MovieChat Forums > The Mothman Prophecies (2002) Discussion > Insights about the “mothmen” from clues ...

Insights about the “mothmen” from clues in the film (SPOILERS)


The ‘mothmen’ are evil spirits or fallen angels (they're synonymous). This is clear when viewing eye-witness drawings of the creatures, which never show beautiful angel-like beings, but rather dark disturbing, obviously-malevolent winged-creatures. It’s the same thing with the actual appearances of the creature, like during the car crash (freeze frame the images).

A mothman CAUSED the auto accident that injured Debra Messing. Would a GOOD angelic being cause such a tragedy (regardless of the fact that she ultimately dies of a pre-existing problem)?

The bible calls Satan the "prince of the power of the air"; hence, his filthy underlings (demons) are spiritual and electro-magnetic in nature. They can thus speak through a phone that's not plugged in or perhaps manipulate a traffic light. They can mimic the voices of dead loved ones or even take human form, like Indrid Cold, Mary or the male nurse who insists that Mary's drawings are of "angels" and then mysteriously vanishes.

The researcher from Chicago reveals that the mothmen are from “hell” (the spiritual underworld that underpins the earth) and send out mixed messages to ruin people’s lives. They may seem to be benevolently warning humans but, at the same time, are obvious instigators of human suffering (the car crash, Gordon's job loss, insanity & ultimate demise and the researcher's loss of his family, career & respectable social life). Also, they refuse to reveal their true selves and intentions. They are highly skilled masqueraders.

The reclusive researcher also points out that they have been around for millennia and therefore see things 2-3 moves ahead of humans; they use this vantage point to manipulate, deceive and destroy. Since their M.O. is to “kill, steal and destroy,” they feed on death, destruction and torment and therefore are attracted to the places where great tragedies will transpire, like the Silver Bridge collapse.

The saved police woman at the end was number "37,” historically a numerical symbol of The Christ, which shows that her submersion in the river and figurative resurrection is a type of the Messiah. Yet she is still a victim in that her previous views that the mothmen are destructive and manipulative could now flip-flop into the deception that they are somehow agents of good. Of course we never find out if this happens because the tale potently ends with Klein and Connie in shock sitting in an ambulance just glad to be alive.

The film powerfully illustrates that humanity is caught in a cosmic war and that there are malevolent beings who purpose to use, ruin and destroy people through deception and manipulation.

Of course this is a commentary on the data supplied in the movie and therefore doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the real-life story.

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Some additional observations:

• If you freeze-frame the actual appearances of the mothman (like during the car crash) it’s obvious that it’s a fallen angel, sorta resembling a bat-like Dracula.
• The mothmen (evil spirits) don’t cause the calamities that occur, but they foresee them due to their spiritual vantage point, as the researcher theorized.
• “Odd Thomas” (2013) is the best movie I’ve seen to illustrate the idea of evil spirits getting off on death, destruction & torment and therefore being drawn to the places where they foreknow great tragedies will transpire, like the Silver Bridge collapse.
• Mental illness issues are linked to the manipulations of the mothmen, e.g. Gordon’s gradual descent into insanity and premature death. Klein starts moving in a similar direction but ultimately rejects the manipulative forces by pulling the phone out of the wall in Georgetown and going back to Point Pleasant to celebrate Christmas with Connie.
• The movie emphasizes how humans can’t fully understand everything from the limitations of this mundane plane.
• I like the subtext on loss, grief and the longing to see your loved one again.
• The film takes the low-key route with weird things taking place without always drawing attention to them, which can be missed if you’re not paying attention.
• The Special Edition DVD includes the documentary “Search for the Mothman,” which interviews several participants of the strange events of Point Pleasant 1966-1967, including eyewitnesses of the mothman & UFOs and those who encountered men-in-black, as well as survivors of the bridge collapse. At 43 minutes, this documentary is more streamlined than “Eyes of the Mothman” (2011), which runs 2.5 hours.
• The documentary addresses the real-life phenomena observed in the movie, like the red eye condition and a woman having a precognitive dream about bodies & Christmas presents floating in the river.

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• The director is interviewed in a couple of featurettes where he details his ambition for cinematic art vs. the producers’ push for commercial viability. Whether viewers like the slow, haunting story or not, few can deny the film’s artistic merits (it’s a great movie to EXPERIENCE the cinematic mojo). It helps to use the subtitles in order to catch all the dialogues and keep track of names/places/things.

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Wuchak, I was listening to a podcast today that you may have some interest in. Not sure if you do podcasts, but there's one called Astonishing Legends and they did a multi-part episode on the Mothman and also did an episode where they had about a two hour discussion with the screenwriter for the film (Richard Hatem). It was all pretty interesting. Richard's perspective on the true nature of the Mothman, Indrid Cold etc is a little different from yours, I think.

If you want to check out either the episodes about the actual Mothman events or the ep with Richard, you can look up Astonishing Legends on any good podcast app (I use Podcast Addict) or you can stream them on the website:

https://www.astonishinglegends.com/podcasts-1

You're looking for eps 50-54 and ep 72.

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Thanks Prime. I listened to bits of a few of ’em. They’re very interesting.

I should stress that my interpretation of the film is just that: The personal interpretation of someone who’s never read John Keel’s book, albeit an interpretation based on evidence in the film; plus, of course, my own perspective. As stressed in episode 72 of the podcast, the filmmaker’s make the point clear that pursuing answers regarding the mothmen would result in madness/death.

But the question remains: What’s the nature of the mothmen and Indrid Cold? Are they (1) extraterrestrials, (2) other-dimensional beings or (3) evil spirits/demons? The latter could be classified as either of the other two.

And, whatever they are, what are their intentions? Why are images of them decidedly diabolic in nature, akin to evil spirits, including the actual appearance of the creature during the crash? Why do they masquerade? Why do they drive people mad? Why do their actions result in death? Are these the actions of benign beings? Obviously not.

“Signs” was released 7 months after “The Mothman Prophecies” and addressed similar material (SPOILERS): The surface idea that the antagonists are aliens can be perceived as a mass deception, which corresponds to the devil being the "father of lies.” The spaceships are never seen, just lights in the sky (the devil is called "the prince of the power of the air" in the bible). The primitive method of harming the aliens is discovered in the Middle East and is holy water. The daughter was said to be a "gift from God" -- an angel -- who was sensitive to impure water. The dog and bird were clearly possessed. The crop circles are occultic symbols and possible portals to the underworld.

When the disillusioned minister cries out to God that he hates him he actually displays his faith; after all, you first have to believe in God to speak to him, even if it's in anger. At that precise moment his son recovers from the asthma attack and the news announcer declares that the "aliens" are retreating.

For more on this interpretation of "Signs" see this thread: https://moviechat.org/tt0286106/Signs/5d658a7c339d1730b895b2af/The-Theyre-really-not-aliens-interpretation

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