Review of In the Mouth of Madness (1995) by Simon L — 29 Jan 2009

Darn it, I really wanted to like Mouth of Madness more than I do. The premise is very interesting, the sly references to H.P. Lovecraft are very fun, and the cast is (almost) fantastic. Indeed, the first 45 minutes or so look absolutely fantastic.

Alas, as is often the case in this brand of film, thing steadily come unglued the closer the ending gets. Virtually all of the questions raised in the first half go unanswered, and most of the ones that DO get answered weren't really all that important in the first place.

I'm not sure if this was supposed to be a conscious attempt to suggest that the characters are wandering into stories already in progress, a heady illustration of reality itself coming unglued, or just really lazy witting (I suspect all of the above), but whatever Carpenter was thinking, it doesn't work.

Worse, all the Lovecraft homages end up hurting the film more than they help it, as anyone who doesn't already know to insert the Cthulhu Mythos into everything will find the plot even more nonsensical than it already is.

Also, I don't care much for Jürgen Prochnow or Julie Carmen's performances. Considering that this is a film that saw fit to waste major talent both acclaimed (Charlton Heston) and neglected (John Glover) on totally minor roles, it boggles the mind that two of the three central roles could go to such unimpressive actors.

Well, at least Sam Neill's great. Lest this sound TOO negative, I must admit that Carpenter generates some fantastically creepy atmosphere right from the start, even if it can't cover up the utter lack of logic in the final act.

That guy on the bicycle got under my skin in ways that gore and makeup could never hope to. Alas, those good points just made the flaws all the more frustrating. Nice try, but no cigar.