In the Mouth of Madness

Plot synopsis:
In the midst of an unspecified disaster, Dr. Wrenn (David Warner) visits John Trent (Sam Neill), a patient in a psychiatric hospital, and Trent recounts his story:
Trent, an insurance investigator, has lunch with a colleague who preps him on his next assignment: investigating a claim by New York-based Arcane Publishing. During their conversation, Trent is attacked by a man wielding an axe who, after asking him if he "reads Sutter Cane", is shot dead by a police officer before he can harm Trent. The man was Cane's agent, who went insane and killed his family after reading one of Cane's books.
Trent meets with Arcane Publishing director Jackson Harglow (Charlton Heston), who tasks him with investigating the disappearance of popular horror novelist Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow), and recovering the manuscript for Cane's final novel. He assigns Cane's editor, Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), to accompany him. Linda explains that Cane's stories have been known to cause disorientation, memory loss and paranoia in "less stable readers". Trent is skeptical, convinced that the disappearance is a publicity stunt. Trent notices red lines on Cane's book's covers which, when aligned properly, form the outline of New Hampshire and mark a location alluded to be Hobb's End, the fictional setting for many of Cane's works.
They set out to find the town. Linda experiences bizarre phenomena during the late-night drive, and they inexplicably arrive at Hobb's End in daylight. Trent and Linda search the small town, encountering people and landmarks described as fictional in Cane's novels. Trent believes it all to be staged, but Linda disagrees. She admits to Trent that Arcane Publishing's claim was a stunt to promote Cane's book, but the time distortion and exact replica of Hobb's End were not part of the plan.
Linda enters a church to confront Cane, who exposes her to his final novel, In The Mouth of Madness, which drives her insane; she begins embracing and kissing Cane passionately. A man (Wilhelm von Homburg) approaches Trent in a bar and warns him to leave, then commits suicide. Outside the bar, a mob of monstrous-looking townspeople descend upon him. Trent drives away from Hobb's End, but is repeatedly teleported back to the center of town. After crashing his car, Trent awakens inside the church with Linda, where Cane explains that the public's belief in his stories freed an ancient race of monstrous beings which will reclaim the Earth. Cane reveals that Trent is merely one of his characters, who must follow Cane's plot and return the manuscript of In The Mouth of Madness to Arcane Publishing, furthering the end of humanity.
After giving Trent the manuscript, Cane tears his face open, creating a portal to the dimension of Cane's monstrous masters. Trent sees a long tunnel that Cane said would take him back to his world, and urges Linda to come with him. She tells him she can't, because she has already read the entire book. Trent races down the hall, with Cane's monsters close on his heels. He trips and falls, then suddenly finds himself lying on a country road, apparently back in reality. During his return to New York, Trent destroys the manuscript. Back at Arcane Publishing, Trent relates his experience to Harglow. Harglow claims ignorance of Linda; Trent was sent alone to find Cane, and the manuscript was delivered months earlier. In The Mouth of Madness has been on sale for weeks, with a film adaptation in post production. Trent is arrested after he murders a reader of the newly released novel, who has altered eyes and a nosebleed; Trent asks if he is enjoying the book, and when the dazed reader nods, Trent tells him he should not be surprised before swinging the axe.
After Trent finishes telling his story, Dr. Wrenn judges it a meaningless hallucination. Trent wakes the following day to find the asylum abandoned. He departs as a radio announces that the world has been overrun with monstrous creatures, and that outbreaks of suicide and mass murder are commonplace. Trent goes to see the In the Mouth of Madness film and discovers that he is the main character. As he watches his previous actions play out on screen, including a scene where he insisted to Linda "This is reality!", Trent begins laughing hysterically before breaking down crying; finally realizing he was a character in the book all along.

Tags: comedy, fantasy, gothic, murder, paranormal, cult, violence, flashback, good versus evil, insanity, psychedelic, suspenseful

Review:
After the box-office failure of "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" in 1992 forced him to work in TV (with the movie "Body Bags"), director John Carpenter returned to his roots in the horror genre and began working in what would be his return to the big screen with the 1995 horror film, "In the Mouth of Madness", a movie that would become the third and final part of his Apocalypse Trilogy (an unrelated series of horror films started with "The Thing" and followed by "Prince of Darkness").
Together with writer Michael De Luca, Carpenter crafted a film that pays honest tribute to the genre's original root: the written word.In the film, Sam Neill plays John Trent, a freelance insurance investigator hired to find out if the disappearance of horror writer Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) is part of a complicated marketing plan, as he is the most popular writer at the moment.
