The term UFO has always been generally associated with extra terrestrial spacecraft but with movies like The Mothman Prophecies, directed by former music video director, Mark Pellington, we are once again reminded that not all unidentified flying objects are made of metal or are not of this planet.

The movie is based on a 1975 book written by John Keel, recounting his very strange experiences in Point Pleasant, West Virginia back in 1967. Although the movie states that it is based on a true story, in reality the producers should have said that it was based on some true events because they carefully avoided many of the things John Keel wrote about in his book.

The Mothman creature appearedly seems to be some kind of harbinger of disastrous events and the movie actually toned down John Keel's account by skirting sightings of UFO's OTHER than Mothman, Men in Black and even Cattle mutilations that Keel spoke of in his book.

The motion picture dissects John Keel who was a UPI writer partly by casting actor Richard Gere as Washington post reporter John Klein and also gives some of Mr. Keel to actor Alan Bates in the role of Dr. Leek as a sort of Mothman Guru. Incidentally, Leek is Keel spelled backwards.

The movie weaves mystery, intrigue and horror with truth as reported by various witnesses so that by the end of the movie the viewer is not sure about anything other than they have been greatly entertained.

Although it is early with the movie being released Jan. 25, 2002, the UFO UpDates list already has some speculation that The Mothman Prophecies movie will now spark a rash of Mothman sightings. For those who are not aware of the creature, Mothman is supposed to be somewhere between 4 to 8 feet in height and has two glowing red eyes placed in such a way, along with its large wings, that it appearedly resembles some kind of giant owl.

The Mothman Prophecies movie pushes the envelope of blending truth with fiction by giving the creature a voice and character probably in an effort to minimize the scarier true facts as related in the film.

But the one thing that does remain constant is that although there were sightings of typical UFO's during the events of 1967 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, The Mothman was NOT one of them but still is deserving of the term - Unidentifed Flying Object.

But that's just my take on it!