Before it begins, "The Mothman Prophecies" lets the audience know
that it's "based on real life events." Lately, that declaration seems
more like a warning. Movies like "A Beautiful Mind" and "Black Hawk
Down" contain similar statements, but how much actually happened,
especially in "Mind," is open for debate.
Adapted by Richard Hatem (whose only other writing credit is the Steven Seagal flick "Under Siege 2") from the book by John A. Keel, Richard Gere stars as Washington Post writer John Klein, a character loosely based on Keel.
John and his lovely wife Mary (Debra Messing of "Will and Grace") are happily married and on the prowl for a new house. They appear to have found the perfect one and celebrate by seeing if a certain closet has enough floor space. Life is good.
On their way home Mary decides to speed a little because the round in the closet wasn't enough. Suddenly, someone or something (that only Mary sees) hits the car, causing Mary to lose control of it. A minor accident follows and she hits her head on the driver side window.
After she regains consciousness at the hospital, Mary asks John if he saw it. He has no idea what she is talking about, but obviously she saw something, and is terrified.
Fast-forward two years. John is driving to Richmond to interview the governor of Virginia. At 2:30 a.m., his car dies. After seeking help at the first house he can find, John learns that he is in the small town of Point Pleasant, which is near Ohio and 400 miles from where he was headed. But he has no memory of how he got to where he is.
A strange incident with a man in the house he goes to for help leads John to a conversation with Connie (Laura Linney), a local police officer. It seems that locals have been seeing strange things lately. And these aren't people known for being crazy or drug addicts. These are honest, decent and hard-working folks.
The longer John stays in Point Pleasant, the weirder things get. More and more people are seeing something they can't explain and receiving unusual phone calls. John gradually becomes more involved, and soon he is trying to find out who or what is responsible.
"The Mothman Prophecies" is itself a strange dichotomy. It has a lot going for it and more than once approaches greatness, but ultimately it grows tiresome, leaves too many questions unanswered and doesn't mold itself into a coherent, satisfying film.
The directing job by Mark Pellington ("Arlington Road") is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it's nice to see a movie with elements of horror that emphasizes mood and story over special effects and gore. Some scenes are undeniably creepy and Pellington does nice work building tension and a spooky atmosphere.
At the same time, he goes way overboard with wild camera angles and slow motion. The script does its best to put substance before style, but Pellington fights it the whole way, doing his best to put style at the forefront. There are too many loud and blurry shots of something you can't quite make out. Less is more, and you get it after the first couple times.
While always maintaining interest, the story loses steam in the second half. Numerous scenes drag and bore, and Linney is sorely underused. The focus becomes too muddled. Is this a mystery? Science fiction? Drama? Horror? Romance (between John and Connie)? The movie doesn't know either, and it's all over the place.
The conclusion, while visually impressive and well done, creates more questions and frustrates. A movie like this doesn't have to wrap everything up in a neat bow (and it certainly doesn't), but it hardly bothers with anything remotely resembling an explanation for all that has transpired. You can't help but leave feeling a little cheated.
"The Mothman Prophecies" isn't a bad movie, but it ends up feeling like one because of the untapped potential and a few genuinely unsettling moments that go to waste. You can only wonder what might have been.
"The Mothman Prophecies" opens at theaters everywhere on Fri., Jan. 25. Click here for showtimes.
