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In The Mouth Of Madness | Year: 1995 Classification: Thriller Country: USA Directed: - John Carpenter Actors/Actresses: - Sam Neill - Jurgen Prochnow - David Warner - Jürgen Prochnow Lovecraft and Carpenter, together again "In the Mouth of Madness" is John Carpenter's second take on the Cthulhu Mythos (the first is "The Thing", it looked like Lovecraft's "In the Mountains of Madness"). It says in the credits that it is inspired by stories by H.P. Lovecraft; indeed there is no solid uniformity in theme, except for a passing resembelence to "Pickman's Model". Sam Neill is an insurence investigator who is assigned to find missing novelist Sudder Cain ("He out sold Stephen King," - says his agent...Yeah right). The more that Neill gets into the books and follows the trail, he finds that the line between reality and fantasy is thin at best. I loved this movie. It is the last movie that Carpenter seemed to care about. Indeed it is pretty spooky, creepy, with several 'boo' scares to keep you on your toes. Also I thought that this movie caught the essense of books better than most films usually get it. The monsters are truely horrible, authenticly menacing. Sam Neill is the heart of this movie, looking at things so coldly and cynicly, there for when he believes, we MUST. This is a great horror movie, I wish Mr. Carpenter would remember he is great. Great work by Carpenter and Cast Before I get into my review of the film itself, let me say that one of the other reviewers is quite correct. The commentary on this DVD is hands-down the most mind-numbing exercise in boredom ever. "So, you used a soft focus back lighting here to deepen the shadows, right?" "yep". Not a real quote from the commentary, but it gives you a taste of the tedious nature of their conversation. The movie, on the otherhand is anything but boring. I had been a Carpenter fan for quite some time when I went to see this in the theater. Most of Carpenter's films seemed to be centered around a certain atmosphere. IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS is wrapped around a concept. If enough people believe something, does it become reality? Sam Neill plays John Trent, an insurance investigator who specializes in smoking out con artists. He is hired to find Sutter Cane (played with relish by Jurgen Prochnow), the world's leading author. The search leads to a town that shouldn't exist; Hobb's End, a town featured prominently in Sutter Cane's books. What follows is a mixture of John Carpenter atmosphere, H.P. Lovecraftian madness, and deep concepts. Even if you don't want to think that much, you can still enjoy the film for it's terrifying beauty, disturbing images, and great performances by a fine cast that includes Charlton Heston and Bernie Casey. Although not taken directly from any one H.P. Lovecraft story, the locations and creatures are probably the best depiction of Cthulhu-type content ever filmed. Even the title of the movie sounds very much like "In The Mountains of Madness", a Lovecraft story. It does a fine job of honoring Lovecraft's work without copying any of his ideas directly. If I was grading the film by itself it would definately get 5 stars, but I am rating the DVD as a whole. I must take off a star for the horrible commentary track. The DVD comes in a paper case with a plastic snap lock. Hopefully someone will release a deluxe edition of this picture and add some meaty extras, but until then, get this DVD if you enjoy a good scare. One of John Carpenter's last truly scary films. An all-around gem. More like "I wish I hadn't watched it" Madness This movie must have been made too late in the digestion process, because by the time you are done watching, you are convinced that it was "In the Excrement of Madness". For being made in 1995, the special effects were a joke. I've seen better masks at the drugstore during halloween. The female lead in this movie really "killed" my interest, but to the title's credit, her acting did make me MAD. This had so much potential, but I wish Sutter Cane had written in better actors, special effects and directing. Buy In The Mouth Of Madness at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on In The Mouth Of Madness Search with the Priority Search Engine on In The Mouth Of Madness This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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