Review of In the Mouth of Madness (1995) by Sarah E — 16 Apr 2011

Easily Carpenter's smartest film, At the Mountains of Madness is a grisly and gratuitous examination of pulp horror and popular culture all wrapped up in an apocalyptic monster movie. Sam Neill plays Trent, a private claims investigator who is committed to an institution. In a meeting with the psychiatrist assigned to his case, Trent begins to describe his, "Them" - the supernatural and supposedly psychological entity that is pursuing him and forcing him into a downward spiral. Depending on how you read the film, Trent's "them" might just be a "he": Sutter Caine, a horror author who simultaneously outsells Stephen King while being based on Stephen King (a kind of centre that's both inside and outside, the first of many postmodernities this little gem of a movie has to offer). Trent was hired to find Caine who has gone missing, and whether or not he is successful is for the viewer to decide.

The brilliant thing about In the Mouth of Madness, because believe me, it doesn't appear brilliant from its outset, is the way it discusses reality and unreality, capital-L Literature and lowercase-l literature, truth and fiction, as well as high brow culture and low brow culture through Trent's hunt for Sutter Caine and the world that Caine creates in his novels. The fact that this is by John Carpenter and named for an H.P. Lovecraft story is even more indicative of what this movie is trying to say. This is a movie about readership and criticism that's made for people who dislike readership and criticism. If you watch one John Carpenter film, make it this John Carpenter film.