Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Moth’

Written by Scott Edwards

​Like many people, I am fascinated by strange creatures that people claim to see in the wild. While I want to believe in the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and the Chupacabra, there is very little proof out there that shows that these creatures do exist. Some people go searching for these creatures, not knowing what they will find in the hills or the darkness. I do respect what they do, but I am extremely worried for these folks if they finally find what they are looking for, because most of the time it is a hoax. But you never know what the world has in store for you and if you want to believe and go searching for these creatures, more power to you.
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Talking to her class about her newest adventure to find the infamous Moth Man, Thora asks if anyone would like to be part of the next outing. Not knowing what the trip will have in store for him, Adam agrees to go along and be another camera man on the hunt. After loading up the car and seeing the cameras are on during the trip, Adam inquires why. Thora is not ashamed to admit that if they are able to locate the legendary beast, it would make a great documentary and that is why the cameras will stay on at all hours.

Heading to the English countryside, Adam and Thora open up about their pasts a little bit to pass the time until they finally arrive at the hotel for the night. Being woken up by a noise outside the door, Adam picks up his camera and tries to find out what it was. Not seeing anything in the dead of night, the door to the room mysteriously opens, and Adam finds himself searching the hotel on his own as Thora will not wake up. Venturing through the darkened hallways, Adam is not able to locate anyone else looming around and returns to the room to find Thora there to scare him. Being frightened out of his mind, Adam eventually gets back to sleep since the two have a long day ahead.

Not being happy about being frightened during the night, Adam tries to stay quiet on the drive. While they move further and further off of the beaten path trying to find their next hotel, the two stop to find a strange sight. Seeing abandoned cars on the road, Adam spots a sort of powder in and around the vehicles. Not knowing what it really is, Adam believes that it is the residue from a moth, like what you find after you squash them. Moving on, the two come across an old building that was on Thora’s radar to hit before making it to the hotel. While she investigates inside, Adam sees someone hiding in the bushes and starts to freak out as it is getting dark. As the sun sets and the two continue on the road, they come to a point where it is obvious that they are lost. Needing to post up in the car for the night, a strange sound starts coming from the woods that neither of them can explain and that is where their true hunt for the Moth Man begins.

I will admit that this is a slow burn movie with a fun twist ending. Two things bugged me in this movie, and I will get them out of the way, first, if you don’t have a night vision camera, there is no point in zooming in on darkness, and second, the ending was too long. With that being said, I liked the movie and would even go far enough to say it was pretty clever. The leads were pretty good in their roles and while you get the same old found footage story being told, they take a different turn than what you are used to. Getting lost with no fuel is something that everyone is afraid of, but when there is a crazed Moth Man hunting you as well, well, I bet anyone would be freaked out. With plenty of cameras, swearing, hurt feelings, strange eyes in the woods, strange sounds in the woods and a guy in a cape, this was a fun take on the found footage genre, even though it did not prove if the Moth Man is real or not. Stay Scared.

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