Together with Cane's editor, Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), Trent will attempt to find out where Cane is, but will discover that the famed horror writer has a deep dark secret hidden in the apparently not so fictional town of "Hobb's End".Inspired by legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, De Luca's story is a powerful ride to the dark side where the line of fiction and reality disappear.
As a tribute to Lovecraft, De Luca captures that atmosphere of dread and madness that was so characteristic of Lovecraft's works and that no film adaptation of his works has managed to capture.A fitting return to form, "In the Mouth of Madness" is again John Carpenter at his best, giving form to De Luca's imaginative script with amazing talent and an effective care for the story not seen since "The Thing".
While the plot is clearly inspired on the work of H.P. Lovecraft, Carpenter completed the "tribute" by adding countless of references to Stephen King and Nigel Kneale (his own favorite writer), making "In the Mouth of Madness" a homage to writers of horror fiction.
With great skill, Carpenter crafts a film that is never boring nor tiresome, and that even manages to transmit the feeling one would get by reading a book.Sam Neill delivers an excellent performance as John Trent, who incredulous of Cane's talent, enters the unknown and discovers the source of Cane's popularity.
Jürgen Prochnow and Julie Carmen deliver both excellent performances too, although their characters receive few screen time (even for important supporting roles) as it is truly Neill who carries the film becoming the focus of the story."In the Mouth of Madness" is a haunting horror film that is both intelligent and effective thanks to Carpenter's expertise as director, and more than 10 years after is release it's hard to see why it failed at the box-office.
Despite some quibbles with the special effects (as I think that Carpenter shows a lot more than what was needed), the film is overall a very well-done film that deserved a better reception in its day.With an excellent cast and a superb story, "In the Mouth of Madness" ends up as a really inventive story that proves that horror in film can deliver the same creative as it has in literature.
To most people, the name John Carpenter is (and will always be) related to the "Halloween" franchise, but personally, I find "The Thing" and this film as the best works of his career.
Insurance claims expert John Trent (Sam Neill) Goes off on a search for missing horror author Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow), convinced his disappearance is a hoax.
Filled with great direction,wonderful performances and great special effects In The Mouth Of Madness is John Carpenter at his best.In The Mouth Of Madness tells the story of private investigator John Trent(Sam Neill),an investigator who investigates phony insurance claims.
During the time the Horror genre was seen as dead there was a few great Horror films that came out during the early to mid 1990s and one of those Horror films was John Carpenter's In The Mouth Of Madness.
But In The Mouth Of Madness has gain a cult following among Carpenter fans and Horror fans over the years be the film is great and unique.
Yet the writer does manage to bring H.P.'s grand madness to the screen, by mixing it up with a little Stephen King magic.Indeed, this is like a horror fan's dream come true: Carpenter making a movie to answer the question "What would Stephen King write if he had Lovecraft's madness?".
In a way these things are practically creating a certain existence and when we read or write these stories we suspend our disbelief because depending on how much we enjoy the story we want to almost believe it's real.This is my third favorite movie from my favorite movie director John Carpenter and it's also one of my personal favorite films in general; but also the last in his apocalypse trilogy (my favorite is "The Thing") It's one of those surreal horror films or just films in general you don't see often it's something that shows up on an occasional amount of years or could slip though the cracks.
Anyway in format it seems like a simple tracking mission mystery but what makes those kinds of plots interesting is one thing always turns into another, and this film does that but takes a more radical approach because it screws with you perception of reality in the film and pulls the rug from under you when you least expect it to.The protagonist despite unreliable is good, Insurance investigator John Trent played well by underrated actor Sam Neil.
The antagonist Sutter Kane is also great despite not being in the film that long he just has this presence where on the outside he seems like an ordinary guy (like most authors are) but you sense there is something supernatural about him, after all everything he's written has came true.I love the unsettling feeling it gives you, once again John's trademark feeling of isolation, doom and dread which help successfully add to the feeling that the world could be ending.
And of course the music as usual is great, I love the theme song it's just so cool it's one of my favorite movie themes ever.The film really gets at our perception of reality, are we really in reality or could we truly be characters from a book after all as a saying goes "life is a story".
Trent ends up in Hobb's End, a town right out of Caine's books (literally) where the morbid tales of fiction are becoming reality.The movie, although muddled in places, too repetitive (on purpose), and too reliant on flash forwards, has lots of things to say about the perception of reality and it interesting and entertaining.The supporting cast is good: John Glover and David Warner are psychiatrists, a subdued Charleton Heston is a publisher, and Bernie "Revenge of the Nerds" Casey is Trent's boss, but the highlight is Frances Bay as the sweet Mrs. Pickman.
