IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS
5.5/10
One of John Carpenter’s few decent films of the last 20 years (faint praise as that may be), “In the Mouth of Madness” stars Sam Neill as an insurance adjuster hired by publisher Charlton Heston to track down the whereabouts of M.I.A. bestselling horror novelist Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow). Along with book editor Julie Carmen, Neill travels to a small New Hampshire town where Cane’s insane mind is slowly starting to come to physical life, with slithery creatures and possessed townsfolk making for a particularly unpleasant stay for our narcissistic and increasingly demented protagonist.
New Line’s Michael DeLuca scripted “In the Mouth of Madness,” which has a definite feel of an H.P. Lovecraft story working for it. Like a lot of Carpenter’s films, however, the set-up is more compelling and satisfying than the resolution, with the director producing a number of unsettling shocks and creating a moody atmosphere in the film’s initial stages. Once Prochnow shows up as Cane, however, the movie falls apart and has nowhere to go, ending on a dismal note with one of Carpenter’s worst “rock fusion” scores adding further insult. A good supporting cast (John Glover, David Warner, Heston, Bernie Casey) also has precious little to do during this early '95 box-office bomb. Though admired by the director's devotees, I confess I have a softer spot for Carpenter's subsequent outing -- the underrated 1996 remake of "Village of the Damned," which featured one of Christopher Reeve's strongest late-career performances (and opened shortly before his tragic accident).
), but viewed today, it's fairly cheesy stuff, albeit still fun for monster movie fans. Score by Crag Hundley, with ample use of his Blaster Beam BOW-BOW-ing away.
