The Moth Diaries (2012)

THE MOTH DIARIES is an attempt at a creepy reworking of J. S. Le Fanu's CARMILLA, a classic Victorian vampire story about a female vampire. The story was previously adapted to great effect by Hammer in THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE, and TWINS OF EVIL.Sadly, this sedate and all-too-mainstream version of the story doesn't have much to offer apart from a few diluted thrills and atmospherics. With such a full-blooded tale as source material, I'm not sure why they would go ahead and make such a subtle and insipid film, but they did. And THE MOTH DIARIES isn't even particularly creepy or atmospheric to make up for it.The reliable Sarah Bolger (INTO THE BADLANDS) stars as a prim and proper young student who soon realises there's something odd about her new classmate, played by model Lily Cole (who's no actress on the strength of her non-performance here). After a hell of a lot of repetitive dialogue and various surreal encounters, there's a climax of sorts, but not before most viewers will have dozed off. And whoever thought the scenes with the silly CGI moths were a good idea wants removing from the film industry.

Much better premise than a generic vampire film like twilight. The remote feeling of the boarding school translates well, as does the dissonant relationship between Rebecca and pretty much everyone else at the school. The ambiguity of the supernatural element embodied by Lilly Cole in her role as Ernessa leaves the viewer questioning what she is, all the way till the very end. At the end of the film it is indeed up to the viewer to decide that for themselves but you definitely find yourself questioning what kind of supernatural agency you are dealing with. As far as the relationship between the Moths and Ernessa, that seems to be more of a poetic expression than an actual supernatural impetus, at least as far as this viewer is able to interpret. As a fan of TV shows like the X-files I appreciated the mysterious approach to that aspect of the story.The main gripe I have with this film is it is simply not long enough. Making it feel like an extended pilot episode of an abandoned TV show. A film like this could easily have expanded on its premise for at least 2 hours. But it shares this flaw with many modern films, I just found it frustratingly short. It doesn't even hit the hour and 30 minute mark, the screen credits begin to role out at about an hour and 18 minutes in. Ever have a feeling that a film just ends too quickly? That is the feeling I got from this one. A shame because it could have been amazing. Instead it was just a fairly good but short supernatural suspense/thriller or whatever. Something I may revisit at some point, but not feeling that extreme magnetic pull as with other films of this kind due to its shorter than average length.

Based on a popular young adult novel but equally indebted to Sheridan Le Fanu's classic novella "Carmilla," The Moth Diaries is a story of angst, loss, and the dividing line between reality and fantasy. It might also be a vampire story. At least, one of the characters thinks another girl is a vampire, one who transforms into a flurry of moths on cold, moonlit nights. Can the protagonist save her best friend from the vampire's evil intentions, or is the vampire really just playing with her real prey? For the most part, the script does justice to its literary inspirations, and perhaps one reason the film failed to equal the popularity of the original novel is that it is too quiet, too subtle, too psychological. Is it a horror movie? Not really, at least not in the accepted sense. Fans of slasher films or torture porn certainly won't find what they're looking for in this movie, and for all that The Moth Diaries is marketed as a vampire film it's debatable--even doubtful--if it's really even that. The Moth Diaries is more psychological drama than anything else, albeit a very Gothic one.As a Gothic melodrama that explores the nature of grief, love, and the painful process of personal evolution, The Moth Diaries is extremely successful. The plot remains ambiguous and even after the closing credits much remains uncertain, but it is clear that whatever has actually happened, our main character has, somehow, left one epoch behind and emerged into a new one. Anyone who can relate to that may find much in The Moth Diaries to identify with.

The Moth Diaries (2011) *** (out of 4) Mary Harron's impressive re-telling of the Carmilla tale takes place in an all girls boarding school where Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) begins to feel that new girl Ernessa (Lily Cole) is killing her friends in some sort of weird attempt at getting to her. I'm really a little surprised that this film drew such mixed reviews but I guess some are going to be disappointed that the horror elements aren't more graphic while others aren't going to be thrilled with teen vampires that aren't a part of the TWILIGHT crowd. For me, I thought this art-house horror film was extremely well-directed and acted and also contained one of the best atmospheres I've seen from any recent horror film. Director Harron really did a remarkable job with the visual style of the film and I especially loved how incredibly dark it was. I'm not sure what boarding school this was but it's the darkest I've seen in any movie and the director did a terrific job at really making you feel the coldness on the inside. There were some very effective scenes here including a suicide that I won't spoil who it happens to but there's another scene where a girl is walking on the ledge of the building and disappears through a window. The entire cast offers very good and believable performances but Bolger really steals the film in the lead part. I thought she was extremely good play the various emotions that her character has to and she easily carried the film. Cole was also impressive in her role that doesn't give her much dialogue but she tells us all we need to know simply by looking at her. I really liked how various teen issues (weight, suicide) were worked into the story to make it all the more effective. Also enjoyable was the surreal nature that Harron brought the picture by never making it clear what's really going on and if perhaps everything is just in one's mind. THE MOTH DIARIES isn't a masterpiece but I think it's one of the better horror films in recent years.