The Mothman of Point Pleasant (2017) User Reviews

It sure helps if you believe in this sort of stuff...but regardless it's well made.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 25 March 2020]

If you are the sort of person who believes that various cryptozoological creatures exist, such as Sasquatch or the Loch Ness Monster, then "The Mothman of Point Pleasant" will be a very different experience compared to that of a skeptic, like me. So, as you read my review, please keep this in mind...I already had a mindset that the whole thing is a hoax. I remember various stories in the Washington, DC area as I grew up in the 1960s of similar stories, such as the Bunnyman, UFOs and the Goatman. It was a popular period for cryptids.

The film is a historical documentary about the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia and their Mothman story. Using a creepy-voiced narrator and equally creepy music and sound effects, the story interviews many locals as well as showing film clips and photos all related to the Mothman. Whether you believe all this or not, the quality of the production is quite good...better than I would have expected for such a topic. And, it didn't draw a lot of conclusions and just let folks talk...which was an excellent decision.



By the way, today the town of Point Pleasant embraces the whole Mothman story. In September, they have a Mothman Festival--complete with costumes, rides and a parade. They also erected a Mothman statue some time ago!

The Mothman of Point Pleasant: Pitiful NEED to believe

[Platypuschow · 1/10 · 14 December 2023]

Plot

Learn the terrifying, true story about thirteen months that changed history! In November of 1966 a car full of kids encountered a creature unlike anything they'd ever seen before. In the weeks and months to follow, the monster (now known as The Mothman) was sighted again and again on country roads and around the state of West Virginia.

Cast

Made by Seth Breedlove, a man with a penchant for the absurd. From Mothman, to Aliens to Sasquatch he's done a documentary for each.

Verdict

The Mothman of Point Pleasant is the same as it's sequel The Mothman Prophecy (2020) as if one of these wasn't enough. Namely it's full of interviews with people who claim to have seen "Something", a lot of speculation, a history lesson and some credits.

You see the moment this "Documentary" began I was hit with an advert. No, I mean there's actually an advert as part of the documentary instantly after the credits. Bad start! Never seen something so absurdly unprofessional.

And then it begins and it's everything you'd expect from a documentary about something wholly fictional. Local yokels ranting about what they saw but never caught it on camera, local "Experts" who also can't provide anything but alleged background and references to Hollywood movies that feature this fictional creature.

Seriously, do you not have anything better to do?

Rants

The Mothman doesn't exist Ghosts aren't a thing Sasquatch is fictional Aliens aren't probing butts

Do I need to continue? Grow up and engage with reality.

Breakdown

Fascinating creature Boring Accomplishes nothing Fiction dressed as fact.

A slanted documentary

[jvenus-07339 · 1/10 · 19 June 2021]

This documentary was hard to watch, I had to turn it off after about 45 minutes in with about 20 some minutes left. That's sad because I really love the Mothman myth and lore of the area.

It was all slanted from the point of view that all these stories these people told are true. That's not how good documentaries are supposed to actually go, yet it seems rampant anymore. You are to present angles from BOTH sides and let the viewer decide for themselves. It seems like all others want in confirmation biases that aren't even factual.

It seems many of these stories, presented as fact, are people that don't understand science very well, even the makers of the film. That's not calling anyone stupid, there's so much we as humans don't understand, even through science... But I don't think those people need to be mashing documentaries either.

This sucks because I do believe there are weird things in this world that can't be explained even through proper science. I often feel science dismisses things that are truly unexplainable and potentially supernatural. But when someone presents ALL these stories basically as fact without trying to debunk any of them through any means with no real credible experts, it makes it hard to watch if you actually know some basic science and aren't gullible enough to believe that ALL these eye witnesses' perceptions won't be skewed from their lack of informed understanding of such proper science. Meaning, people's perceptions of events will not be the actual truth of what happened but their perception of the truth through their limited reality tunnels. There are so many properly documented accounts of mass hysteria and people really believing things happened that didn't, on record now. It is scary if a trauma (whether real or perceived) will play tricks on minds' that distort the reality of what actually happened. It is a survival technique.

If this was a real documentary they'd know much of this and get experts in all areas to discuss such things and present documented instances of such events. If these stories are truly the real deal, they'd stand up to any science that tried to debunk them. But that option was not given for a majority of the film which makes in not watchable to me. If I believe in something, I need to truly believe in it. Not blindly believe without questioning myself and reasons why I believe.

Maybe the end tied that all together and I missed it in the last 20 some minutes. But if it is that badly slanted the first 40 I just can't keep going.

The Mothman is the gold standard of monster stories, and this is the gold standard for monster documentaries

[paranormal-29885 · 10/10 · 2 June 2017]

The Mothman is the gold standard of monster stories. Its extensive and detailed legend includes not just nighttime encounters with an unidentified creature of some sort, but it also includes UFO sightings, Men in Black, Native American curses, and even a mutated sandhill crane. But what makes the Mothman so alluring is that opposed to many monster legends... people actually saw the thing. Something was actually there. Over 100 witnesses claim to have encountered a flying humanoid weirdo of a creature.

The Mothman is also not a new story. It began in 1966 and has been retold in numerous mediums, from John Keel's seminal Mothman Prophecies to the movie of the same name; documentaries, novels, video games, and even comic books have all attempted at relaying the chillingly true tale of the Mothman.

