Despite a subpar financial outcome and mixed reviews upon its initial release, 2002’sThe Mothman Prophecieshas gradually gained a bit of a cult following as a truly chilling supernaturalhorrorfilm. Claiming to be based on true events that occurred between Nov. 1966 and Dec. 1967 in Point Pleasant, the film also served as a mystery, with the audience pondering if there was really something supernatural going on or if it was a series of local legend stories that took on a life of their own. It’s a story that deserves to be expanded on, and it looks like that might be finally happening for fans of the film. Director Mark Pellington, who helmed the first movie, revealed that a sequel could be heading to streaming, so this would be the perfect time to get familiar withThe Mothman Propheciesand its legacy.
The Mothman Propheciesis based on the 1975 book of the same name by parapsychologist and author John Keel. The book detailed Keel’s accounts of his investigation into the alleged sightings of a large, winged creature called Mothman. The sightings reportedly happened in the vicinity of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and he also combined these accounts with his theories aboutother supernatural phenomena. The events are subsequently linked to the collapse of the Silver Bridge across the Ohio River in Dec. 1967. Official investigations done in 1971 said the bridge collapse happened due to stress corrosion cracking in an eyebar in a suspension chain, but the otherworldly angle has always made it a compelling mystery, which led to a film adaptation in 2002.
The Film Adapts Pieces of John Keel’s Book and Investigations
The film follows John Klein (Richard Gere), a reporter who finds himself researching the legend of the Mothman following the death of his wife (Debra Messing) two years earlier from Glioblastoma. That was the medical reason given for her death, but during a car accident that led to her hospital stay, she claims to have seen a large black figure that resulted in the crash. After her passing, John finds himself in Point Pleasant covering a news piece and discovers that the townspeople have been claiming to have seen the same unusual creature alongside other unexplained occurrences.
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The Mothman Propheciesis an atmospheric and unsettling experience. None of the film is in-your-face scary, but there seems to be this lingering dread permeating throughout every frame. The movie isn’t really adirect adaptation of Keel’s book, but it does pull some of its elements to frame its story.
For instance, Keel’s investigation for his book led to the name Indrid Cold, a figure that allegedly communicated telepathically with a man named Woodrow Derenberger, about 51 miles away from Point Pleasant. Derenberger claimed to have seen an unusual craft land ahead of him and a man emerging from it that had “slightly elongated” eyes. The figure introduced himself as Indrid Cold, and Derenberger claimed to have visited with others who looked like him from the planet Lanulos.
Derenberger was adapted in the film as Gordon Smallwood (Will Patton), and it’s Cold’s voice that offers up one of the creepiest moments of the film. Cold calls John on the phone, and John asks him to tell him what he’s holding in his hand (it happens to be chapstick) and when Cold chillingly utters “chaaapstick” during the call, it more than suggests that something truly strange is going on in Point Pleasant.
Other loose adaptations from the book to film include the 1967 bridge collapse, which provides the climax of the film. The Mothman was said to be a sort of predictor of doom that warns of disaster, and this is why its sightings were linked to the bridge collapse. Character names are also lifted from real life. Mary Hyre was a reporter for The Athens Messenger who assisted Keel in his investigations, while her niece Connie Carpenter was one of Keel’s interviewees for his case studies. In the film, John’s wife is named Mary,while Laura Linneyplays a police officer named Connie who tries to be a logical voice of sanity for John as the mystery begins to make him unravel.
The Mothman Prophecieswas met with mixed reviews upon release, registering a 52 percent rotten ratingon Rotten Tomatoeswith the consensus that calls it “A creepy thriller that poses more questions than it answers.”
As far as its box office performance, even though the film opened to $11.2 million, it failed to enter the top five during its opening weekend and ultimately grossed a moderate$35.7 million domesticallyand $55.1 million worldwide on a $32 million budget. This was a period when thrillers or horror films a studio was uncertain of would be dumped during the month of January, and that vibe may have hurtThe Mothman Propheciesinitially. That being said, years after its theatrical release, the movie has been reassessed as a creepy thriller worthy of more attention. Its emergence as a cult film more than 20 years after its release makes this the right time for a sequel to finally happen.
A Mothman Sequel Could Explore More of the Mystery
The Mothmanlore is prime for a sequel or even a streaming series that could explore different aspects of the mystery more. The creature has been at the center of a documentary series that began with 2017’sThe Mothman of Point Pleasantand had its most recent entry with2020’sThe Mothman Legacy, directed by Seth Breedlove.
The documentaries explored that there have been reported sightings of The Mothman that date from the 1960s to 2019 and even go beyond the town of Point Pleasant. With the documentary featuring accounts from other locations in West Virginia, as well as the greater Appalachian region, many of these stories could be explored in a sequel that could prove to expand on the sightings and their effect on those who have claimed to have seen it, in greater detail.
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There is also an interesting UFO angle that can be explored. Keel linked some of the Mothman sightings to his theories about UFOS, most notably through Connie Carpenter after she claimed to have seen a flying gray creature with glowing red eyes on her way to church. The sighting left Carpenter with swollen eyes and “eyeburn,” and this is something that Keel associated with UFO encounters. A potential sequel could look into the UFO side of things more and dive into the connections with the Mothman. Is the Mothman warning of some kind of invasion? Is he one of these beings from another world? How much more are they linked?
The Mothman is indeed having a newfound moment. Etsy designers have created Mothman merch that has built its own fanbase, while the aforementioned documentaries have boosted the creature’s profile to an almost mythical level. For this reason, more people have discovered the film in subsequent years, and its profile has only increased.
During his appearance at Eerie Horror Fest, Pellington didn’t give too much detail as towhat the streamingMothmanproject would be, but there are endless possibilities to create something truly creepy that would stand alongside the film and the real-life tales that have kept the Mothman legacy going for all these years.
