In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

John Carpenter

Writer (WGA):

Michael De Luca (written by)

Release Date:

3 February 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Lived Any Good Books Lately?

Plot:

An insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer's books have on his fans is more than inspirational.

Plot Keywords:

Novel | Horror Writer | Publisher | Church | Book

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Sam Neill	...	John Trent
Julie Carmen	...	Linda Styles
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Sutter Cane (as Jurgen Prochnow)
David Warner	...	Dr. Wrenn
John Glover	...	Saperstein
Bernie Casey	...	Robinson
Peter Jason	...	Mr. Paul
Charlton Heston	...	Jackson Harglow
Frances Bay	...	Mrs. Pickman
Wilhelm von Homburg	...	Simon
Kevin Rushton	...	Guard #1
Gene Mack	...	Guard #2
Conrad Bergschneider	...	Axe Maniac
Marvin Scott	...	Reporter
Katherine Ashby	...	Receptionist

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Germany:18 (DVD release) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | USA:R (certificate #32596) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

King City, Ontario, Canada

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

The car keys that Julie Carmen swallows when Sam Neill is trying to escape from town were made out of pasta.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Linda Stiles is introduced for the first time and is speaking about Sutter Cain's book, she takes her glasses off and folds them twice.

Quotes:

Sutter Cane: Did I ever tell you my favorite color was blue?

Movie Connections:

Features Robot Monster (1953)

Soundtrack:

WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN

a big favorite of mine

Hey now, Sutter Cane is one of those writers where everybody is reading his stuff. In fact, they're mad about his stuff. So mad they're going absolutely berserk. And it seems he's disappeared, so along comes insurance investigator (Sam Neill) to find out where he's gone. This is one of those "life imitates art" (or something like that) kind of flicks, as whole scenes from Cane's novels seem to be coming true, including the small town of Hobb's End where folks ain't what they seem. This has plenty of weird and creepy stuff, including a bunch of eerie little kids running around, and nasty things tucked away in basements and such. A lot of this is borderline Lovecraft kind of stuff, and the more Trent (Neill) and Styles (Julie Carmen) dig, the more weird this gets. Any scene where a human body moves in an unnatural way gives me the creeps so when Styles walks backwards on her hands and feet with her head turned around it was quite satisfying, in a creepy kind of way, of course. OK, so there may be a plot hole or two, but hey, this is a horror movie, OK? I think this is one of my all time favorite Carpenter flicks, although some may not agree. 8 out of 10 stars, fer shure.