Originally Posted by undercoverlover
hey sleezy how would u say mothman prophecies film compared to the book?
I read the book after I saw the film, and I still liked the book better. The film is a pretty loose adaptation of the book, which is actually a documentary (NOT a novel) of the true events that occurred during a 13 month period from 1966-1967 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia (and author John Keel was actually in Point Pleasant for most of the duration). Not only are the Mothman sightings covered in the book, but also "men in black" sightings (not Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones),
nightly UFO sightings, doppleganger sightings, weird phone calls, etc. All of the sources who claimed to have seen the Mothman creature, as well as men in black, UFOs, etc., were all agreed to be competent, credible sources.
As far as the Mothman goes, it was more of a creature than a transient intelligence (as the film suggests). There were quite a few "beastial" attributes that went along with the creature, but the only ones they really specified in the film were the "mesmorizing" red eyes, and the high-pitched scream. Also, the "Indred Cold" story is included, which was pretty accurate in the film (the real man's name was Woodrow Derenberger, and he actually claimed to have traveled to Cold's home planet, and didn't feel threatened by him at all - Derenberger was in consistent contact with John Keel the whole time, and had never been considered a "town crazy" or anything at all). And all the Point Pleasant sightings ended with the Silver Bridge collapse, just like in the film - except there were a few minor discrepancies with that (ie. it didn't collapse on Christmas Eve, but a few days before; and it didn't collapse at night; etc.)
The film really just took the events and translated them loosely into a spooky, atmospheric thriller. Richard Gere's character represents the younger, more curious John Keel; while the writer character he visits in Chicago represents the older, more skeptical Keel of today. Laura Linney's character is based on Mary Hyre, an Ohio news reporter who accompanied Keel through the whole event. I still enjoy the film, because it's got that creepy, old-fashioned feel to it - but the book is so much better. Reading the accounts are the best part, because every one you read is weirder than the last. It gets pretty bizarre and unbelievable, and this stuff was actually
consistently reported in such a short amount of time in
one place. Very interesting stuff. Go read the book, if you're into that kind of thing.
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), and I flat out refused to read the book, A Child Called It, although I can see that it is necessary for children to understand.
