Horror Movie Reviews
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Title: In the Mouth of Madness (2000) |
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Review of In the Mouth of Madness
- A best-selling author's newest novel is literally driving readers insane. When the author inexplicably vanishes a special investigator hired to track him down crosses the barrier between fact and fiction and enters a terrifying world from which there is no escape. Directed by horror legend John Carpenter (Vampires).Running Time: 95 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS UPC: 794043490729
Product Description
- 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
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Comments for In the Mouth of Madness
- Posted on 2008-10-02
What is reality?
Trent(Sam Neill) is an insurance investigator hired to track down Sutter Cane(Jurgen Prochnow). Sutter Cane is a top selling horror book author whose books causes people to freak out in unimaginable ways. After piecing together his puzzle, Trent figures out where Cane can be located. Now Trent must distinguish between reality and fiction.
Being a John Carpenter fan one can't help but check out his films. Especially for me, Carpenter is responsible for two of my favorite horror films being Halloween and The Thing. In The Mouth Of Madness is far different from both of those films, its nowhere near as good but it's passable for me.
In The Mouth of Madness isn't scary at all. It works its horror through the creepiness utilizing the atmosphere and plot development. The movie was never boring to me once it got out of first gear. The acting was pretty solid to me and definitly added to the creepy feel as well. Every person who Trent and his female partner came into contact with. Just had a very eerie feel to me. I also feel the thin line between reality and fiction was very well directed here.
I thought the special effects were pretty good but the gore needed work. The background music fit very well with the atmosphere. My only problem is the ending theme. I mean is it just me or is that song out of place?
Overall, In The Mouth of Madness is well above average horror to me. With its creepy feel and message to it. I would say this is one of Carpenter's stronger movies. Fans of the supernatural and mind benders would be making a good move to pick this up.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2008-09-14
NEW WORLD ORDER: A LA LOVECRAFT
This is one of the best scary movies ever. Now, if you are a hard-core horror movie fan, you probably are like me immune, meaning you probably won't get scare. Nevertheless, you will love this movie, and enjoy it. The story is about...well, us, the fans of horror. Is about the questions "what is reality?, does reality exists?". But, the main question is "what if you are the only sane person in the whole world?" Anyway, the movie is about a book so freaking real and scary that the readers (those who finish it) becomes psychopathic killers. The author goes missing and the company hires a man to find him. Is this quest for him that takes us to a lovecraftnian nightmare. You will love it!
P.S. Even if I love a movie, I always recommend to rent it first. That way if you don't like it you won't lose money.
Score: 4 - Posted on 2008-05-31
WTF?
This is a real good movie 3star but the 1star above is for this terrible dealer. I ordered this movie many months ago and still havent recieved it.
Score: 1
- Posted on 2008-05-22
It's The End Of The World As We Know It...
I spent much of my youth reading the works of H.P. Lovecraft. His delightfully overblown style and ability to bring darkness into (brief) focus kept me turning those pages. The stories always seemed to come down to: A) Man discovers horrible truth about elder gods / old ones. B) His mind is torched by the experience. C) The world is doomed. The End. Simple and right to the point. Most film versions of Lovecraft nightmares have been less than frightening, even dull. Well, John Carpenter has put together a successful homage to H.P. with IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS. insurance-fraud investigator, John Trent (Sam Neill from Omen 3: The Final Conflict, Jurassic Park, and Dead Calm) is the normal, rational man caught within the horrific, ever-tightening noose of building insanity. He finds his sanity of little use when confronted by things that defy description. While not based on any true Lovecraft tale, ITMOM is definitely Carpenter's tribute to the master of slithery, utterly evil universe destroyers! We are treated to glimpses and hints of terrors so immense that seeing them in their entirety would surely splatter our brains! Reality bends in on itself, until we, like Trent, can no longer tell fact from fiction. From the axe-wielding, mutated maniacs, to the black church of unspeakable blasphemies, Hobbs End is a town located only in the shadowy, uneasy realms of accursed slumber (how's that for overblown!). If you are a Lovecraft lover, you will be pleasantly chilled...
Score: 5
- Posted on 2008-04-16
In the Mouth of Madness - If enough people believe it, it's true!
In the Mouth of Madness was a really exciting and very strange film that resounded with my film taste and personal interests. In retrospect, I rate it at four stars, but I enjoyed watching this film on my first viewing to the tune of five stars. It was very entertaining while dealing with some interesting questions concerning reality. Can reality be influenced in any objective way if enough people believe in something?
The film also had great story elements including: a world class horror writer whose imagination and writing are affecting the belief systems of his fans, a creepy New England town where reality has been altered by belief systems, world wide killing sprees commited by fans of the writer, an unbelieving and skeptical private investigator commited as insane, and ultimately the final scene featuring Sam Niel in a movie theater watching himself during one of his finest acting moments.
Sam Neil delivered one of his best performances and the musical score by John Carpenter was excellent. The pace, camera angles, composition, and most of all, story were excellent. I reduced my rating to four stars because I didn't like that much of makeup work. I don't think this affected my appreciation of the story and think this film was one of John Carpenter's finest.
John Carpenter has made some excellent films that start off with a good premise that the ending of the story can not live up to (like Prince of Darkness or They Live). In the Mouth of Madness was not one of these. From the beginning to the end the story became increasingly strange and at the very end, strangest of all. At last, a John Carpenter film whose ending lived up to a good premise. I absolutely loved it.
Score: 4
