Mothman Curse, The (2015)
Starring Rachel Dale, Steven Glover, Daniel Mansfield
Directed by Richard Mansfield
An unfunny joke at a party, or that extra slice of pie that you had for dessert – examples of things that should have been left behind, and possibly for good reason. No further truth could be spoken as well when it comes to a film subject – now I’m not babbling on again about a particular type of sub-genre, but the focal point itself can be a tiring one to retread, especially when its displayed in a disappointing fashion, and that brings us to The Mothman Curse.
Back in 2002 the world witnessed The Mothman Prophecies terrify (and bore) the masses equally, being one of those films that you simply just couldn’t sit on the fence about – you either loved it or detested it, and I’ll admit, aside from Richard Gere dragging it to a slow, painful death, the movie was fairly decent, but that frankly should have been where this specific individual subject piece should have been dropped off, and as a result – we take you to the present. Director Richard Mansfield throws a heavy rope around the supposed legendary creature that spawned numerous sightings back in the mid 60’s, and has resulted in becoming somewhat of a intermediary phenomena, becoming the focus in many aspects of popular culture along the way…so why not make another movie about it, right? The film sets its sights on Rachel and Katy, two ladies who spend their working hours in the dusty halls of a cinema museum, and are progressively haunted to pieces by the legendary Mothman.
All prospective finite details cast to the side, we’ve essentially got what looks like a shaky cam (although NOT found-footage), arthouse-styled piece that takes black and white, grainy images to a whole new perspective. As the movie rolls, the two women’s conscious-activity begins to become their biggest nightmare, as apparitions intensify, leading them to question their own sanity amidst the terror that impairs their rational thoughts. Now I’m not going to bemoan Mr. Mansfield’s sense of directorial composition, especially when it comes to the way the presentation was shot, but have you ever heard the expression “went to the well once too often?” It’s a very old utterance that warns about pushing one’s luck a little too far, and lamentably this is the result of said “well-visitations.” I’d honestly lost count of how many hazed-out night shots I’d seen of a black-shadowy figure lurking in different hallways, and outside of window panes. Atmospherically, the film sets up extremely nicely, and at times you can garner the illusion that you too, are in that hallway with Mr. Mothman locking his eyes squarely upon your soul…while we’re at it, I’d love to address the creepiness-factor of the image in black, and I defy someone to watch this movie and NOT say that this single, solitary thought passed through your mind when he popped up on camera: Ben Affleck as Batman – complete with glowing eyes. Watch it. Feast on it, and ultimately agree with it.
Overall, The Mothman Curse will appeal to those few who still enjoy shutting off any form of interior illumination in order to enhance their cinematic horror experience, as well they should. But regrettably for this fatigued fan of the fearful, I’m going to need a LOT MORE than some blacked-out lights and a shaky cam following a guy in a batsuit around for 80 minutes to give me the Willies…or the Waynes for that matter.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
