In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
Directed by John Carpenter
Staring Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jurgen Prochnow, and Charleston Heston
In the Mouth of Madness is a rare movie for two reasons. First, it is one of the best films from John Carpenter’s recent work. Second, it is one of the best representations of the ideas and influence of American horror author H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft wrote about the horror of the unknown and old evils that are beyond the realm of human understanding. The final part of Carpenter’s Apocalypse Trilogy shares these ideas with its companion films, The Thing and Prince of Darkness. While not as good as the first film, it is not as uneven as the latter. Also, the movie understands that the feeling of going crazy can be far more terrifying than what is causing the madness.
The film starts with John Trent (Neill) being placed in an asylum. When a psychiatrist visits Trent to hear his story the movie flashes back to the start of Trent’s troubles. As an insurance investigator, Trent is tasked with finding a bestselling horror author who’s gone missing. The publishing company has filed their claim now that their cash cow, Sutter Kane (Jurgen Prochnow), has disappeared with his final manuscript. No one seems to know a lot about Kane other than his work is deeply disturbing to some of his readers. In the investigation, Trent comes across a pattern in Kane’s book covers. The pieces form a map of Kane’s fictional town of Hobb’s End, correlating to a spot in New Hampshire. Together with Kane’s editor, Linda Styles (Carmen), Trent sets out to find the supposedly fictional town where Kane should be hiding. The two start experiencing vivid nightmares and waking dreams, which become more intense once they find Hobb’s End. This town is a place Kane writes about in all his stories, and all of his stories are coming to life as Trent and Styles search for the author. People behave strangely, there is something making the children evil, and everything is starting to get a bit unreal. Trent slowly begins to realize that Kane might not have written fiction and a great, old evil is creeping into our world.
Terror beyond human comprehension is difficult to convey in film. That is why many of the movies inspired by the work of Lovecraft are lackluster. It does not matter how talented the makeup artists, special FX crew, or director may be. At some point the insanity-inducing antagonist has to take form, physically and psychologically. John Carpenter is one of the few filmmakers to understand how to take Lovecraft’s ideas and turn them into watchable wonders. In this case, Carpenter uses In the Mouth of Madness to focus on the final ingredient to the Lovecraft formula: insanity. Monsters and creatures are good payoffs, but they have come with a building sense that none of this is real. The film uses a lot of quick cuts to images of unfamiliar scenes and violence, lending a nightmare like quality to the rest of it. Tentacles and arterial spray are shown in spurts to hint at something darker underlining Trent’s adventure. Otherworldly creatures are shown in all their slimy glory, but mostly in silhouette or just out of the light. Carpenter wants the viewer to have a taste of what is driving Trent and Styles mad without detracting from their mental descent. Fear of the unknown and some truly great practical effects help provide context for the crazy, but it is the madness that makes this story scary. This is probably the closest anyone will get to making a truly Lovecraftian film.
The acting works well and grounds the story when it starts letting go of reality. Sam Neill plays Trent like nearly all Lovecraft heroes. He’s cocksure and cynical at the start, turning to raving mad once he realizes what forces are at work. The change never feels forced and Neill wears Trent’s feelings like a second skin. Jurgen Prochnow creates a wonderful performance by playing Kane happily even keeled. He could have been the cackling villain chewing on the scenery, but Prochnow is content to smile knowingly as everyone tries to get a hold on the situation. However, not every performance is great. Julie Carmen almost sleepwalks through her role. There’s a second act character development that makes her lethargic performance work for the story, but her introductory scenes give her little to do but fail to look sassy. Charlton Heston shows up to collect a paycheck in a small role as Kane’s publisher. He does nothing spectacular with the character, just enough to get through the scenes without trouble.
Given the track record of Lovecraft adaptations and that of movies directly inspired by his work, In the Mouth of Madness could have ended up a disaster. But as it is, this movie shows what made the author’s work so appealing to horror enthusiasts. Plus, it was a chance for John Carpenter to make something decent between Memoirs of an Invisible Man and Vampires. That counts for a lot.
8 out of 10
