Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Angst-ridden teen horror movie has suicide themes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Moth Diaries
What's the Story?
Recovering from her father's suicide, Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) attends an all-girls boarding school. She looks forward to seeing her best friend, Lucie (Sarah Gadon), again. But as they prepare for the best year ever, a new girl, the creepy Ernessa (Lily Cole), turns up and begins stealing Lucie away from Rebecca. Rebecca notices that Lucie has stopped eating and looks rather weak and sick, but no one listens to her. Not even handsome poetry teacher Mr. Davies (Scott Speedman) can help. Worse, Rebecca begins seeing creepy things, visions and other weird events, involving Ernessa -- including a bloody rainstorm and a glimpse of Ernessa passing straight through a glass window. Can Rebecca get to the bottom of these mysterious events?
Is It Any Good?
Coming from the intense, button-pushing director Mary Harron -- of American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page -- THE MOTH DIARIES is a disappointment. Ostensibly made as an angst-filled teen horror movie in the vein of Twilight, it doesn't really have an idea of its own identity. For example, the boarding school is supposed to be on the site of an old hotel, but this isn't really used in any interesting physical way.
Despite an interesting, hushed atmosphere, scenes start arbitrarily in various locations throughout the school, with no real sense of place or time. As a result, the characters seem lost. Likewise, The Moth Diaries fails to balance its vague vampire themes and more overt themes of suicide. However the movie makes good use of Cole (also in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus), an actress with a truly unique look who, like Elsa Lanchester or Barbara Steele, seems destined for a great career in genre films.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the movie presents suicide. Is it realistic? Does it romanticize it at all? What makes some people think that it's their only option? What impact does their decision have on their friends and family? Where can kids in despair turn for assistance?
In the story, one of the teen girls has sex with a boy for the first time. How is it presented? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.
Is this movie scary? What are the scariest parts, and why do they or don't they work?
Movie Details
- In theaters : April 20, 2012
- On DVD or streaming : August 28, 2012
- Cast : Lily Cole , Sarah Bolger , Sarah Gadon , Scott Speedman
- Director : Mary Harron
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Queer Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : IFC Entertainment
- Genre : Horror
- Run time : 82 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some bloody images, sexuality, drug use and language
- Last updated : October 31, 2022
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