The Mothman Legacy

The Mothman Legacy
Image source: Google

Ratings: 3/5

Director & Writer: Seth Breedlove

Genre: Documentary

Release Date: October 20, 2020

Streaming on: All digital streaming platforms

Plot: For anyone who is into urban legends, horror genre or cryptids, is likely aware of the famed the Mothman. For those who are unaware, the Mothman is a “man-sized insect” or “birdman”, who was witnessed for the first time during the 1960s by the locals of the Point Pleasant, a city in and the county seat of Mason County, West Virginia, United States.

One of the major highlights of the legend of Mothman is the silver bridge incident, which took place on December 15, 1967. In the incident round-about 46 people were killed due to the collapse of the bridge during rush hour. And just sometime before the tragedy, people around Point Pleasant had reported seeing a large winged creature who supposedly had glowing red eyes. The close proximity between the sighting of this cryptid and the deadly silver bridge accident was taken as a warning of impending doom.

One major point that this documentary aims to make is that the sightings never came to a halt after the tragedy. To substantiate that the storyline is built up in the form of interviews.

Over years, people have seen Mothman and have their own experiences associated with this creature. What the documentary has done is, it has brought the eyewitnesses under one roof and made them narrate their own stories. The documentary focuses heavily on the work undertaken by the owner of Mothman museum, Jeff Wamsley, who has continued researching sightings of the cryptid.

Review: Mothman has lived to remain as one of the most interesting cryptids of our world. The story behind this birdman is scary, majestic and wildly mysterious at the same time. And that is what makes it a subject matter of a documentary.

Seth Breedlove is considered to be the master of all things cryptid. The documentary is a sequel to his ‘The Mothman of Point Pleasant’, which was released in 2017. The approach to both the documentaries, despite the same subject matter is very distinct. ‘The Mothman of Point Pleasant’ focused largely on the event that everyone connects to the Mothman, whereas ‘The Mothman Legacy’ takes a documentary approach. The film is like an initial history lesson into this creature. And then eyewitnesses are brought in to regale its audience with tales from those who claim to have experienced the Mothman first-hand.

The documentary has in-depth information and noteworthy interviews, something that is Seth’s forte. Talking about the technical aspects – gorgeous visuals, shrill and on-point sound effect and the impeccable cherry-picking of the interviewees has earned the movie some additional brownie points. 

Whether you already know about this massive winged creature or not, this documentary will serve as a great companion to expand your knowledge with information you may not have known from the past and the present.

In all, it is an engaging documentary for both familiar and unfamiliar with the Mothman legend. The film is a brisk runtime and hands-on reports make it an enjoyable, easy and informative watch.

If one looks at it from a historian viewpoint, the documentary is the scholarly depiction on how myths and legends develop and acquire layers of meaning over a period of time. But in the end, whether or not, there is anything real behind it is moot and it depends on what you want to believe!