User Reviews

This "TFTD" episode titled "The Moth" is a strange and somewhat hard to follow one as you see in the end with the plot turning the message it wanted to prove was the power of gaining youth. B movie and late night film star and ex singer Debbie Harry stars as a young woman who lives in a rural and backwoods cabin and she's a witch who lives with her mother. She has a problem after returning one evening from a fling she's been stabbed in the neck the only way to treat the wound is to have a cloth placed over her mouth and then a moth will fly out when she dies. Well this tale takes an unexpected and crazy twist in the end as these powers of the craft of being a backwoods witch come in handy! A change in youth saves the day. Overall good episode even if it seems strange the twist end makes it likable.

Dying witch Sybil (a fine and convincing portrayal by Deborah Harry of Blondie fame) persuades her disapproving mother (a lively performance by Jane Manning) to help her reincarnate her spirit in the form of a moth. Director Jeffrey Wolf, working from an offbeat and interesting script by Michael McDowell, relates the intriguing story at a steady pace, does a sound job of crafting a pungent downhome country atmosphere, and manages to pull off a genuinely spooky conclusion that culminates in a dandy twist ending. The battle of wits between these two radically contrasting women provides some strong dramatic fireworks, with Harry and Manning playing off each other well throughout. Steven Ross's sharp cinematography and Chris Stein's moody score are both up to speed. A worthy show.

Southern Gothic black magic oddity with Debbie Harry of Blondie relishing the chance to star (with Jane Manning as her Christian mom questioning her unscrupulous behavior) as a practicing witch stabbed in the back by a lover's scornful wife and dying from the bleeding wound. Harry's Sybil has a specific request she wishes her mom to honor: when she dies from the injury, Sybil wants mom to "hold her soul" as it leaves her body (through her mouth!) in a cloth so that a future reunion (of soul and body) could take place! Out goes the soul into the cloth with mom encasing it in a jar…a moth inside the jar then secures the soul of Sybil while mom prepares for her to depart for the afterlife for good.

The plot is as bizarre as it sounds. Mom uses *tricks* from a witchcraft black book of incantations in an effort to use as a weapon against her daughter so this reunion of body and soul could not be. Mom tells Sybil, who awakens after the body had died looking for her soul (???), that she's in a coffin, trying to convince her that she's "put away" when she's actually still in the family home (a ramshackle cabin that looks as if it was tucked away in some backwoods swamp) during her death. There's this dual over the soul between mother and daughter, but that determination to live wins out in the end. A "clever" ruse (one last trick up Sybil's sleeve) leads to a predictable twist…don't try to out-devious someone who lived and breathed devious.

I thought the idea was amusing, even if I didn't find the execution or development of the episode successful. Quite frankly, I thought "The Moth" was a mess. Both ladies were game, that's for sure. Harry seemed to be having fun, while Manning just goes with the material no matter how daft it all gets. The moth going up in flames to signify a "soul transference" was in itself indicative of just how odd this whole episode truly is. This could very well attain a cult following.

Tales from the Darkside: The Moth starts as a young woman named Sybil (Deborah Harry) stumbles home to her mom (Jane Manning) after having been stabbed. Sybil has a black book of magic spells & curses which she uses to make trouble, her mom loves her but realises that Sybil is evil & has to let her die. However Sybil manages to convince her mom to help her come back from the dead by capturing her soul in a jar which takes the form of a Moth but she soon regrets helping her daughter & sets out to prevent Sybil from returning to life...

All the fours episode 4 from season 4 this this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during October 1987, directed by Jeffrey Wolf this is yet another totally forgettable & uninspiring way to spend twenty minutes of your life. The script by Michael McDowell doesn't really have much going for it, it's a pretty simple tale of Witchcraft & a plan to come back from the dead. There's no real reason as to why the personification of Sybil's soul would be a Moth, the twist ending is pretty predictable & as a whole not that much happens. Didn't do much for me at all I'm afraid, it tells it's story reasonably enough in a pleasingly short amount of time but when the story isn't very good to begin with that doesn't really mean much.

Like most Tales from the Darkside episodes The Moth is set in a single location but the house set is more detailed than usual. There are no special effects to speak of although there are one or two shots of a bloody knife wound. With a cast of only two most of the budget obviously went on hiring Debbie Harry one time member of Blondie one of the most successful bands of the late 70's early 80's.

The Moth isn't anything that I will remember tomorrow & really is rather dull & predictable. I'm sorry but I just didn't like it or anything about it.