I am personally an enormous Mothman fan. While I am a researcher of the weird and wonderful, I do not consider myself a researcher into the Mothman phenomenon. That story has been told and retold in numerous ways. I honestly feel that I couldn't contribute anything productive to the study, but I've hungrily consumed any and all Mothman related media I could get my paws on and still greedily want more. Now, though, I think I have found something that might hold off that hunger for a little while: The Mothman of Point Pleasant.

I was fortunate enough to be allowed to view a pre-release review copy of the movie, courtesy of Seth Breedlove, the movie's director. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect before I watched the movie. I am a fan of Small Town Monster's work but the previous movies they had done were all focused on smaller scale Bigfoot sighting flaps. I was skeptical of whether or not they would be able to cover the vast information connected to the Mothman. After viewing, I can thankfully say that they passed with flying colors.

The movie opens with some shots of the TNT area, where numerous sightings were reported, with Lyle Blackburn's creepy, Texas-twanged narration. I immediately got chills and knew I was in for one heck of a ride. Mothman covered the history of the Mothman phenomenon chronologically, from the Battle of Point Pleasant to the Silver Bridge collapse, and all the cryptid goodness in between. Breedlove and crew leave no stone unturned in their examination of the creature, interviewing key witnesses, well-known authorities on the events, and even just some of Point Pleasant's natives from the time of the events.

I actually did learn of a few cases I hadn't heard before and enjoyed hearing some familiar cases being told in a visual way. As much as I loved the great information and tales, I honestly think that the highlight of the movie was easily the visuals. Seth and company employed the use of aerial drones for awesome landscape shots, used numerous gorgeous photos of the TNT igloos and the area that surrounds them, and absolutely stunning digital animation. Honestly, my jaw dropped when I saw the animation segments, which showed the visuals of a story as the witness described what happened.

I cannot recommend this movie enough. If you have even a passing interest in the Mothman or strange stories, you will love The Mothman of Point Pleasant.

Interesting but sound is terrible

[rolfhu · 4/10 · 28 February 2021]

7 for the film, one for sound. The should have used another narrator too.

mostly fluff

[coex23 · 3/10 · 25 February 2021]

Well... If you've read the Keel book and seen the Gere film, you probably know everything this doc has to offer. Sure, you get a few more specific first hand stories, including audio and video from some deceased witnesses. Plus you get more than enough footage of the Mothman "Museum" and its curator (calling it a "museum" is a lonnnnng stretch, as it's a novelty shop full of tee shirts and goofy throw-away Mothman nick-nacks, etc) to help those in need of more help. (As if you needed any help, because there's a very amateur narrator butting in throughout).

There's absolutely zero dissection of what the Mothman phenomena possibly is, and this is a huge misstep. There surely are a lot of theories, but none of those get the slightest mention.

Oh! The animations here are actually REALLY good! I was surprised! Well done! But, it looks like they blew their budget on the animations and renting a drone for constant flyover footage (that utterly served no purpose). In the end, this felt like something that Hollywood would buy and tack on to a DVD release of the Gere film. Save your time and money and read Keel's book.

Just a bunch of people who saw stuff

[kanoasoul · 1/10 · 11 January 2023]

Absolutely nothing happens, just over exaggerated sightings, apparently the curse that was supposed to last 200 years is just a giant bird that watches people and flies around.

Don't waste your time with this, the stories told aren't even that compelling. They will say stuff like "they were the prettiest darn wings I ever saw".

No proof just people reporting the same things, blaming catastrophies on this bird that has no connection whatsoever. Was surprised someone didn't say something like, "I got a hang nail and got stood up on a date and it was right after I saw the mothman"

Such a waste of time and makes these people look ridiculous.

Not your typical monster story

[haimericus · 10/10 · 20 June 2017]

The mothman story is already strange enough, with the rash of bizarre sightings leading up to a tragic bridge collapse. What Small Town Monsters adds to this well known story is a sense of the scope of the incident--the length of time it went on, the number of people involved, and the variety of unusual phenomena (especially the extensive UFO reports across the region). The film doesn't push you toward a conclusion, which I appreciate. But whether you think this was an alien, an ancient curse, or just hysteria over a mis-identified bird, something really weird happened there.

As a child of a witness

[legallyblondelove · 10/10 · 4 February 2022]

I was told these stories as a child. First learning about it from my grandma, Marcella Bennett when I was 4 on a travel to visit them in WV.

Then as a young adult learning more as I got older and trying to figure out more about this creature- and continue to. This movie depicts the nightmare story I have been told and have found throughout my own research.

This really is a crypto creature masterpiece that explores the series of odd events

[jmactech · 10/10 · 26 June 2017]

Mr.Breedlove and the Small Town Monsters crew are at the helm and charting some strange waters in this documentary. This really is a crypto creature masterpiece that explores the series of odd events occurring in 1960's West Virginia. The exceptional cinematography, soundtrack and direction captures the narratives mood and Appalachian landscape. The animated accounts of the witness's perspective add another creepy layer of authenticity to the Mothman lore. So lower the lights, turn up the audio and get lost in this mystery.