In one scene there is a special effects dummy head in place of Carmen's and the dummy head out-acts her.This is not as great as "The Thing" but better than "They Live" as far as John Carpenter's paranoid, reality-bending flicks go, and is worth checking out..
This is my second favorite horror film of all time mainly because it still weirds me out (a horror movie plus in my book) and it reminds me of the work of our lord - H.P. Lovecraft.Sam Neil is a great actor and before watching this, I had only seen him in dramas and thrillers, so I did not know what to expect - believe me, it is the best way with this film.
Was I in for a shock/good time.It involves an insurance detective named Trent (Neil), who is asked to investigate a mysterious horror novelist called Sutter Cane (by ape-hater, Charlton Heston).
The story is very original and inventive and also has a good critique about the influences of the horror franchise.The first 2/3 of the film are masterful, the old John Carpenter seems to have returned at full force.
Effortlessly creating a creepy atmosphere, astounding visuals, some gross-out horror combined with a Chandleresque detective mystery, In the Mouth of Madness seems to be competing for the title of Carpenter's best ever film.
He has a good cast to work with here; Sam Neill is terrific in the lead, Jurgen Prochnow is creepy and it's fun to see Charlton Heston in a small role.For horror fans and Carpenter disciples this film is a must see..
It does lose a little something once the mystery elements are de-emphasized and the lunatic imagery takes over, but there is something here for a variety of horror fans, those who crave imaginative effects work and those who simply enjoy the idea of imagination run amok, as characters end up in a place where fantasy and reality are no longer distinguishable from each other.
The visual effects are simply spectacular, with the renowned KNB group obviously having a ball coming up with assorted gore and creature gags.Sam Neill, who'd previously played the villain in Carpenters' "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", stars here as John Trent, a cynical freelance insurance investigator who is good at what he does, and also *enjoys* what he does.
When he and his travelling companion, Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), arrive in the small town of Hobbs End - a place that supposedly *only* exists in Canes' mind - things take an extremely bizarre turn, and poor Trent, one of those hardcore rational types who is sure there must be some logic to all of this, is taken for a dark and interesting ride.This had been written a few years previous by future big time Hollywood executive Michael De Luca, and was intended to be a derivation of concepts created by the legendary H.P. Lovecraft.
Some of the supporting actors - David Warner, John Glover, Bernie Casey, Peter Jason, Frances Bay - aren't seen all that much, but it's still nice to see them here.Like a lot of Carpenters' work, it just wasn't appreciated that much in its time (20 years ago now), but it's gained a fair amount of respect in the years since among horror fans.Eight out of 10..
Sam Neill is an insurance investigator searching for Cane, as instructed by Cane's publisher Jackson Harglow (Charlton Heston), who sends the beautiful Julie Carmen to assist Neill.Well-acted and great direction by Carpenter make this ultimate horror film is you actually want to be frightened..
John follows his instincts and travels with Cane's editor, Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), to New Hampshire seeking for the apparently fictional town of Hobb's End. While driving along the night, Linda reaches the Hobb's End, and John discloses that Sutter Cane has unleashed a powerful evil force in the black church of the mysterious town, and his twisted imagination is changing the reality and perception of those that read his novels."In the Mouth of Madness" is a journey to fear and madness through the darkness of a twisted mind of a writer.
One of the more disturbing movies by the great john Carpenter, at his best in narrating the incredible story of a book who reshape reality making space for new Gods to come.
Sam Neill, as John Trent, in one of his most memorable roles and Jurgen Prochnow as the writer Sutter Cane, deus ex machina of the story, are great as the antagonists of this delirious script, that grab you by the balls since the start and don't let you free till the end titles.
Sam Neill (badly miscast) is the insurance investigator who's assigned to track down a world-famous horror writer who's gone missing with his latest manuscript, a (literally) mind-twisting book set in the town of Hobb's End. Having located this 'mythical' venue, Neill falls prey to a variety of monstrous visions conjured by the writer's imagination, at which point the plot becomes irrelevant and the casual viewer might just as well pack up and go home.
In The Mouth Of Madness is a very cerebral and very intense horror film from one of the genre's greats, John Carpenter.
In The Mouth Of Madness is a very original and well crafted horror film and in my opinion some of John Carpenter's best film work in the 90's..
