Plot Summary"The Moth Diaries" directed by Mary Harron is a 2011 Canadian-Irish mental scary film. Based upon the 2002 book of the exact same name by Rachel Klein, it informs a chilling tale embeded in an elite boarding school, revolving around styles of teenage years, eroticism, and vampire folklores.
StoryThe movie is set at Brangwyn, an all-girls boarding school. The lead character Rebecca, played by Sarah Bolger, is haunted by her dad's suicide and has actually gone back to the school to discover stability. There she reconnects with her best friend, Lucie (Sarah Gadon). Their relationship is evaluated by the arrival of Ernessa Block, an enigmatic brand-new trainee, portrayed by Lily Cole.
The Supernatural ElementAs time passes, Rebecca grows increasingly suspicious of Ernessa. When her suspicions turn into obsession, the movie spirals into a supernatural journey. Several weird occurrences take place, tips of vampirism emerge, and Ernessa's mental video games slowly alienate Lucie from Rebecca. Rebecca starts thinking that Ernessa is a vampire after discovering parallels with her story in a novel assigned in class - 'Carmilla,' a tale about a female vampire taking advantage of a young woman.
Fixation and Tragic EventsDespite the pleas of the others to stop her fixation, Rebecca's conviction that Ernessa is an abnormal being grows more powerful after more uncanny events. This includes seeing blood leeching from Ernessa's body and the inexplicable death of Dora (Melissa Farman), another schoolmate who had grown near to Ernessa. Lucie grows weak and anemic and dies tragically throughout a fire mishap in her room; Rebecca finds a moth-filled diary pointing clearly to Ernessa's supernatural presence.
Fights and ResolutionHeartbroken and set on revenge, Rebecca faces Ernessa and the two have an intense face-off, where Rebecca fights to conserve her own life and put an end to Ernessa's life. When she awakens, she discovers herself being carted off in an ambulance, bloodied from her final conflict with supernatural Ernessa. She is told that Ernessa was found dead, her body emaciated.
Mysteries UnresolvedThe film ends ambiguously, leaving audiences with a number of questions. Is Ernessa a vampire or a delusion of Rebecca's imagination, spurred on by her injury and anxiety? Further fueling speculation is the figure of a lady who looks suspiciously like Ernessa seen by Rebecca as she is repelled from Brangwyn. The movie blurs the line between truth and fantasy, refusing to provide a neat resolution.
"The Moth Diaries" is a climatic horror film that expertly manages to weave together adolescent angst, boarding school dynamics, dark Gothic undertones, and supernatural aspects into an upsetting narrative. The film's true scary depends on the developing sense of fear, the unidentified, and the psychological fights within the lead character, possibly making the audience question their understanding of truth simply as acutely as Rebecca.
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