Recovering from an ambush that killed his entire team, a vengeful vampire slayer must retrieve an ancient Catholic relic that, should it be acquired by vampires, will allow them to walk in sunlight.
An unlikely partnership between a Highway Patrol Officer, two criminals and a station secretary is formed to defend a defunct Los Angeles precinct office against a siege by a bloodthirsty street gang.
Director:
John Carpenter
Stars:
Austin Stoker,
Darwin Joston,
Laurie Zimmer
Snake Plissken is once again called in by the United States government to recover a potential doomsday device from Los Angeles, now an autonomous island where undesirables are deported.
In 2176, a Martian police unit is sent to pick up a highly dangerous criminal at a remote mining post. Upon arrival, the cops find that the post has become a charnel house.
With the disappearance of hack horror writer Sutter Cane, all Hell is breaking loose...literally! Author Cane, it seems, has a knack for description that really brings his evil creepy-crawlies to life. Insurance investigator John Trent is sent to investigate Cane's mysterious vanishing act and ends up in the sleepy little East Coast town of Hobb's End. The fact that this town exists as a figment of Cane's twisted imagination is only the beginning of Trent's problems.Written by
Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>
References to the "Old Ones" by Sutter Cane, along with certain representations of monsters printed on his books and latter brought to life, are allusions to The Cthulhu Mythos - a series of stories by H.P. Lovecraft and continued by other writers into modern times. In this sense, one could consider "In the Mouth of Madness" John Carpenter's own contribution to The Cthulhu Mythos. See more »
Goofs
(at around 14 mins) When the axe-wielding madman is shot several times by police men, no visible bullet marks are made by the gunfire. See more »
Animal action was monitored by the American Humane Association with on set supervision by the Toronto Humane Society. No animal was harmed in the making of this film.
Human interaction was monitored by the Inter Planetary Psychiatric Association. The body count was high, the casualties are heavy. See more »
Alternate Versions
The original theatrical release had the 1987-1994 New Line Cinema logo at the opening. The 2013 Blu-ray from Warner Bros. plasters it with the modern New Line logo. But the 2018 Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory restores the original logo. See more »
It's hard to go deeply into the story of In the Mouth of Madness without spoiling it. It's best to know absolutely nothing at all. That was my experience with this film and I was completely blown away. The story is very original and inventive and also has a good critique about the influences of the horror franchise.
The first 2/3 of the film are masterful, the old John Carpenter seems to have returned at full force. Effortlessly creating a creepy atmosphere, astounding visuals, some gross-out horror combined with a Chandleresque detective mystery, In the Mouth of Madness seems to be competing for the title of Carpenter's best ever film. But the final third is a letdown, the conclusion not satisfactory and the terribly slow pacing kills the momentum so memorably established before.
Still, overall this is one effective horror film made by a master filmmaker. Although it misses the bull's eye, it ranks as the best of Carpenter's later works. He has a good cast to work with here; Sam Neill is terrific in the lead, Jurgen Prochnow is creepy and it's fun to see Charlton Heston in a small role.
For horror fans and Carpenter disciples this film is a must see.
36 of 55 people found this review helpful.
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It's hard to go deeply into the story of In the Mouth of Madness without spoiling it. It's best to know absolutely nothing at all. That was my experience with this film and I was completely blown away. The story is very original and inventive and also has a good critique about the influences of the horror franchise.
The first 2/3 of the film are masterful, the old John Carpenter seems to have returned at full force. Effortlessly creating a creepy atmosphere, astounding visuals, some gross-out horror combined with a Chandleresque detective mystery, In the Mouth of Madness seems to be competing for the title of Carpenter's best ever film. But the final third is a letdown, the conclusion not satisfactory and the terribly slow pacing kills the momentum so memorably established before.
Still, overall this is one effective horror film made by a master filmmaker. Although it misses the bull's eye, it ranks as the best of Carpenter's later works. He has a good cast to work with here; Sam Neill is terrific in the lead, Jurgen Prochnow is creepy and it's fun to see Charlton Heston in a small role.
For horror fans and Carpenter disciples this film is a must see.