 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Mothman Prophecies
- Review Date: April 27, 2003
- PG-13
- Genre: Thriller
- 2002
Common Sense Media says
Psychological thriller may deeply upset some kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that although this movie isn't very graphic or gory, it's a psychological thriller that may be deeply upsetting to some people. There's a car crash and a tragic accident with many deaths. Another death could be suicide. There's a brief non-graphic sexual situatio and brief strong language.
What's the story?
In THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, Richard Gere stars as John Klein, a star political reporter who thinks his life is going just right when, following a car accident, he finds out that his wife (Debra Messing) has a rare brain tumor. After her death, he sees some odd, angel-like drawings that she made in the hospital. Two years later, he suddenly finds himself in the midst of all kinds of nutty stuff, mostly in a small town in West Virginia on the Ohio River. Mysterious circumstances lead him to the town. When his car dies, he goes to a nearby house to ask for help. The man in the house (Will Patton) holds him at gunpoint, saying that John has been there three nights in a row. A skeptical policewoman named Connie (Laura Linney) tells John of odd happenings, including sightings of a winged creature with red eyes who looks sort of like the drawings John's wife did. So John tells his newspaper that he's working on a story and settles in at the local hotel to investigate.
Is it any good?
Director Mark Pellington knows how to handle suspense and throw in some "boo!"-ish surprises. But the happenings themselves are so un-compelling that it hardly seems worthwhile. Maybe it's because they decided to be true to whatever really happened (though they had no problem moving the time of the story up more than 30 years to take place in the present). But even the Mothman at his most ominous just didn't seem that scary to me.
Another problem is the way that, after all that business with having voiceprints done on the Mothman's recordings and having the sightings substantiated by many different people, the movie hedges its bets at the end by telling us that it all might be a post-traumatic manifestation of John's grief over losing his wife or guilt over thinking about letting her go so that he can move on. It's possible that both are true -- that it was the grief that made John available to otherworldly messages and that he decides to walk away from it. But that still leaves us with a big "so what?"
What families can talk about
Families can talk about why many people like mystery/spooky movies like this one. What makes a good spooky movie?
- Show:
- All members
- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
GREAT MOVIE! MAKES YOU JUMP! FUN!
This movie was really good. Pretty creepy but I have to say that it was really good. The story was true which added to the effect. There was some sex going on but you did not see really anything but it did not get to that point. There also was some bits which made you jump. But a very good movie overall.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
Perfect for young horror fans
This movie's perfect for young horror fans, who probably couldn't handle the really disturbing stuff. It definitely gets less scary after you get older, but it's good fun at the time I didn't find the sex scene too offensive, because after all, the couple involved is married, and well...this is what married people do. If you're still trying to convince your childen otherwise, I suggest you examine your parenting skills a little bit closer.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
this movie is sooo boring. me an my friend watched this an we stopped paying attention 2 it an did something else.and my cousin fell asleep while watching it.its way too boring.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
BLEH
I had pretty high hopes for this movie. It was supposed to be good but I thought that it was extremely boring. I would never have known it was about the mothman if I didn't know what the movie was called. It had very little to do with the mothman. I really tried to like this movie but I couldn't even watch it in little bits. At least I only paid $6.99 for it. If you like boring, anti-climatic movies, you'll love this.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
An intriguing thriller
This movie looks scarier then it is. Even though a few scenes made me jump, the movie was more intriguing then scary. The violent content is more mild then most thrillers. A car accident scene shows one character hitting her head on the car's side window. And another accident scene shows a bridge cable going through a car's windshield (it's assumed that the driver died, but the body was never showed). In my opinion, the language was too strong for a PG-13 movie. That's the main thing about this movie that parents should be warned about.
Was this review useful?
|
|
AGE
If you've nothing better to do, watch this with friends!
I watched it when I was 13 or 14... really, it traumatised me. To the extent that I can remember certain scenes negatively even now in my 30s. If I were to watch it again, I think it'll be different, but based on my personal experience of watching it then, it isn't positively fantastical a la Labyrinth starring David Bowie, but gave an impressionistic and imaginative young teen fears and nightmares.
Was this review useful?
|
|
| Studio: | Columbia Tristar |
| Director: | Mark Pellington |
| Cast: | Debra Messing, Laura Linney, Richard Gere |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Run time: | 119 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 25, 2002 |
| DVD release date: | January 25, 2002 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | terror, peril, deaths, brief language, and sexual situation |
Review It
Great alternatives handpicked by our editors
Already seen it? What do you think?
More from Common Sense Media
Top advice and articles
