text: Supernatural thriller meets X Files - Berkshire Live
  Supernatural thriller meets X Files
  Richard Gere stars in this curious supernatural tale based on real-life reports.
  Anchoring the film's events in reality, The Mothman Prophecies borrows from super-successful The Blair Witch Project, to add a more immediate and deep-reaching element of fear.
  This is where the similarities end, however, because The Mothman Prophecies is not a horror film.
  Gere is John Klein, a successful journalist with The Washington Post. One night, following a viewing of the house he plans to buy, a tragic accident ensues as his wife drives them home.
  Waking in hospital, Mary Klein (Debra Messing) is disturbed by memories of the accident and recalls the dark shape that flew towards the car, causing her to lose control. Soon after, Mary dies as a result of an apparently unrelated brain tumour.
  Two years later, John finds himself in Point Pleasant, a small town in West Virginia, under mysterious circumstances.
  On hearing of sightings of a so-called "mothman" and intrigued that descriptions resemble sketches made by his dying wife, he decides to stay and investigate the strange phenomena alongside local police chief Comie Parker (Laura Linney).
  It eventually transpires that the Mothman is not the malevolent entity it might appear but its cryptic messages and unpredictable visits certainly strike fear into the hearts of those who witness its presence.
  Director Mark Pellington adds some inventive avant-garde touches to make a film that is rich with imagery. He links similar shapes, for example, and layers shots to create a visual tapestry that is, at times, beautiful and sometimes disturbing and disorientating.
  Richard Gere is adequate but it is Will Patton as local bumpkin Gordon who stands out.
  Part X Files, part supernatural thriller and part romance with horror elements, a heartstopping final sequence also nods towards the disaster film. Unusual in some ways and average in others, The Mothman Prophecies is a film that benefits from its director's artistic flair.