Horror Movie Review: Moth (2016)

At its best found-footage horror can be exciting, tense & scare filled but at its worst it can be…Moth. With very few redeeming features, Moth breaks the cardinal rule of horror…don’t be boring.

Thora (Lídia Szabó) is researching incidents of the fabled ‘mothman’ throughout history. She believes she has found enough compelling evidence to prove that the legend is real & upon hearing about a recent incident in Hungry decides to grab her handheld camera & head over into the woods!

Sound familiar? I’ll bet it does!

Thora doesn’t go alone though, she manages to rope Adam (József Gallai), one her students who answered her ad, into coming along with her. So begins one of the most boring found footage horrors ever. Lacking in every department, within the first couple of minutes the first couple of problems become really apparent.

The acting. A small cast means more focus on their conversations & interactions & it is painful to watch at times. Lacking chemistry or decent character development (an attempt to flesh out Adam just doesn’t work), they are horrible to watch.

The plot is so paper-thin that it doesn’t take long for it to start ripping. With only stories & legends to go on, Thora is happy to go wandering into the woods of Hungry with a complete stranger! Now, the movies finale will try to add some sense to that insane decision but it’s not good enough.

If the acting, characters & idiotic plot wasn’t enough to put you off then the style of filming will. The term ‘found footage’ seems to be an excuse for employing some of the most nauseating filming techniques going. You should know what you’re getting into when choosing to watch a movie like this but that doesn’t excuse the disgraceful levels of shaky cam that Moth has.

It’s non-stop & the final third of the movie is nearly unwatchable.

The best thing that can be said about Moth is that it doesn’t go for the ending you might expect but that doesn’t mean it’s any good. A twist ending is pointless if you’re still left feeling totally unsatisfied.