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.
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.