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Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow, Charlton Heston, David Warner ... see more see more... , John Glover , Frances Bay , Tom Bell , Conrad Bergschneider , Bernie Casey , Peter Jason , Gene Mack , Sean Roberge , Deborah Theaker , Wilhelm von Homburg , Dennis O'Connor , Ben Gilbert , Sharon Dyer , Garry Robbins , Marvin Scott , Carolyn Tweedle , Kevin Zegers , Hayden Christensen

Hired to help locate a missing author, an insurance investigator discovers to his terror that the nightmarish events depicted in the writer's best-selling horror novels are coming true. Wishing to be ... read more read more...both a horror film and a parody of the genre, John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness combines supernatural thrills with winking references. For instance, the vanished author, Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow), is modeled on writers like Stephen King and Howard Phillips Lovecraft, from his great popularity to his obsession with small-town New England. Indeed, it is to one such hamlet that investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) and Cane's female editor (Julie Carmen) travel, discovering a town filled with terrifying scenes right out of Cane's books, from random axe murders to far worse. Have Cane's fans gone psychotic and begun imitating his writings, or are Cane's stories of an otherworldly evil invading the earth actually true? In the Mouth of Madness's mix of self-referential satire and real frights anticipates the later Scream (1996). ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

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72% liked it

22,664 ratings

Critics

45% liked it

31 critics

R, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: John Carpenter

Release Date: February 3, 1995

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DVD Release Date: February 8, 2000

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Stats: 1,419 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,419)

  • brooklynspo
    November 4, 2007
    brooklynspo
    Soft like yellow baby poop.

    Apparently, the only thing worse than being stuck in a hack Sutter Cane story is being stuck in a hack John Carpenter movie.
  • DrBenway
    October 16, 2011
    DrBenway
    I enjoy this one very much. It didn't do to well at the box office and critics and fans alike have panned this. I've always had a feeling that over time, it would find its' audience and be appreciated. In the Mouth of Madness is a spooky movie influenced in part by H.P. Lovecr... read moreaft, but make no mistake...this is all John Carpenter. The cast is unusually good for what is ultimately; a low budget horror picture.

    Make some popcorn, turn out the lights (and your phone) and enjoy Sam Neill as he slowly questions reality. You may question yours, also.

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  • blkbomb
    September 17, 2011
    blkbomb
    John Trent: God's not supposed to be a hack horror writer. 

    "Lived Any Good Books Lately?"

    In The Mouth of Madness was a surprisingly good movie. From the critics response to it; it didn't sound like a great movie, but I found a lot to like from it. The story is very cool and S... read moream Neill makes everything very enjoyable to watch. John Carpenter's direction is solid and In The Mouth of Madness actually ended up being one of my favorite movies from him. It's not quite up to the level of Halloween, but it is certainly a better than average thriller. 

    The setup is absolutely amazing and for a while I wondered how Carpenter was going to wrap this thing up and make it seem satisfying. I didn't think he could. I was wrong. I found the ending to be a perfect ending to the story. It's brilliantly funny and sort of terrifying if you think about it. That brings me to the genre. I've heard this classified as a horror film, but I can't justify calling it that. It's a psychological thriller. It has a few horror elements, but a it's core it is a psychological thriller. What makes it a convincing one is the strong performance from Neill. For some reason I always think I'm going to dislike Neill; then I watch a movie with him in and I always love his performances. Here is no exception. He gives a performance where he has to play both a sane somewhat boring man and a crazy lunatic. He pulls them both off easily.

