In the Mouth of Madness

[BioMechanic]

John Carpenter is considered somewhat of a pulp icon, but once in a while he rises above his own reputation and produces a film that is quite exceptional (as with Halloween and The Thing). In the Mouth of Madness (1995) stars Sam Neill in a wonderfully paranoid performance as John Trent, a freelance investigator ("Nobody pulls my strings") who gets hired by a major publishing mogul (Charlton Heston) to look into the mysterious disappearance of cult horror author Sutter Cane (the always bizarre Jurgen Prochnow). David Warner and Julie Carmen are among the supporting cast.



The events that follow are heavily influenced by the writings of legendary author H.P. Lovecraft - some of HPL's work is even quoted word-for-word in the film. Reality is not quite what it seems, even though Trent continually denies what is obviously happening, and there are even hints that Sutter Cane's apocalyptic tales are actually becoming reality.



Highlights include Trent forming a map from the covers of Kane's novels, a truly strange hotel owner and her husband, and a weird-looking guy on a bicycle. Carpenter's typical "strange mob" also makes an appearance. Is Trent insane? Is the entire world insane? Has Sutter Cane become God, as he claims?

As a fan of Lovecraft, I have to consider this the best film version of his
work to date, even though it's not a direct adaptation. The film can also be interpreted as a metaphor for how pop culture can become an obsession for some people. Carpenter also captures a strong feeling of genuine dread, which only increases as the plot's events unravel.


"Go back. Your world lies beyond that passageway."

A personal favorite, and recommended to anyone who likes a cerebral creepout.

[Sqoon]

Cool stuff. It was my favorite horror movie when I saw it a few years back. Could still be, I haven't given it too much thought.

[JM]

I really dig this flick. I think the monsters rushing out of the tunnel are best renditions of HPL's mosters ever put on film.

Heh, I saw this at the movies with my girlfriend, & when the boy/oldman came by on the bike the final time & it flashed to his now old face, I grabbed my girl's ribs & growled in her ear. It scared the shit out of her. She jumped a fuckin foot, & slapped the shit out of my arm. She was so mad she got up moved to a different seat two rows down. People were laughing in the theatre.

JM

[Dolemite]

This was the final film in his "apocalypse trilogy", which began with The Thing, followed by Prince of Darkness. Basically a set of 3 films that dealt with the end of the world. I haven't seen In the Mouth of Madness in ages. I may have to give this a rent sometime. I can't see it being better than The Thing, however. That, along with Halloween, is easily Carpenter's best movie.

Carpenter's recent movies have been "eh", though. The man's lost a bit of his touch.

[Despair]

Screw Halloween. Never understand why its being praised so much. I tried to watch it few times, and it bored me to tears. If speaking about early Carpenter, I will gladly take The Fog and The Thing over overrated Halloween anytime. Those movies were SCARY.

In the Mouth of Madness was a great film though. Awesome, Lovecraftian atmosphere, cool story, creepy happenings, some cool make up. It all worked very well.

Oh Yeah, The Prince of Darkness is awesome. Not many horror films can scare me, and that one does every time. Too bad too many people hate it, and choose crappy Halloween instead

[Dolemite]

Screw Halloween. Never understand why its being praised so much. I tried to watch it few times, and it bored me to tears.

I like Halloween as a movie, it's just Michael Myers that I'm not too impressed with. The movie itself had pretty good atmosphere.

[Prince Planet]

Excellent call. This was on the other night, and I watched it all the way through. Not 1/10th as scary as it was in the theater (my wife was *this close* to walking out of the theater), but still eerie as hell, with great pacing.

Carpenter nailed it with this film.

[spacecowboy]

Great. Movie. Period.

SC