THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES
Imagine an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE directed by David Lynch, and you?ll have some concept of THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, the new psychic thriller starring Richard Geer. While no masterpiece, the film is effectively unsettling in the manner of those uncanny stories wherein expectations of normality are abruptly overturned, undermining our sense of reality in a way that is disturbing on a more profound level than the jump-and-scare tactics of most horror films. With no gore, only minimal violence, and a restrained use of special effects, this is a film that takes the high road to terror, and most often succeeds.
The story follows journalist John Klein (a fictional character played by Richard Geer) whose wife dies from injuries suffered in a car crash, apparently caused by the ?mothman.? Suffering from grief, Klein loses his way while driving to an assignment in another state and finds himself in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where the populace seems plagued by the Mothman, who seems to be able to predict the future. Abandoning his assignment, Klein seeks to get to the bottom of the story and gradually becomes convinced that whatever is happening is not just mass hallucination. A talk with author Alexander Leek (Alan Bates) offers some kind of explanation: entities of this kind have always cohabitated the earth, but we can never know their real agenda -- whether they mean to help or harm.
That's about as much explanation as you get from the script, which is a good thing. The effectiveness of a mystery like this can be dissipated if it is explained away. Instead, the script focuses on the drama of the story: how exposure to these events affects Klein. The effect is clearly debilitating, as his obsession comes to replace the grief that has already shut his life down emotionally but only makes his condition even worse than it was. The film seems to suggest that, whether or not the prophecies are real, believing in them makes Klein dependent on them, sacrificing his self-determination in favor of allowing unexplained forces to dictate his every move. It's a workable premise for a good story, and it gives the film something to do besides record the strange events in Point Pleasant, leading to a dramatic resolution that stands in place of revealing any hidden truths about the nature of the mothman.
The screenplay is 'inspired by?' a non-fiction book that purported to tell of some strange phenomena that occurred in a small town, culminating in the collapse of a bridge supposedly predicted by a mysterious entity that appeared to people in a shadowy, winged shape (dubbed 'the mothman'). Fortunately, you don?t have to believe any of this to enjoy the film, but the alleged basis in reality does pay good dividends. MOTHMAN PROPHECIES strives to seem believable. This means that most of the usual horror movie conventions are kept in check, while the film tries to tell a story that makes sense, not just link together shock scenes. Overt melodrama is avoided; the characters and situations are low-key, believable. In other words, the story seems to be taking place in the world that we recognize as real, and the phenomena that invades this reality is weird and improbable but seldom if ever impossible. Strange phone calls awaken people at night; dreams trouble characters with cryptic messages that seem to be prophetic; something is briefly glimpsed in the dark. Of course, all of this could be just hysteria and hallucination, but we?re willing to accept the suggestion that something supernatural is at work.
Director Mark Pelllington, a graduate of the music video school of filmmaking, layers all of this in a wash of style that would seem overdone in any other genre but which works quite well in this context. He's flashy, but he's also effective. All those odd camera setups and visual flourishes help to suggest a strange world that normally lies just beyond our perception, but which intrudes ever more forcefully as the story proceeds.
The cast delivers good work all around. Richard Geer seems to develop as an actor, the older he gets, no longer relying on good looks and star charisma to carry him through. Here, he actually manages to convey some sense of a shattered inner life undermining his character. Laura Linney is likewise good as the town sheriff, even if her role is less demanding, sort of the Scully to Geer's Mulder. Will Patton is good in a supporting role, and Alan Bates manages to pull off the thankless stereotypical role of the 'explainer,' the guy each of these films must have, who can tell the characters what's going on.
The tech credits are solid with cinematography, music, and sound effects combining to convey a sense of dread, even when nothing obviously evil is happening. Still, for all its good intentions, the film is still a genre piece, in which de rigueur elements sometimes outweigh the story. The car crash near the opening is effectively shocking, but the dramatic impact is not as strong as it should be. We're too obviously seeing a prologue that's supposed to set the character up for what he will encounter later; the whole thing has the feel of the opening chapter of dozens of horror novels, in which somebody has to die in order to get the ball rolling. Not that what we're seeing doesn?t work; it just works in a way that is more superficial than intended. And Pellington's direction, though more often than not effective at putting you on the edge of your seat, sometimes overdoes it with the moody visuals, slowing the pace down and giving you a chance to drift out of the movie instead of being sucked deeper into it.
But if you're willing to overlook these lapses, you may find yourself pleasantly entertained and frequently frightened by THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES. It may not be another SIXTH SENSE, but it does achieve most of what it sets out to do: tell an interesting story of the bizarre that seems as if it could have happened, at least for the length of the running time. You may doubt while you're leaving the theatre, but you will be able to suspend your disbelief while watching the movie.
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