuse of mythological elements without having built a mythology, but it’s still worth a watch, no doubt. (12/30/2010)

The era around the year 2000, when films with mysterious themes were popular in a similar fashion to action B-movies of the 1980s, is thankfully behind us, considering this film. The scriptwriting flaw that afflicted many films of this wave, the relentless desire to shock in the finale, unfortunately manifests itself here as well. Despite the solid plot built on a not-so-original foundation, it is elevated to a much higher level thanks to its technical execution. The camera work, which effectively and efficiently switches positions, swoops in, or slowly creeps, is top-notch. The same is true of the editing, the sound, and, last but not least, the music. Using these tools, which are utilized to the fullest extent, the director succeeds in building an exceptional atmosphere of fear. However, in the second half, due to the flawed screenplay and consequently inevitable stretching, the tension starts to dissipate. Despite its formal perfection, the ending becomes a profane mockery. However, the memories of the "angels" are so strong and evocative that a three-star rating feels tailor-made for this film. (01/14/2006)

In the first half, the atmosphere of the film is truly captivating and emotionally devastating - The Mothman Prophecies attacks via short cuts, a disturbing unspokenness of shots that would be played out to the end elsewhere, and with unpleasant sound bursts. The ambiguity with which the story unfolds helps one to empathize with the promisingly knotted story and, unfortunately, whips up ad absurdum expectations. However, after the phase of tension comes the phase of disappointment - exceptionally not because the source of the mystery is something silly (the Mothman will haunt me in my dreams for a long time), but simply because the mystery is used in traditional Hollywood idyll. The message of The Mothman Prophecies reminded me a bit of the thriller version of Ghost, which is, let's face it, quite a horrible impression. Throughout the film Mark Pellington could not avoid his obsession with props, and in the second part it is excessive, over complicated and tragically ill-conceived. What initially served as a disturbing hint ultimately functions at the end only as a surplus proprieties, the use of which is "explained" by the otherness of the world of ghosts. Truly in a buck-passing way. The acting, which over time falls into the tirades without persuasiveness, also feels somewhat weak. It’s too bad. If Pellington et al. kept the great tension from the beginning and did not allow themselves to supplement the already strong story, this film would be a thriller of the highest quality. Even in this form, however, the tension and intensity of fear of The Mothman Prophecies surpass without any problems the most frightening shots from The Sixth Sense. (01/15/2006)

The following text has been translated from Czech to English while preserving the HTML tags: The atmosphere of the film cannot be denied in any case, but it is a typical situation where the direction overshadows the dull content. A positive aspect is also Richard Gere's performance in the leading role, one of the few cases when he truly acts and is not just a star, moreover, he plays in a civilian manner... Overall impression: 65%. (06/14/2006)

An exciting thriller, which starts quite interestingly, has quite good characters, but as it gradually approaches the climax, weak points in the story appear that are not adequately fulfilled. Richard Gere is excellent, Laura Linney is underutilized, overall it's sort of halfway with a slight leaning towards the positive. (07/21/2015)