In the Mouth of Madness
Blends Excellent Creative Elements to Create a Scary Psychotic Ride.
In the Mouth of Madness combines excellent screen
writing and superb acting with the psychosis of Lovecraft and the
brilliant direction of Carpenter to create memorable psychological
horror.
Review by The Zombie Master Lee
Roberts December
28, 2006
Release:
1995 Written by: Michael De Luca Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring:
Sam Neill as John Trent Julie Carmen as Linda Styles Jurgen Prochnow as Sutter Cane Charlton Heston as Jackson Harglow
Other than watch movies, I also enjoy reading. Not just any
reading either. I am talking about real books with
pages made out of
paper. I like the standards: King, Barker, Rice, Saul, Koontz, etc. but
there is nothing that compares to curling up with a good H. P.
Lovecraft story to bring the nightmares hiding in the depths of the
sub-conscious mind to the forefront of presumed reality. Michael De
Luca (writer) must agree because he took aspects of many Lovecraft
stories and used them liberally when writing the screenplay for In
the Mouth of Madness.
In the Mouth of Madness
starts in an insane asylum
where we find John Trent (Sam Neill) being forced
into a padded cell. He seems delusional and boarder
line schizophrenic.
When a doctor comes to see him, John has taken a black crayon and drawn
crosses all over the room, his clothes, and his person. This is when
John begins to tell his story to the doctor.
John Trent is a freelance insurance investigator that has been hired by
an insurance company to check out a probable claim from Arcane
publishing
company. It seems that there biggest selling horror writer,
Sutter Cane
(Jurgen Prochnow), has disappeared. If this is just a publicity stunt
then no one gets hurt but if it is true then it will cost the insurance
company billions. The head of Arcane, Jackson
Harglow (Charlton
Heston), wants to know the truth also so he sends Linda Styles (Julie
Carmen), Canes editor, with John to find Sutter Cane.
I
know some of you are thinking, "What's so scary about that? ...Seems
harmless enough." Oh ye of
little faith. That is just the fuel that starts the fire
folks. From
here on out you are witnesses to the slow unraveling of the mind of
John Trent.
In
the Mouth of Madness is a superb film. Expertly
directed by John Carpenter (Halloween,
The
Thing,
etc.), In
the Mouth of Madness has the aura of Lovecraft
surrounding
it. In some circles, Carpenter has been called the “Master of
Atmosphere” because of his ability to use music and visuals
with out having to resort to excessive gore to scare the pants off of
you. I agree with this assessment and In the Mouth of Madness
is a great example of this ability and is one of the reasons why
Carpenter is one of the best horror directors out
there.
The
acting is great also. I have been a fan of Sam Neill since I saw
him in Sleeping
Dogs
(1977) and he does not
disappoint here either as a man slowly losing his mind. Jurgen Prochnow
(Das
Boot, The
Keep)
brings
Sutter Cane to life like no other could do. And I will always enjoy the
work of Charlton Heston (Planet
of the Apes,Soylent
Green).
NOTE: The paperboy is played by a young
Hayden Christensen (future Darth Vader).
Although
In the Mouth of Madness is one of those
movies that you really have to pay attention to, it is worth
every
minute. Just remember to hit pause before going for a
restroom break.
If not, you will be as confused as a goat on astro-turf. Questions
of comments about In the Mouth of Madness?
Contact us!
Horror Movie Freaks
is the FREE eZine from Best-Horror-Movies.com
that will give you the new horror releases, the new horror news and the
new horror reviews that you CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT!!
Subscribing is easy, painless and free.
Do it NOW!!
John Trent is a freelance insurance investigator that has been hired by
an insurance company to check out a probable claim from Arcane
publishing
company. It seems that there biggest selling horror writer,
Sutter Cane
(Jurgen Prochnow), has disappeared. If this is just a publicity stunt
then no one gets hurt but if it is true then it will cost the insurance
company billions. The head of Arcane, Jackson
Harglow (Charlton
Heston), wants to know the truth also so he sends Linda Styles (Julie
Carmen), Canes editor, with John to find Sutter Cane.
In
the Mouth of Madness is a superb film. Expertly
directed by John Carpenter (
,
etc.), In
the Mouth of Madness has the aura of Lovecraft
surrounding
it. In some circles, Carpenter has been called the “Master of
Atmosphere” because of his ability to use music and visuals
with out having to resort to excessive gore to scare the pants off of
you. I agree with this assessment and In the Mouth of Madness
is a great example of this ability and is one of the reasons why
Carpenter is one of the best horror directors out
there.
The
acting is great also. I have been a fan of Sam Neill since I saw
him in 
(1977) and he does not
disappoint here either as a man slowly losing his mind. Jurgen Prochnow
(
, 
)
brings
Sutter Cane to life like no other could do. And I will always enjoy the
work of Charlton Heston (
,
).
NOTE: The paperboy is played by a young
Hayden Christensen (future Darth Vader).
