In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

John Carpenter

Writer (WGA):

Michael De Luca (written by)

Release Date:

3 February 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Lived Any Good Books Lately?

Plot:

An insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer's books have on his fans is more than inspirational.

Plot Keywords:

Novel | Horror Writer | Publisher | Church | Book

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Sam Neill	...	John Trent
Julie Carmen	...	Linda Styles
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Sutter Cane (as Jurgen Prochnow)
David Warner	...	Dr. Wrenn
John Glover	...	Saperstein
Bernie Casey	...	Robinson
Peter Jason	...	Mr. Paul
Charlton Heston	...	Jackson Harglow
Frances Bay	...	Mrs. Pickman
Wilhelm von Homburg	...	Simon
Kevin Rushton	...	Guard #1
Gene Mack	...	Guard #2
Conrad Bergschneider	...	Axe Maniac
Marvin Scott	...	Reporter
Katherine Ashby	...	Receptionist

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Germany:18 (DVD release) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | USA:R (certificate #32596) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

King City, Ontario, Canada

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

The car keys that Julie Carmen swallows when Sam Neill is trying to escape from town were made out of pasta.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Linda Stiles is introduced for the first time and is speaking about Sutter Cain's book, she takes her glasses off and folds them twice.

Quotes:

Sutter Cane: Did I ever tell you my favorite color was blue?

Movie Connections:

Features Robot Monster (1953)

Soundtrack:

WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN

Great Premise, Flawed Results

"In The Mouth of Madness" puts forth an interesting premise – what if H.P. Lovecraft was right? What if portals to horrific dimensions are waiting to be opened, and what if slavering, horrific creatures with god-like powers are waiting to return to Earth . . . and to destroy mankind?.

Well, `In the Mouth of Madness' is a lot like other John Carpenter films – interesting concepts, but the results are often hit or miss. The film itself deals with an insurance investigator named John Trent (Sam Neill, in an unexpectedly great performance), a man who defines rational, logical thought. A book publisher (a feisty Charlton Heston, who steals every scene he's in) sends Trent looking for a missing best-selling author – Sutter Caine, who's supposed to be a cross between H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. During his search for Sutter Caine, Trent finds himself encountering bizarre situations that literally come straight out of Sutter Caine's novels. . . and the situations get progressively worse and worse.

The film moves along at a decent pace, and manages to put together a number of shocking, disturbing scenes (and also makes the viewer wonder at times if the horror onscreen is `real' or just in Trent's head), but it never manages to sustain its intensity for any significant length of time. Some of the scenes which try to be horrifying wind up just being confusing, or stupid, or both. Carpenter also relies a lot on camera tricks (extreme close-ups, quick scene cuts, etc.) which are supposed to be disturbing – and instead, they're intrusive and annoying. Also, the special effects budget must've been awful, because the effects are a joke – check out Julie Carmen's dummy head! Clint Eastwood made a more realistic looking head in `Escape From Alcatraz'! Still, the good outweighs the bad, and I have to give John Carpenter credit for at least trying to create a chilling horror film, even if the results are somewhat spotty.

`In the Mouth of Madness' is decent, but not one of Carpenter's best. For a great example of a John Carpenter horror mind-trip, check out `The Thing' first. When you're finished with that, then watch `In the Mouth of Madness.' It's slightly stupid at times, but fun nonetheless. B-/C+