The Mothman Prophecies

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The Mothman Prophecies

PG-13

2002

1h 59m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

52%

Tomatometer

143 Reviews

56%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

From the director of Arlington Road comes a spine-tingling, super-natural thriller based on actual events that will rattle your nerves and shake your beliefs. Distraught by the sudden, tragic death of his wife (Debra Messing), John Klein (Richard Gere), a journalist for The Washington Post, finds himself mysteriously drawn to a small West Virginia town when his car inexplicably strands him. Rescued by the sympathetic but skeptical local police sergeant (Laura Linney), he soon learns that many of the town's residents have been beset by bizarre events, including sightings of an eerie "moth-like" entity, similar to the one seen by his late wife. Investigating further and having his own terrifying encounters with the creature, he becomes obsessed with the idea that this supernatural being can predict impending calamities and is trying to warn the town of one. Is this a psychic delusion brought on by his grief or can he convince the police sergeant that there's a tragedy that must be averted? His life, and potentially others' lives, depend on his making the right choice before time runs out.

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Critics Consensus

A creepy thriller that poses more questions than it answers.

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Bill Stamets

Chicago Reader

06/23/2022

3/4

Sights that might have been comforting before suddenly seem strange and menacing, and the technological landscape we depend on for our survival becomes the mise-en-scene of a horror film...

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

10/09/2020

B+

One of the creepiest movies ever made.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

12/28/2010

2/5

Psychological thriller may deeply upset some kids.

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

May 25

7/10

A stylish and effective supernatural thriller boosted by smart, effective performances and an excellent soundtrack by musical duo tomandandy.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Mar 19

3/5

‘…a more than decent genre time-passer that just about escapes from the shadow of a goofy title…’

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Akos Peterbencze

The Screen

Nov 14

...as disappointing as my rewatch ended up being two decades later, I’ll always be indebted to Pellington’s vision and Hatem’s script for nourishing my fascination with atmospheric horrors and paranormal phenomena.

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RichardAB T

@PoorDearRichard 1d

🦋 The scariest part isn't the creature. It's that the story was inspired by reported events. Some horror films rely on jump scares. The Mothman Prophecies builds something far more unsettling: a constant feeling that something is wrong, and that you may never fully understand what it is. The film pulls you in within the first few minutes, and the pacing is one of its biggest strengths. It unfolds at a steady, deliberate pace without feeling slow, constantly feeding you just enough information to keep you invested while maintaining its mystery. Richard Gere and Laura Linney make an excellent pairing. Their performances help sell the increasingly bizarre events unfolding around them, making the supernatural elements feel believable rather than over-the-top. The ending will give you chills. Knowing that the story was inspired by reported events surrounding the Mothman sightings makes the film even more unsettling.

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Johnny R

@RT32386851 Apr 5

Slowwww paced...Boring. I should have given up on it, but, I stuck it out and regretted doing so. The great cast couldn't do much with this lackluster storyline. So much potential here but none of it used.

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Ivan M.

@imapug Mar 30

Great acting, great story, and pace of the movie is very good. Movie very well directed and it’s a gem of a thriller.

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Manda R.

@oatmeal Mar 7

I’ve never seen this before. It had a lot of potential but really gets bogged down in editing, continuity, and the little stuff. The bones are good. Once I realized it was based off a book it all made sense. I don’t think it translated that well to screen unfortunately but very interesting ideas and concepts.

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din d

@L1J2K3 Feb 22

Stupid, boring, and doesn't do really anything. It almost just "flies" by and is barely memorable at all.

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Paul M

@RT51828435 Nov 30

The pacing was too slow. They were going for a building of tension, but I got a little bored... so I'd call that ineffective. The relationship between the two main characters didn't really "blossom", I think I would have found Gere's character more annoying then endearing. Throw in another character or two who have odd sightings, a little more meat on the bone so to speak.

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Mark Pellington

Director

Richard Gere

John Klein

Laura Linney

Connie Parker

Will Patton

Gordon Smallwood

Debra Messing

Mary Klein

Lucinda Jenney

Denise Smallwood

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Synopsis

From the director of Arlington Road comes a spine-tingling, super-natural thriller based on actual events that will rattle your nerves and shake your beliefs. Distraught by the sudden, tragic death of his wife (Debra Messing), John Klein (Richard Gere), a journalist for The Washington Post, finds himself mysteriously drawn to a small West Virginia town when his car inexplicably strands him. Rescued by the sympathetic but skeptical local police sergeant (Laura Linney), he soon learns that many of the town's residents have been beset by bizarre events, including sightings of an eerie "moth-like" entity, similar to the one seen by his late wife. Investigating further and having his own terrifying encounters with the creature, he becomes obsessed with the idea that this supernatural being can predict impending calamities and is trying to warn the town of one. Is this a psychic delusion brought on by his grief or can he convince the police sergeant that there's a tragedy that must be averted? His life, and potentially others' lives, depend on his making the right choice before time runs out.

Director: Mark Pellington
Producer: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Gary Goldstein
Screenwriter: Richard Hatem, John A. Keel
Distributor: Screen Gems
Production Co: Screen Gems, Lakeshore Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexuality|Language|Terror)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 25, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $35.2M
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)