Mothman Prophecies
(2002)
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Driving South to Richmond, Washington Post reporter John Klein (Richard Gere) finds himself unexpectedly way off course--in the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia--knocking on the door of Gordon and Denise Smallwood (Tom Patton and Lucinda Jenney). Gordon is irate. This is the third night in a row that Klein has knocked on his door at 2 a.m. When Sgt. Connie Parker (Laura Linney) arrives to investigate, Klein discovers this is just one of many strange events occurring in the town. With Parker's help, Klein investigates. Soon, he becomes convinced that some catastrophe is about to occur. |
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The presence of Richard Gere in this paranormal thriller (based on “true” events) may suggest a rather mainstream approach to the material. Yet this eerie and engrossing movie is far from conventional, combining off-kilter camera work and spooky sound mixing with enough narrative ambiguity to fill several David Lynch movies. Gere plays a political reporter who one night inexplicably drives hundreds of miles out of his way to a small West Virginia town. He discovers that the confused inhabitants — including Laura Linney and Will Patton — are plagued by strange visitations from a large winged creature that seem to foreshadow disaster. Gere's attempts to connect these surreal events with a personal tragedy form the emotional backbone of the story, while the now familiar X Files-like encounters are composed with flair and imagination by director Mark Pellington (Arlington Road). Although many questions are ultimately left unanswered, this is a well-crafted and grown-up chiller with a stunning climactic payoff.