31 Days Of Horror: Day 28John Carpenter's In The Mouth Of Madness may just be one of the director's most underrated films.
This movie is more a tribute to him than anything, and I think it does a good job.Over all a great film to watch if you want something to make you think a little, if you enjoy Lovecraft in the least (or hate him, either way), or like Sam Neil, who does an awesome job here; very believable.
"In The Mouth Of Madness" was another great horror film from John Carpenter, packed with surprises and suspense.
Well, `In the Mouth of Madness' is a lot like other John Carpenter films  interesting concepts, but the results are often hit or miss.
Still, the good outweighs the bad, and I have to give John Carpenter credit for at least trying to create a chilling horror film, even if the results are somewhat spotty.`In the Mouth of Madness' is decent, but not one of Carpenter's best.
It takes you on a creepy ride through some of the most surreal settings in cinema...OK, maybe in some places, the plot goes a bit haywire, but c'mon, give this film the credit for being so different from other tripe like mindless slasher movies with some stupid looking boogey-men!This is a very memorable movie, very atmospheric and has some nightmarish scenes never before seen in other clichéd horror movies.A true trip in the mouth of madness!
The visual effects were decent, but the focus on John Trent (Sam Neill's character) trying to rationalize what is happening with the books written by Sutter Cane and how it begins to effect the public and the plunge into madness and mass hysteria and reports of people turning into monsters.
John Trent, Sam Neill, is institutionalized for a serious mental breakdown at the beginning of the movie and is being interviewed by Dr. Wrenn, David Warner, in a padded cell with nothing but black crosses drawn by John with a crayon that he was given by one of the attendants.John tells his story in flashback about him being an insurance investigator that is called by the Arcane Publishing House to find it's top writer Sutter Cane, Jurgen Prochnow, a Steven King like horror/mystery writer.
Maybe one such scene is the part where Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow) tears himself open, but what happens to John Trent (Sam Neill) right after that more than makes up for anything unrealistic in the movie.
In the Mouth of Madness may (and at times, does) seem like just another Lovecraft-inspired, low-budget movie, but in reality it possesses some characteristics which really set it apart.The story revolves around John Trent, an insurance claims investigator (played by Sam Neill) who is hired to find Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow), a famous horror writer who disappeared, and the strange things happening around Trent while he looks for Cane.I don't want to give away any important parts of the movie (but I probably will, anyway), but some things make this movie stand apart from other horror movies: The plot is actually very well-built, with many little loops and twists.
"In the Mouth of Madness", however, differs from the rest in that it deals with written horror fiction rather than film.The story revolves around an insurance investigator, played by Sam Neill, who is hired to find out whether the disappearance of best-selling horror novelist Sutter Crane (Jurgen Prochnow) is a scam or not.
It's a brilliant and severely underrated film that if you watch it It will driver you mad.San Neill(Who does good here.) has some charm and great skill to be in horror as in half the movie once he get's to Hobbs End he is almost always petrified with fear at the horrific things he seems.
Forget Vampires and Ghost of Mars and let us remember his work such as The Thing, Haloween, The Fog, Prince of Darkness......and this little gem.In the Mouth of Madness is one of those horror films, just like The Thing, where at the time of its release not many people really acknowledged it.
But now 10 years on because horror movies are being made so badly at the moment we have to rely on the past to show us how a true horror movie is really done.The film is about Sam Neils character John Trent who is a hired Insurance Investigator trying to track down Cult Horror writer Sutter Cane played by Jurgen Prochnow, who apparently has gone missing.
When bestselling horror novelist Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) disappears before the completion of his latest book, insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) is called in to try and locate the missing writer.
Trent's search leads him to the sleepy town of Hobb's End, the originally-presumed-fictional setting for Cane's last book, home to some really weird characters and potential portal for the 'old ones', who become more powerful with each new convert to Cane's work.I have to admit that the mind-bending 'what is reality?' narrative of In The Mouth Of Madness had me scratching my head at times, but I still enjoyed the overall experience, partly thanks to the excellent central performance from Neill, a good supporting cast that includes John Glover, David Warner and Charlton Heston, and director John Carpenter's lively direction, but largely because the film is just so damn FREAKY.Carpenter doesn't bother explaining all of the weirdness he simply lets it wash over the viewer like a bad dream, the disturbing visuals and unsettling atmosphere slowly worming their way under the viewer's skin.
Insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) is hired by a publisher to find missing horror novelist Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow) before his new novel is released.