After the last few films that I’ve seen; the Mothman Prophecies is definitely a change of pace. It’s a horror film with some drama mixed in and who doesn’t want to see a film about the Mothman!? Unfortunately, this is one of those films that starts out decently interesting and then quickly stops being entertaining. Why? Let’s find out!

The plot involves a man named John Klein. He’s doing pretty well in his career as a reporter and he has just finished purchasing a house along with his wife. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes and his wife dies after a big car crash. As she dies; Mary (The wife) draws some off pictures of a moth creature…could it be the Mothman? John doesn’t take this too seriously and he takes his mind off of the drawings for two years. After he is taken to Ohio and strange events begin to pop up…John realizes that he’s in it for the long haul. The Mothman’s not going to win without some resistance!

John Klein is the main character and he’s all right……at best. He really gets sucked into the Mothman rumors and he doesn’t take it too well. He breaks down into tears at one point and the Mothman really had him petrified after a late night call. After his wife’s death, John seems ready to move on after two years. That’s way too soon if you ask me and he should be more worried about retiring than thinking about getting into the romance game. No, John Klein is not a main character that will help a film get going. John also comes across as a little generic at times. There really weren’t any good parts about him…that’s disappointing.

Connie is the main heroine, but she’s still a supporting character in the end. She’s the Policewoman in the haunted area of Point Pleasant. For the most part, she seems to be the only cop around, but others appear out of nowhere towards the end of the film. I have to say that she’s a little too trusting since she walks around without her gun at the ready when it’s around 3 in the morning. What if the stranger had actually been evil? It would have been Game Over. At least she doesn’t put a whole lot of stock into the Mothman rumors. She was definitely a decent character.

Gordon is pretty unlikable from the start. The Mothman really does a number on him and Gordon never recovered. He also drags John back into the mix as he keeps Mr. Klein updated on the spooky situations that keep on happening to him. Gordon should have just ignored the weird phone calls and then decide to call it a night. It may be easier said than done, but he definitely could have kept some composure as he was enduring this situation. I’m just saying…

Indrid Cold..AKA, the Mothman is the big villain of the film. Unfortunately, he never actually appears in the film. Maybe the Mothman isn’t actually real? Naturally, the film hints that he is very real, but I guess they couldn’t afford the special effects needed for him to make an appearance. We have to settle with hearing him as the Mothman proves that he may have knowledge beyond comprehension as well as basic telekinesis or invisibility. The Mothman seems to be able to mess with their minds or he is just really good at impersonation and changing his voice. It can be a little sad for the heroes since they really don’t stand a chance. The Mothman is portrayed as being basically invincible so that eliminates any hope of the heroes walking out of this with a trophy or something like that.

Alexander is the expert on all things supernatural, but after the Mothman has a few choice words for him….Alexander leaves the business. We find out that he’s deeply afraid of the Mothman and he prefers to just forget about his supernatural knowledge and just sit around eating tea and burgers. (We don’t see his eating habits, but this is just an expression to show how badly he is taking this) This strategy did work so maybe he was on to something…maybe.

One area that didn’t help this film was the romance from the first few scenes. The main characters are already married so it is a bit much to see what they do upon getting the new house. Pretty unnecessary if you ask me, but it’s nothing compared to the “two teenagers in a car” scene. I’m sure that we must have seen a similar scene like this in just about every horror film. This one was one of the most pointless ones that I have come across and it comes out of nowhere. These two characters literally have no point in the storyline and the scene was just there to add some fanservice. Ugh….you wouldn’t find this in the classic films like the Peanuts Christmas special.

The soundtrack is basically nonexistent. I did like the opening credits since it helped to establish a spooky tone for the film without being overly cheesy and forced. I actually enjoyed the opening a lot and I wouldn’t mind seeing something similar in the next Godzilla or DBZ film. It’s horror themed, but it really builds up the suspense that every film could use.

So, in the end….why was this film so bad? The problem is that it drags on for a long time and there is no point by the end. The climax is terrible and it’s not exciting in the slightest. You never feel a real sense of danger because the Mothman never actually appears. We know that he loves to pick on John, but why? The viewer gets to make a lot of decisions on what has actually happened, which is all right…but sometimes you want the film to make a few decisions. Can the Mothman really take someone’s soul and bring them back to the world of the living or was it just some more shape shifting on his part? He also may be able to steal memories. At first, we’re interested in John’s plight because now he needs to avenge his wife and take this creature down. Then we see him listening to spooky tales for an hour and a half…before deciding to not really do anything about it. Sure, he can’t win, but let’s at least get some action in here. Nothing really happened and that’s why their was no point. We would just see scared people panic all of the time.

Overall, this was one of the weaker films that I’ve seen in a while. Ultimately, it’s just very boring and even the first half would now be pretty boring since I know that it doesn’t lead to anything. We really could have used a few explosions or fights to help make the film a little more exciting. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this film to anyone. Watch the third Bleach film if you want something a lot scarier and a lot more epic at the same time. Next time the Mothman makes a phone call….just tell him that he has the wrong number.

Overall 3/10