In the Mouth of Madness (1995)

the audience applauded

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Sam Neill plays John Trent, an insurance investigator slash private eye, in this John Carpenter horror movie that sets out to expand your horizon and blur the lines between fiction and reality. Trent starts the movie as a patient in a mental institution where a doctor arrives to hear his tale. And what a tale it turns out to be. Trent was hired to investigate the disappearance of a horror author Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow), a known eccentric and mad savant.Accompanied by Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), Cane's editor, Trent travels to Hobb's End, a New Hampshire town none of them have ever heard of, except in Cane's novels. After a night of driving, they find their destination, but almost immediately dark tidings start to unravel and Trent finds himself pulled deeper and deeper into the unknown, into the realm of unnatural, of fiction and horror.In the Mouth of Madness feels very much like a Stephen King novel. The small town setting, an author and a book as plot points, the idea that the horror is an extra-dimensional threat trying to break into our reality, the somewhat meta approach the story takes. And I don't mean this in a bad way. Yet it's so weird to see Carpenter emulating King so faithfully. Their particular styles of horror have had similarities before and clearly they've both influenced one another, but this is Carpenter very much trying to tell a Stephen King style horror story. And he succeeds.More cannot really be said without spoilers. It's an enjoyable horror film with good actors, a twisty plot and a great style courtesy of one of the greatest horror director's to ever pick up a camera.

As someone who has read all of Lovecrafts books I can assure you that this movie has a strong Lovecraftian vibe to it. And even the title seems to be some sort of homage to Lovecrafts work, I presume (In the mouth of madness -> Innsmouth ?) Or maybe I'm just over-interpreting things. Who knows?With that being said I really enjoyed the movie. It was refreshing and different. Sometimes the prospect of "not knowing what's real or not" is even scarier than straight up gore or monsters. After all the fear of the unknown is the ultimate essence of true horror. This movie had plenty of it so I can't complain.

I know how to appreciate an "Old" movie, but i have to say that i was pretty excited about viewing this one, and found me laughing on the creepy parts. That is the only negative thing i have to say about this movie, and was really disappointing. Nevertheless the script is FREAKING AMAZING. The way the movie is directed and its development is really good. Dialogues are impregnated of religious and evolution theories topics. I personally loved the way how all this conversations and subject-matter were developed in the movie's plot... that isn't predictable. It's a good movie to see and pay attention, surely wont burn your brain but if you have a good sense for hidden things, you'll be thinking about them for quite a while. So in summary: great movie! (all thanks to the script and directors ability), failed horror intention and smart people plot.7/10.

31 Days Of Horror: Day 28John Carpenter's In The Mouth Of Madness may just be one of the director's most underrated films. It's certainly one of his most effective and intelligent. It's got a story with in a story mentality to it, a handful of really gruesome practical effects, and a story worth telling. Sam Neill plays Trent, an insurance investigator hired by a book firm to locate a missing horror author who owes them an unpublished volume. The author in question is Sutter Kane (more than a few references to Stephen King are slyly dropped), played by classic villain actor Jürgen Prochnow, who's never been eerier, given a meaty, theatrical role to play here that he fits like a glove. Trent is led to a small, deserted New England town, where the weirdness really starts. Kane has, through his horrific novels, somehow tapped into an ancient, Lovecraftian evil from the dark recesses of the space between our dimension and others, and now it wants out. It's bringing his work to slimy, squirming life and bending the rules of reality for everyone in our world. It's a super fun concept that keeps you interested the whole way through, and visually puts on quite a show as well, giving us a parade of all sorts of impressive horrors. Charlton Heston shows up as the head of the book firm, David Warner as a sceptical psychiatrist, and wiry John Glover is priceless as the world's most awkward asylum doctor. Carpenter makes a bit of a departure from simplistic, single idea driven frights and tries his hand at high concept, large scale horror. The result is a highly unsettling, really fun piece that ranks with his best.