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The Mothman Prophecies
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The Mothman Prophecies (2002) More at IMDbPro »

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The Mothman Prophecies (2002) -- A reporter is drawn to a small West Virginia town to investigate a series of strange events, including psychic visions and the appearance of bizarre entities.
The Mothman Prophecies (2002) -- A reporter is drawn to a small West Virginia town to investigate a series of strange events, including psychic visions and the appearance of bizarre entities.

Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   23,960 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 3% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Mark Pellington
Writers (WGA):
John A. Keel (novel)
Richard Hatem (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Mothman Prophecies on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 January 2002 (USA) more
Tagline:
What do you see? more
Plot:
A reporter is drawn to a small West Virginia town to investigate a series of strange events, including psychic visions and the appearance of bizarre entities. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(18 articles)
Weekend Report: 'Knowing' Digs Up the Digits
 (From BoxOfficeMojo.com. 23 March 2009, 2:34 PM, PDT)

Skeet Ulrich Returns to CBS with Back
 (From Worst Previews. 12 March 2009, 10:00 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
History Revised more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Richard Gere ... John Klein

David Eigenberg ... Ed Fleischman
Bob Tracey ... Cyrus Bills
Ron Emanuel ... Washington Post Reporter

Debra Messing ... Mary Klein

Tom Stoviak ... Brian
Yvonne Erickson ... Dr. McElroy

Scott Nunnally ... Orderly
Harris Mackenzie ... TV Journalist
Will Patton ... Gordon Smallwood
Lucinda Jenney ... Denise Smallwood

Laura Linney ... Connie Mills

Tom Tully ... Motel Manager
Zachary Mott ... Otto (as Billy Mott)
Ann McDonough ... Lucy Griffin
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Mothman (USA) (working title)
The Mothman (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for terror, some sexuality and language.
Runtime:
119 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The name of the expert on paranormal activity is Leek, the reverse of paranormal expert and author of the novel that the film was based on, Keel. more
Goofs:
Miscellaneous: In the scene of the Silver Bridge collapse, you can see close-ups of the car windshields and the people inside the cars. If you notice the inspection sticker in the windshield, it is a Pennsylvania inspection sticker instead of a West Virginia, where the movie is based. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
John Klein: Jesus!
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Adam & Eva (2003) more
Soundtrack:
Lurid more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
66 out of 88 people found the following comment useful:-
History Revised, 25 May 2005
Author: Lechuguilla from Dallas, Texas

In 1966-67 a series of weird, supposedly supernatural, events occurred in or near Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Much of what happened centered on local residents' purported encounters with UFOs; confrontations with "men-in-black"; phone calls from entities whose voices sounded electronic (or metallic); and sightings of a winged, semi-human creature that came to be known as "mothman". A few locals also were made privy to future predictions (prophecies), some of which in fact did materialize, but others didn't. One of the alleged predictions was a December, 1967 disaster that did occur, and which this film dramatizes.

Available literature suggests a high probability that some, though by no means all, of the Point Pleasant events were the resulting activities of a practical joker, a prankster, by the name of "Barker" (who died in the 1980s). Other events appear to have been too bizarre and too widespread to be attributed to a lone carnival barker (pun intended).

"The Mothman Prophecies" is not a very good factual account of the Point Pleasant events. Indeed, the film's setting is the present, not the 1960s, a fact which the film slyly evades. The filmmakers evidently decided to use part of the historical record, and then dramatize it, in a way that would have cinematic appeal to today's audiences.

And so, the film aims to be a supernatural thriller, a suspenseful study in the theme of what is real vs. what is not real. There's lots of dark atmosphere with offbeat, gyrating camera shots, ominous music, and dialogue to match. The overall effect is one wherein unseen forces are lurking in the shadows.

For some viewers, this supernatural tone thus provides intense escapist entertainment. For me, the hocus-pocus factor was too high, and the film exuded a sense of forced melodrama. Further, the film did not lead to any satisfactory resolution. What it did lead to was a nicely staged reenactment of the real life December, 1967 disaster.

Maybe someday someone will make a documentary about the men-in-black element of the Point Pleasant events. If the underlying research is honest and thorough, the resulting film could illuminate a 1960s drama that, while not supernatural in nature, had, and still has, implications that are as scary as they are real.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Any one have pics of Mothman spotted on 911? crebradis
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Movies With Similar Tone and Atmosphere? clow987
mothman in mirror? Tyler666
6.2!!! what on earth is going on Bigturk2006
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