    In The Mouth of Madness is an extremely underrated and overlooked movie. I think the brilliance of the concept is lost amongst some in the crazy development of the characters and plot. Movies just don't get much cooler and fun than this. I loved this film.
  • itsjustme2004
    September 6, 2011
    itsjustme2004
    Maybe I needed to see this back in 1994 to appreciate it? I don't know, but it sure had that cheap 80's movie appeal to me. Just wasn't for me...even if it had Sam Neill in it.
  • fb100000257973100
    June 4, 2011
    fb100000257973100
    When it comes down to people that write for a living, there are two things that scares them the most. The first being that of an obsessed fan that will do anything to be with that writer. The next is when people take their literature so seriously that they go mad if anything shou... read moreld happen to the author. This is a story about what would happen if an author who writes horror (and is claimed to be more popular than Stephen King) disappears and when people read his latest book, they go mad. To be honest, this is less of a horror film and more of a tribute to the great horror classics of our time stretching from the aforementioned Stephen King to the great H.P.Lovecraft. Okay, in terms of direction, this is one of Carpenter's best from the 1990's. The tempo of the film is about moderate to fast. It keeps your attention which is something to say about Carpenter's films in the 90's. Acting wise, one of the weaker parts. To me, it seemed like the actors knew that they were in a film that would make money due to the director so they only give mediocre performances. While not the worst, it could have been much better. The script for the film is easily one of the most intelligent once that is in Carpenter's catalog of films. If you are watching this film for the first time, be prepared to hit the replay button to see the film for a second time. Trust me: This is a film that needs to be seen about two times to fully appreciate and understand what is happening. Now we finally have the score. For the most part, the score is like the acting: mediocre but it has his moments. So, overall, this is a rather intelligent film but lacks the complete qualities that it takes to make it great.
  • kenstachnik
    March 6, 2011
    kenstachnik
    Chalk full of both heebees and geebees. The last descent theatrical film Carpenter made. Cigarette Burns is pretty solid thou
  • imrealgod
    February 2, 2011
    imrealgod
    A fascinating fantasy movie with some great special effects, but, at times, it gets a bit too imaginary to hold your interest. The actress playing Linda Styles was terrible.
  • gokhale1
    January 11, 2011
    gokhale1
    John Carpenter's less popular but brave film, "In the Mouth of Madness" has one of the most uniquely bizarre concepts I've ever come across in film. It is brave, because Carpenter probably had an idea that it wouldn't really appeal to many of the fans of his horror films, primari... read morely because it is considerably different in terms of plot and execution from his usual horror fare.

    The story is told in flashback with John Trent (Sam Neil) being interviewed by Dr. Wrenn (David Warner) in a padded cell of a strange looking mental asylum that Trent has been confined to. Trent's strange story then unfolds..

    Trent is an insurance investigator who has a keen nose for smelling out phony claims. Jackson Harglow (Charlton Heston) the director of a popular publishing house, calls upon Trent about a situation. Sutter Cane, a popular horror novelist has gone missing a few days before the release of his latest novel "In the Mouth of Madness". Cane's fans all over had started getting hysterical and violent since the demands for the latest book were not met. Harglow explains that they never got the final manuscript of the novel and that Cane had disappeared with it. Harglow further asserts that all he wants is his fare share of the claim if Cane is dead or the story if he is alive so he can go ahead and release the novel. The cynical Trent rubbishes these claims as a publicity stunt but takes up the job anyway and starts reading some of Cane's books for research purpose. He appears to be quite in awe of Cane's work as he starts experiencing bizarre nightmares about axe murderers and deformed creatures! Trent believes the whole thing is a setup and is determined to find out how and why. He stumbles upon a vague clue in the form of a location on a map as to where Cane might have gone hiding or "sent" to hide for that matter! On almost a whim, Trent agrees to go to this "lost" place with Linda Styles to keep him company.

    Trent and Styles then embark on a long road trip on a near empty highway and in their journey they experience some strange phenomena. After a series of mysterious happenings, they finally stumble upon a place that looks strangely like a place in Cane's last published novel, 'Hobb's End'. The town seems strangely deserted though, with very few people around. Things start to get increasingly frightening as both of them begin to realize little by little that almost everything around them seems to be straight out of Cane's novel...the places, the town names, the people!

    Has Cane created a little world resembling the world in his books? Or have our protagonists, by some unexplained phenomena, managed to cross the barrier between fiction and reality and actually become part of Cane's story?


    "In the Mouth of Madness" is the third film in what Carpenter calls the Apocalypse Trilogy. The first two of the trilogy were "The Thing" (Carpenter's best film in my opinion) and "Prince of Darkness" (considerably weak compared to the other two in the trilogy). Conceptually "...Madness" is unique and Carpenter gives this challenging theme a fairly chilling treatment. He also pays tribute to some of H.P. Lovecraft's work through this film. Carpenter's penchant for showing surreal, bizarre imagery is clear from "..Madness". Watch out for these excellent moments: one in the beginning when Trent is locked up in the cell and hears things and sees only shadows; or the recurring scenes which show him walking through dark alleys, trying to find out the contents of a hidden poster on the wall as he is interrupted by a disturbance around the corner; that particularly creepy sequence of the lone bicycle rider during their night journey to Hobb's End; or one of my most favourite scenes in which Trent is trying to escape from some zombie-like creatures in his car, yet no matter what turn he takes he ends up right in front of them repeatedly! There are moments like these that make "..Madness" a thrilling watch. Add to that an unsettling atmosphere and a fabulous background score by John Carpenter and Jim Lang that adds an extra special touch to this project.

    "..Madness" is not without its flaws though. What could've been a really solid film worthy of calling a masterpiece succumbs to the trap of horror cliché and some idiotic sequences involving slimy monsters chasing Trent through what looks like some kind of portal! The story also seems to lose its steam as well as its direction three-fourths into the film, seems to try very hard and almost ends up in the category of "weird for the sake of being weird"! Also there is a long monologue by an important character that tries to spoon-feed the baffled viewer and almost "educates" him/her about what the film is really all about! In spite of this education, the story dangerously tilts towards inconsistency..very much like one of Cane's stories which seem to change course at his whim.

