Reporter John Klein is plunged into a world of impossible terror and unthinkable chaos when fate draws him to a sleepy West Virginia town whose residents are being visited by a great winged shape that sows hideous nightmares and fevered visions.
Despite hints that it aspires to be more, The Mothman Prophecies is a by-the-numbers sci-fi thriller.
– Jeff Strickler,
Minneapolis Star Tribune,
6 Nov 2002
rotten:
There are certainly strong moments and efficient set pieces here, too, but for all the claims that the film, adapted from a 1975 book by John Keel, is based on real events, Pellington fails to sustain credibility.
– Wally Hammond,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
rotten:
Director Mark Pellington hardly lets a moment pass without suggesting some bad vibes creeping onto the edges of the screen, but he's let down by Richard Hatem's script.
– Robert Koehler,
Variety,
11 Jan 2008
fresh:
This is the scariest movie I've ever seen.
– Lisa Alspector,
Chicago Reader,
11 Jan 2008
fresh:
Pellington knows, as did the 1940s master of horror Val Lewton, that what you don't see can raise far more goose bumps than what you do.