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In the Mouth of Madness

Play trailer Poster for In the Mouth of Madness R Released Feb 3, 1995 1h 35m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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59% Tomatometer 51 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
When horror novelist Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) goes missing, insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) scrutinizes the claim made by his publisher, Jackson Harglow (Charlton Heston), and endeavors to retrieve a yet-to-be-released manuscript and ascertain the writer's whereabouts. Accompanied by the novelist's editor, Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), and disturbed by nightmares from reading Cane's other novels, Trent makes an eerie nighttime trek to a supernatural town in New Hampshire.
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In the Mouth of Madness

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Critics Consensus

If it fails to make the most of its intriguing premise, In the Mouth of Madness remains a decent enough diversion for horror fans and John Carpenter completists.

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Critics Reviews

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Adrian Martin The Age (Australia) Carpenter's work with music and sound design has never been so radical and the film's set pieces are breathtakingly executed. Mar 2, 2024 Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader In the Mouth of Madness isn't John Carpenter's best horror movie to date, but it may well be his scariest. Rated: 3/4 Jun 7, 2022 Full Review Sheila Johnston Independent (UK) This is one of those self- referential horror movies that gets buried alive in an avalanche of clever special effects and an incredible imploding plot. Mar 29, 2019 Full Review David Parkinson Radio Times John Carpenter's treatise on the psychological power of horror begins well, only to descend rapidly into special-effects genre cliché. Rated: 3/5 Sep 13, 2024 Full Review Justine Smith Vague Visages The film articulates that moral standards are representative of a dominant system of beliefs rather than an ingrained sense of righteousness, and that the fabric of our experience with the natural world itself can be altered through an infectious idea. Jun 5, 2024 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com John Carpenter's 1994 finale to his Apocalypse Trilogy is a no-holds-barred blitzkrieg of horror that will have you watching the movie a second time just to confirm that you did indeed see what you think you saw. Rated: FOUR STARS Nov 5, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Sam Neill is great. Weird, King/Lovecraft crossover with numerous great moments Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/03/24 Full Review p t Perhaps the best lovecraftian movie to date. No moment is wasted. Stephen king on steroids and heroin. I felt compelled to leave a stellar review, after all, I have to, he wrote me this way Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/23/24 Full Review Justin T This is not the most faithful to the Lovecraft lore but it is one of the best nonetheless. Color Out of Space (2019) is probably the most faithful to the Lovecraft lore along with this film. I liked the ‘modern’ and meta interpretation of the lore that diverged from what I was expecting. The interpretation, compared to how I interpret it anyway, feels too tangible and there is not enough scale in every sense of the word. The practical effects are excellent but the CGI has not aged at all well. The ending is enthralling but the real highlight is the excellent casting and acting. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/15/24 Full Review Omar G In the Mouth of Madness (1994), rated 3.5/5 stars. Director John Carpenter, with Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow, David Warner, John Lover and Charlton Heston. Julie Carmen a sexy female with beautiful dark eyes. Michael De Luca wrote the script for Freddy's Dead The Final Nightmare (1991). Similar scripts a madman in a straitjacket, John Trent and Linda Styles travel to a town Hobb's End upon return no one remembers Linda Styles. Maggie Burroghs and John Doe travel to Springwood and upon return no one remembers John Doe, Carlos and Spencer. From the town comes an evil that seeks to exterminate humanity in both films. Michael De Luca rewrote the draft of Rachel Talalay and Michael Almereyda's A Nightmare on Elm Street 6, which included ideas like Springwood only exists in the Dream Land, no one remembers Springwood in reality, strange mutated creatures. In the Shadows Over Innsmouth by H. P Lovecraft. The town is full of mutant fish-like creatures. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/13/24 Full Review Blu B A Cult Classic Horror Flick and the last Classic of John Carpenter. It's Meta Horror of the 90's pre Scream and a very interesting one that blurs the line between reality and fiction in a meta way. the acting is solid across the board. Carmen & Neill are good but they don't have that much chemistry between them. The acting overall can be a bit campy but it's Carpenter so it's what you expect at this point. Everything else is really good. The special effects are first rate filled with tons of practical effects used in very memorable ways. It doesn't rush and takes it's time laying out the backstory, character, and world of the author in a logical, supenseful way that makes you wanna keep watching the more mysteries pop up. Where this struggles a bit is once they arrive in the town it can have trouble explaining all the crazy things that happen in a logical way. Sometimes it can just be crazy stuff for the sake of crazy stuff that can't really be explained or doesn't add anything. And because the plot is already very complex it can be a little bit much. It sometimes gets a little too meta with it's idea for it's own good but Carpenter's strong direction and the interesting world built here carries it through to a really twisted ending. Anyone who is a fan of Carpenter, any actors in this, or horror in general should check this out. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/18/24 Full Review Chief B This is such an underrated gem! This movie is scarier than one might think. I watched it while my mother happened to be in the same room and asked for me to turn it off because the movie genuinely scared her and this is the first time I've ever heard her say that because she usually doesn't pay attention to movies. Great flick I can't come up with a single thing I don't like about it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/05/24 Full Review Read all reviews
In the Mouth of Madness

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Cast & Crew

Wes Craven's New Nightmare 77% 67% Wes Craven's New Nightmare Watchlist TRAILER for Wes Craven's New Nightmare Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday 16% 23% Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday Watchlist TRAILER for Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare 22% 32% Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare Watchlist Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III 13% 30% Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III Watchlist A Nightmare on Elm Street 94% 84% A Nightmare on Elm Street Watchlist TRAILER for A Nightmare on Elm Street Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis When horror novelist Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) goes missing, insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) scrutinizes the claim made by his publisher, Jackson Harglow (Charlton Heston), and endeavors to retrieve a yet-to-be-released manuscript and ascertain the writer's whereabouts. Accompanied by the novelist's editor, Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), and disturbed by nightmares from reading Cane's other novels, Trent makes an eerie nighttime trek to a supernatural town in New Hampshire.
Director
John Carpenter
Producer
Sandy King
Screenwriter
Michael De Luca
Distributor
New Line Home Video [us], New Line Cinema
Production Co
New Line Cinema
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 3, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.9M
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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