In the Mouth of Madness

Starring:Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, JÃ¼rgen Prochnow, David Warner, John Glover, Bernie Casey, Peter Jason, Charlton Heston, Frances Bay, Wilhelm von Homburg, Kevin Rushton, Gene Mack, Conrad Bergschneider, Marvin Scott, Katherine Ashby, Ben Gilbert, Dennis O'Connor, Paul Brogren, Sharon Dyer, Sean Ryan
Director: John Carpenter
Studio: New Line Home Video
Product Type: DVD

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The mind-bending worlds of author H.P. Lovecraft have long interested horror directors, but the films have rarely successfully captured his nightmarish mix of madness and mythology. John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness is not directly based on Lovecraft's work, but screenwriter Michael De Luca draws his inspiration from Lovecraft's Cthulu mythology and then adds his own ingenious twists. John Trent (Sam Neill), an insurance investigator recently fitted for a straightjacket, tells his story to a psychiatrist. Hired to track down the missing pop-horror phenomena Sutter Cane, a Stephen King-like author whose fans are literally made for his books, Trent finds the supposedly fictional Hobb's End. He watches the town collapse into madness, murder, and monstrous transformations: the fantastic horrors of Cane's novels played out in front of his eyes. "Reality isn't what it used to be," deadpans one zombielike townsperson. In fact, it is how Cane writes it--but is he Devil, dark oracle, or simply a preacher in the service of an evil that grows stronger with every soul his books convert? The script never quite gets a grip on the blurry relationship between fact and fiction, but those details fade in the face of Carpenter's demented imagery, shiver-inducing twists, and dark wit. It's more eerie mind game than straight-out horror, a portrait of a world gone mad, and Carpenter relishes every hallucinatory moment. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Homage or Weird Vanity Project?.......2007-06-06

The female lead (Julie Carmen) might actually have put in the worst acting job I've ever seen; I kept expecting her to be revealed as a zombie or mind-control victim or maybe that "girl robot" from the identity-theft commercials. I was mind-boggled; how could anyone be that bad except on purpose? I was captivated; finally, a basement standard to grade against!

Unfortunately, that was the highlight. Silly rubber monsters striking fear in no one, a "haunted town" that felt like a stage set, and a slumming (though, is there any other kind these days?) Jurgen Prochnow hamming it up. But what really killed this wsa the central conceit that a Stephen-King-like author is somehow going to be the architect of the end of the world. Not since comic-book artists were kidnapped so as to create the "ultimate alien terror" in Watchmen has the screenwriter been so hilariously deluded about his own self-importance. The entire think felt like a masturbatory exercise, a teen-age-level brag about how "deep" and "insightful" the Dean Koontzes of the world are. But then what useful thing has Carpenter had to say since "The Thing" anyway?

But because Lovecraft rip-offs have their own grade curve, I give it a two.

Who is Sutter Cane?.......2007-02-15

A prophet? A devil? An oracle? A preacher? Whoever he is, he outsells every other author with his Lovecraftian style horror books, and now he's turned up missing. John Trent (Sam Neill) begins the film in an insane asylum, telling Dr. Wrenn (David Warner) a fantastical tale.

John, an insurance investigator, was hired to find the missing Sutter Cane (talented Jurgen Prochnow). Tagging along with him is the publisher's assistant Linda Styles (Julie Carmen). Together, after John pieces together a map made from Cane's book covers, they set out to find the fictional New Hampshire town called Hobb's End, featured in Cane's book and supposedly his current hideout.

Those allegedly firm lines between reality and insanity begin to slip-slide away when John finds Hobb's End. Styles had warned him that Cane's work had been known to have effects on his less stable readers, resulting in disorientation, memory loss, and severe paranoid delisions. John believes this, having been attacked by a man with an axe, asking him if he read Sutter Cane.

But, now that he's found Hobb's End, will John be able to leave? After meeting Sutter Cane, can John handle the tales told to him? Is John factual or fiction? And what lies in wait for him in the black church?

Believers, fanatics, followers, all flock toward Sutter Cane's work, which boils down to one question - is it fiction or reality?

Look for a great performance by John Glover as Saperstein, plus cameos from Charlton Heston as Jackson Harglow and Bernie Casey as Robby. The acting is good and the atmosphere creepy, but the editing is a bit choppy in places. However, those who love great 'B' horror won't be disappointed in this little lovecraftian-type terror fest. One of John Carpenter's best films outside of 'The Thing'. Enjoy!

In the mouth of awesomeness!.......2007-01-26

This film just rocks, probably the best film in Neill's carrear (asside from Event Horizon).

"Master of horror John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) is back with his scariest movie to date!"

Sutter Cane is the best selling horror novelist, but his latest novel is driving his readers literally insane. When he unexpectably vanishes, his publisher sends a special investigator, John Trent (Sam Neill) to track him down. On the search for the missing author he finds himself crossing a deadly barrier between fiction, reality and insanity, nothing is what it seems in this terrifying world of which there is no escape.....
Inspired by the tales of H. P. Lovecraft, this shocking story is, in the words of it's acclaimed director, "horror beyond description!"

I am a huge horror fanatic, when I first saw this movie, i rented on VHS I was blown away and I had to see it again, the film draws you in and never lets go. This movie is a definate must see for any horror fan.

10/10

The sane and insane could easily switch places............2006-11-25

This is a freaky movie! It's about this writer Sutter Cane who writes books that are like a disease and people go insane after reading them. Soon, so many have read them that those who do not read Sutter Cane books become the insane ones. John Trent is sent to investigate Sutter Cane's disappearance and soon finds his own reality and sanity slipping away. This movie is way too crazy to even explain it or attempt to write a spoiler. It's just something you have to see. It's part horror, part psycological thriller and a disturbing ride beginning to end. It has some gore but not too much, great suspense but is mostly a 'smart' type of movie delving into the darkness that exists in all humans. It has very creepy undertones and is anything but predictable! It's the type of movie you have to watch more than once to notice all the subtle details.

HP Lovecraft fans will LOVE it !!!!.......2006-11-10

this is a severely freaky movie! it's a MUST OWN for HP Lovecraft fans. If you're not a Lovecraft fan, it's still good, but some of the subtle points might get overlooked. I love this movie! Sam Neil plays a great "freak out" character. But again, if you don't know Lovecraft's "style" you might get a little lost in the ending and events leading up to it.

Average customer rating:

Homage or Weird Vanity Project?
Who is Sutter Cane?
In the mouth of awesomeness!
The sane and insane could easily switch places.....
HP Lovecraft fans will LOVE it !!!!

In the Mouth of Madness [Region 2]
Starring: Sam Neill , Julie Carmen , Jürgen Prochnow , David Warner , and John Glover
Director: John Carpenter
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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