    In spite of the negatives which are really very few in terms of quantity as well as quality, the positives save the film considerably and take it to its mind-numbing, goose-bumps-inducing finale, which I consider to be one of the most outlandish yet excellent endings to a film.

    Most of the cast do well, especially Jurgen Prochnow and the extremely freaky Julie Carmen. But it is Sam Neil who runs away with the film with his outstanding performance as the smug and proud insurance investigator who steadily finds himself helpless and unable to support his disbelief about the events taking place around him and slowly slips away into insanity!

    Watch this film. It isn't entirely about finding meaning in its story or tying up all loose ends neatly, as much as it is about stepping into the protagonist's shoes and losing yourself into a terrifying journey..literally "In the mouth of madness"!
  • harrycaul
    October 4, 2010
    harrycaul
    Hmm, I thought I was going to really enjoy this movie and I just couldn't get into it at all. The production values are unusually high for recent(ish) Carpenter but the script is a mess and Sam Neill's monstrous overacting doesn't exactly have me wringing my hands with concern fo... read morer his character. A couple of very minor spooky moments excepted, I think I wasted my time with this one :(
  • ythelastman89
    November 29, 2009
    ythelastman89
    I don't find it to be some of John Carpenter's best work, but it is a good film. It is an extremely bizarre story that takes the viewer's very grasp of reality and skews it. Nothing is what it seems and it all becomes a loop hole. Sam Neill was great and was perfect at playing su... read morech vast range of emotions. It is definitely made for fans of the genre, but delivers on almost every account.

View All In the Mouth of Madness Reviews

Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas
February 13, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

A thinking person's horror picture that dares to be as cerebral as it is visceral. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

One wonders how In the Mouth of Madness might have turned out if the script had contained even a little more wit and ambition. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Uninvolving, abysmally scripted horror picture. Full Review

Richard Harrington
January 1, 2000
Richard Harrington, Washington Post

Eventually falls apart because of its erratic plot and gaps in logic. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
January 1, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Cheesy horror celebrating the power of cheesy horror, while pretending to be appalled. Full Review

John Hartl
January 1, 2000
John Hartl, Film.com

A stylized collection of well-timed shockers, helped along by the contributions of its capable cast.

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Confusing, weird, and not very involving. Full Review

Nick Schager
April 22, 2010
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Finely attuned to the disquieting realm of the irrational. Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
April 3, 2006
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

best of the post-cold war carpenter movies

Ken Hanke
July 8, 2004
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Not Carpenter's worst, but it tries.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • Axe Maniac: Do you read Sutter Cane?
    • John Trent: Every species can smell its own extinction. The last ones left won't have a pretty time of it. And in ten years, maybe less, the human race will just be a bedtime story for their children. A myth, nothing more.
    • John Trent: It's Cane's story and it'll spread with each new reader. That's how it gets its power.
    • Dr. Wrenn: What about the people who don't read?
    • John Trent: (smiles) There's a movie.
    • John Trent: (talks to a teenage boy reading a Sutter Cane book) Like the book?
    • Young Teen: I love it.
    • John Trent: (pulls out an axe) Good. Then this shouldn't come as a surprise. (Kills the teenager)
    • John Trent: (about the new book) Have you read it?
    • Paul: No. I never read Cane's work. I haven't got the stomach for it.
    • John Trent: Pull it. Don't distribute it. Even if everything I've said is totally Looney Tunes...I know this book will drive people crazy.
    • Paul: Well, let's hope so. The movie comes out next month.
    • Sutter Cane: (on the bus with John Trent) I'm not going anywhere. I'm God now. You understand?
    • John Trent: God's not supposed to be a hack horror writer.
    • Sutter Cane: But maybe I can help you believe. Look around when you wake up. Did I ever tell you my favorite color was blue? (Everything on the bus turns blue)
    • John Trent: (frightened) Aaaaahhhhhhh!
Submit a Fact | View All

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In the Mouth of Madness Trivia

  • which actor starred in the horror movies The Omen: Final Conflict, In The Mouth Of Madness and Event Horizon?  Answer »
  • Which movie is Horror ?  Answer »
  • Director John Carpenter has what he calls an Apocalypse Trilogy. The 2nd and 3rd films are "The Prince of Darkness" and "In the Mouth of Madness". What was the name of the 1st film of this "Trilogy"?  Answer »
  • which actor plays 'john trent' in john carpenters 1995 movie 'in the mouth of madness'?  Answer »
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