Review of In the Mouth of Madness (1995) by Willard M — 02 Feb 2012

*** This review may contain spoilers ***.

"I think, therefore you are.".

John Carpenter is a patron saint of the macabre. There's really been no arguing that statement since "Halloween", and after you get a taste of his Apocalypse Trilogy it will be engraved forever in your unconscious. At first consideration, a movie about a book seems like a retread and certainly ill-fated for the horror genre. Thankfully, Carpenter binds the idea like a hardcover classic, and shakes our preconceptions of the timeless film adaptation.

"Beware the hobby that eats." -Benjamin Franklin.

Hobbies that become obsessions often alienate us from the rest of society. Yet, reading, although when we are young is almost a magical escape from reality, is more and more as we grow older and progress through schooling, simply about unanimous interpretation and less about anonymous opinion. We can all of course, hold our personal thoughts on an excerpt, but even the Bible itself has been analyzed to the point that most passages are agreed upon by the majority of experts as to their meanings. Before you read to much further into this review, try to empathize with the writer at this junction of expression. If a book has a theme, and the theme is powerful enough to capture the reader for a certain amount of time, wouldn't it be the author's integrity to attempt to change the reader's viewpoint after completion of a novel?

The question posed by "In The Mouth Of Madness", the third and last installment in Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy, is what would happen if a book contained a theme and underlying message so strong, that it not only changed the readers' lives, but their entire perception of reality? Some may credit Wes Craven for laying out groundwork for this startling look at popular culture in "New Nightmare", but the major difference for "In The Mouth Of Madness" is the seriousness of the subject. There are plenty of people that cite films as being big inspirations in their lives, but there is a much vaster populace that will directly relate themselves to a book, whether religious, fictional, or historic. What if these people were to read a different type of book, by an insane genius, and took the inspiration in a slightly different way? It is, after all, the most hands-on experience to be in control of your own imagination.

The story offered in the movie is very concept-driven. A world-renown novelist, Sutter Cane (played by Jurgen Prochnow, of "The Seventh Seal") disappears off of the face of the planet right before the publication of his proclaimed last book in a series that has stormed the country with fanatic rage. It becomes the job of Sam Neill as John Trent, an insurance investigator, to decide where Sutter Cane has holed himself up, and whether the whole fiasco is actually a publicity stunt. Julie Carmen as Linda Styles, Cane's editor, accompanies him in his search. Charlton Heston also has a cameo appearance as the executive of Cane's publishing company.

To get off on the right foot, Trent caves in and begins to read the Cane books. Immediately he realizes the potency of the writing and begins having nightmares. So when he convinces himself that the author has retreated to a town called "Hobb's End", located in New Hampshire, we can't help but wonder whether he is already losing his mind. Hobb, in ancient writing was a word used to refer to the devil, and the town with the namesake is not found on any modern map.

So Styles and Trent are in a sense signing away their souls. Hobb's End, as it turns out is one of the most memorably creepy towns in movie history. Sutter Cane is pretty easy to find, on the other hand, once they arrive. Too bad nobody packed a Bible, is all I can say. It turns out that Cane has already planned for their arrival, leading Trent to become the skeptist, and Styles to act more as a guide for the duo. Hobb's End is directly out of Cane's last novel, and it definitely adds to the atmosphere when Trent is being read directions from it, as if it were a travel guide.

Well, I've avoided spoiling many of the plot points and surprises in this film. This is one of the few horrors that I find myself watching again and again, without losing understanding of the original foreboding ambiance, or respect for the scenes where blood pressure raises. Loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft stories, and with a lot of homage paid to Stephen King and many of the campy B-movies that Carpenter grew up watching, this film is indeed chilling and thought-provoking.

"A reality is just what we tell each other it is.".

"In The Mouth Of Madness" (1995) 10/10.