There is nothing scarier than reality.

People love to be scared. That’s why people have scary movies. They love to sit in darkened theaters and watch Neve Campbell get chased around by a psycho in a white mask. Or cover their eyes while a trio of documentary filmmakers is terrorized by an unseen Blair Witch.

But when the lights come back on, they get to leave laughing at themselves for being scared, knowing it was an illusion.

That’s not the case with “The Mothman Prophecies,” a chilling new that is based on actual events that occurred in West Virginia in 1967. The audience can take no comfort in believing the frightening events that unfold on screen are just creations of the screenwriter’s imagination.

Nor are there any concrete answers explaining all the creepiness by the movie’s end that will lift the unsettling fog you’ll feel when you leave the theater. That is what makes “The Mothman Prophecies” such an effective thriller.

John Klein (Richard Gere, last seen in “Autumn In New York”) is a man who seemingly has it all. He’s a successful reporter at the Washington Post and he has just closed the deal on an amazing new house with his beloved wife Mary (“Will & Grace” star Debra Messing).

“A dream come true,” says Mary about the new house on the drive home. Bad move, Mary. Her admission of complete happiness, of course, sets up the inevitable tragedy that steals Mary away from John and shatters his perfect life.

Two years later, John is a shell of a man, getting by on autopilot. On his way to Richmond for an assignment, his car mysteriously breaks down in Port Pleasant, W. Va. And when he goes to ask for help at the nearest house, he encounters Gordon Smallwood (“Armageddon” co-star Will Patton), who swears that John has been harassing him.

Enter Connie Parker (Laura Linney of “The Truman Show), the local sergeant, who explains to John that the citizens of Point Pleasant have been reporting strange things, including descriptions of a “Mothman” that matches sketches of Mary’s. Intrigued, John decides to stay in Point Pleasant, but with every revelation he makes, he is plagued by more bizarre experience and unsettling questions.

This film is quite a departure for Gere, who is best known for romantic comedies and courtroom dramas. Gere makes his character’s descent into grief and the questioning of his sanity very believable. It’s very easy for the audience to emphasize with him. Linney, who Gere previously worked with in “Primal Fear,” has a wonderful screen presence that shines through despite the more mellow character she portrays. As for the supporting actors, Patton makes the torture his character is enduring very real while Messing, in a far cry from her “Will & Grace” character, delivers in a small yet important role.

Directed by Mark Pellington, written for the screen by Richard Hatem and based on the book of the same title by John A. Keel, “The Mothman Prophecies” never gives you a good look at the creature that John spends the whole film chasing. It is seen only in eerily flashes of red light and speaks inhumanly over the phone. Rather than define the “Mothman,” keeping it more ambiguous leaves the audience unsettled.

Pellington also lets the tension build slowly and surely, never stooping to cheap scares to keep the audience interested. The tone is just right, slow when it needs to be, but never dragging.

Pellington also employs some interesting visual techniques to up the eeriness levels. He often switches between scenes through blurring lights and images, which represents the confusion that John is suffering. He also likes to show the characters from different angles during the same scene, which makes it feel like they are being watched at all times.

“The Mothman Prophecies” is definitely a must for fans of thrillers and scares in dark theaters. Just make sure to bring someone to clutch onto when things get really frightening.

Christopher Reilly is a sophomore magazine major. His movie reviews appear Fridays in The Daily Orange. E-mail him at passpopcorn@yahoo.com.

Published on January 24, 2002 at 12:00 pm