Review of In the Mouth of Madness (1995) by Jean-Francois V — 13 Jul 2008
I didn't like "In the Mouth of Madness" back in the 1990's when I saw it dubbed on video. As a good friend of mine considers it "Carpenter's last great film", and Carpenter has made four of my cult movies, I decided to give it a second chance.
Well, it was not much better in the original version on DVD twelve years later. It does have great cinematography by Gary Kibbe, but with its paucity of ideas, it could at best make a nice 30 minute episode for a series like "The Twilight Zone".
With some exaggeration, I would say it has the feel of a second rate, pirated adaptation a Stephen King short story by Dario Argento. Fans of Lovecraft who are attracted by the few obvious references will also be disappointed.
Apart from a few names (Arcane/Arkham, Old Ones, the movie title), the location (New England) a book that makes people mad and a bunch of barely seen "Cthulhuian" (i.e. dripping and tentacular) monsters, there is nothing that makes the film particularly lovecraftian.
This review of In the Mouth of Madness (1995) was written by Jean-Francois V on 13 Jul 2008.
In the Mouth of Madness has generally received positive reviews.
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