In the Mouth of Madness Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: When an insurance investigator is tasked to find a missing horror author, he learns that the author's books are not fiction after all.

Review: This is yet another work from John Carpenter that I'm surprised failed. You take 75% Lovecratian horror, mix in about 15% of Stephen King, and finish off with 10% of pure, Carpenter style--how can you go wrong with that formula? "In the Mouth of Madness" perfectly captures themes from Lovecraft while adding an original spin to make things contemporary. Does it all come together seamlessly? Definitely not. However, the imagination and creativity are impressive--the story successfully engaging the viewer with many layers to consider upon completion. I'm certain this would have been a hit had it come out in the '80s, rather than mid-90s, but that's neither here nor there.

I guess I'll provide a short summary to help address the potentially convoluted story line. Sam Neill, fresh off "Jurassic Park," plays an insurance investigator named Trent who is hired to find an author, named Sutter Cane. The story is revealed through a large flashback as we open with Trent institutionalized. Basically, Sutter Cane is supposed to be a Stephen King equivalent except they stress that he's even more popular, an international phenomenon. Furthermore, the books are said to have a mental affect on susceptible readers. In the pursuit of Cane, Trent discovers a hidden location that connects all of the books--a sinister town where all manner of evil forces intersect. Throughout, you will see numerous homages to Lovecraft's works so, if you're a fan of that, this movie has you covered. Eventually Trent learns that Cane believes his writing is warping reality--that he is somehow opening a doorway for cosmic beings beyond human comprehension to enter our world. Admittedly, the events are not completely clear nor straightforward. Was Sutter Cane always a writer who discovered his works were based on reality or are all the events of the film the manifestation of something already written? Is Trent nothing more than a character in a book? Trent manages to escape from the town only to go nuts once he realizes he can no longer distinguish reality from his own ravings. Cutting back to Trent's institutionalization, we see that those cosmic beings have swept over the world, seemingly eating everyone. Free from his confines, Trent stumbles into a movie theater where he watches the events of the film itself, "In the Mouth of Madness." This ending provides further ideas to ponder since maybe all the players we've seen were nothing more than actors, creations of Sutter Cane brought to life.

For the positives...I've mentioned before I love reality-questioning stories. So this resonates with me. Plus, we kind of get a mix of everything with books and movies both coming to life. Whether there is a definitive answer to the questions is up to the viewer to decide. Regardless, this notion of madness and going crazy once you encounter cosmic forces is right in line with Lovecraft's core themes; as I already addressed, this is the strongest part of the film. The way they incorporate the various plot lines--such as the hidden town, supernatural creatures, and bizarre warping of reality--is fun to see and there aren't a lot of other movies to compare it to. While many effects do not fully hold up, it's good to see practical effects for the creatures as well. Another powerful part of the production is the use of the sleepy town, including that creepy, real life church. In fact, the atmosphere is incredibly strong at times in spite of music that is not complementary at all.

As for the film's faults...the acting is a mixed bag. I don't know, it's like no one is playing their role with conviction save for a few characters. The pacing is certainly an issue due to unneeded scenes combined with general pointlessness. For example, Trent having a dream within a dream scare that makes no sense anyway?! Um, no thanks. Likewise, the events after Trent escapes from the town drag on badly. Another glaring issue I have is with too many events of the film being experienced by Styles, a chick sent to oversee Trent. Yeah, you could argue her POV makes sense if we are witnessing imagined events brought to life, BUT the story is meant to be a flashback from Trent's POV...so...how would he know what she saw?! I strongly believe this was an oversight during post-production. Finally, there are just scenes and shots that are unintentionally stupid. I'm not fully holding these scenes against the film's rating, but a shot like Sutter Cane standing in the doorway of the church while it's flapping is bad or that miserable performance from Sam Neill during the ending. What were they thinking?

I know this film is often considered among Carpenter's misses, but I think it's sorely underrated. I have my issues with this film, without a doubt, but the faithful tribute to Lovecraft is hard to ignore. On top of that, I appreciate what the crew was trying to depict despite the times they failed to present these concepts clearly. Maybe with a bit more polish, or another edit of some sort, a definitive vision could have been realized. Still, the effort is not lost and there is a lot to love here. I fully understand why even many Carpenter fans dislike "In the Mouth of Madness," but I will humbly disagree. This film is a unique, genre blend that mesmerizes the viewer with a massive universe we only scratch the surface of. If you missed this one over the years, seek it out with the understanding that it's not necessarily every horror fan's cup of tea.

Notable Moment: At the end when Trent is watching the movie's events on the big screen. This scene was intended to be disturbing, but it comes off as comical instead. It's painful to see an otherwise great film close out so pitifully.

Final Rating: 6.5/10