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Title: "In The Mouth Of Madness" Post by: Fearless Freep on August 12, 2003, 01:05:34 PM Last night's fun was In The Mouth Of Madness (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0113409), a mid-90s horror offering from John Carpenter starring Sam Neil.
The basic story: John Trent (Sam Neil) is an insurance investigator hired to find horror author, Sutter Cane, who has disappeared. His publisher would prefer to have Cane back, but will take the insurance money if he's dead so...they need to know where he is. Trent suspects that it's either a publicity stunt or insurance fraud, and being that insurance fraud is his business, he had a pretty cynical outlook on humanity in general and the publishers in particular. Cane's books apparently have a very strong effect on their readers and while reading some of his books as part of his research, Trent starts having frightening hallucinations. Trent also realizes that the art work on many of the books combined form a clue to where Cane really is. Along with Cane's editor, Linda Styles, Trent heads off to find Cane. They come to a town that supposedly is just fictional, and many other elements from Cane's books have a stronger reality than they should. It seems as though through Cane's writing, reality is changing, and there are powers behind even Cane directing him in what to write. Reality, or Trent's sanity, is deteriorating rapidly and Trent and Styles seem to be just character's in a story playing out their predetermined parts to a horrible conclusion... What I liked: This movie genuinely scared me. I'm not really a slasher fan and never got into the "Scream" trend and similar movies from the 90s that tried to bring back the genre. I like movies that scare me on a mental level and that mess with reality; this one worked well at that level. I was thinking a few days ago that most horror movies were really aimed at teens and young adults and that, me being in my mid-30s, they didn't really hit me the same. This was a refreshing change, a movie with middle aged actors in a story that was more sophsiticated than the basic hack-and-slash or killer monster formula. Like in "Event Horizon", Sam Neil handles the transformation from cynic to crazy very well. I was also pretty amused with the nod to Stephen King as well as the part with Styles throwing herself at Trent claiming that Cane is writing her to do it because it's what the readers want. A nod to a genre cliche although in a trunabout on the cliche, it's never really...completed. I liked some of the basic premises. When I was much younger, I had a conversation with my mom about how religious reality was really powered by the faith of the believers. "gods" are more real when they have more believers. I've also oftened use the idea an an author, a book, and the characters as a metaphor for God and creation. Seeing both of those ideas brought forth like this touched something in me. What I didn't like: A few of the scares seemed scares for the sake of doing something weird to let you know something was up, but didn't really seem to fit into the larger story. Like the hotel picture that kept changing and the boy/man on the bicycle. Actually, there are a lot of litle plot elements that seem somewhat disconnected so it's best not to think too much about them and just go along for the ride. Conclusion: A scary movie in the vein of "reality isn't what you think it is" that will keep you thinking. Has some blood and gore to add a physical shock dimension to what is mostly an intellectual level horror story. If that's your thing, check it out. ---spoilers---- All through the end I was sorta wondering to myself if everything that happened was really just Trent's insanity from having read the books in the first place. I also kinda expected at the end when Trent is watching the movie in the theater for the movie-in-the-movie to show Trent watchingthe movie and something coming up behind him while's he watching himself. I liked that the movie poster for "In The Mouth Of Madness" is show to be starring John Trent, Linda Styles and other characters from the story. I looked back and paused a few times and I have no idea what in the artwork Trent saw that mad him cut it up into shapes that would form New Hampshire Post Edited (08-12-03 13:20) Title: Re: "In The Mouth Of Madness" Post by: NEC on August 12, 2003, 02:08:12 PM I'm a huge fan of this film! My dad (who normally hates horror) LOVES it almost as much as I do! He even loves the heavy metal title theme at the beginning.
Title: Re: "In The Mouth Of Madness" Post by: Fearless Freep on August 12, 2003, 02:12:55 PM He even loves the heavy metal title theme at the beginning.
I liked that and also the music where Trent is wandering around the town; set a good vibe Title: Re: "In The Mouth Of Madness" Post by: Tranquil Featherman on August 13, 2003, 04:29:10 PM Is this the movie that has Sam Neil sitting in an insane asylum drawing crosses all over the wals and himself with a crayon? if so, I really like this one but have forgotten about it. It was very dark.
Title: Re: "In The Mouth Of Madness" Post by: Fearless Freep on August 13, 2003, 04:42:51 PM Is this the movie that has Sam Neil sitting in an insane asylum drawing crosses all over the wals and himself with a crayon?
Yes, that's how it starts and then most of the movie is a flashback from that Title: Re: "In The Mouth Of Madness" Post by: Neville on August 14, 2003, 11:06:32 AM One of my favourite Carpenters, and it even manages to adapt the Lovecraft mythos quite faithfully. My favourite bit is Sam Neill and somebody else having a conversation in a caeteria while we see somebody advancing towards them in the distance. Crazy, and quite funny.
Title: Re: "In The Mouth Of Madness" Post by: Fearless Freep on August 14, 2003, 11:17:02 AM My favourite bit is Sam Neill and somebody else having a conversation in a caeteria while we see somebody advancing towards them in the distance. Crazy, and quite funny.
That was pretty funny. Although it also bothered me because that was supposed to be Cane's agent who read what Trent was going to do and wnated to kill him to prevent it. However, at that point, the Agent should've only had some of the book and not the later parts so how would the Agent know enough of the story to feel that Trent shuold be killed? For some reason, the painting on the wall in the hotel, and the way it kept changing, did spook me Title: One Of My Favorites (Slight Spoilers?) Post by: Mr_Vindictive on August 15, 2003, 07:53:17 AM I bought this film on DVD last year after nearly wearing out my video store's VHS copy. Definently my favorite Carpenter film.
Unlike Freep, I found the painting and the guy on the bike to be quite creepy and felt that they added much to the mood of the film, if not the story. This film is just creepy. The black church, the deformed kids....creepy! Jürgen Prochnow (I love that name) does well as the King/Lovecraft author who can make reality bend at his will. Oh yeah, and his favorite color is blue. Title: Re: "In The Mouth Of Madness" Post by: Fearless Freep on August 15, 2003, 11:29:04 AM Unlike Freep, I found the painting and the guy on the bike to be quite creepy and felt that they added much to the mood of the film, if not the story. This film is just creepy. The black church, the deformed kids....creepy!
You may have missed what I said. I did find the painting quite creepy and I think it did add to the mood. My point was that while it was scary (and the kid on the bike too) it didn't really fit in with the general story. It was kinda "Hobb's End is a spooky place" from these events, before you know enough to grasp what's going on, but when you find out what's wrong with Hobb's End, you realize that the painting really didn't fit in. As I said, scary for the sake of scary, but not really consistant |