Copyright © 2009 by William Malmborg - All Right Reserved.
Just finished watching John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness staring Sam Neill and was completely blown away. If there ever was a horror movie one should direct first time horror movie viewers too it is this one, not only because it is really good, but because it will give them a great example of how this genera is pretty much able to do whatever the hell it wants and that anything is possible, the only rules being that you make it believable and entertaining.
Okay, that ‘make it believable’ statement can sometimes be hard to explain, but it is one of the rules I follow when writing short stories and novels, so therefore it is one of the rules I expect to be followed when viewing other peoples art as well. If a situation is believable in the context of the story or movie than I will enjoy it, if it isn’t, then I feel like the project was a failure. More on that later, for now, let me get back into In the Mouth of Madness.
Okay, that ‘make it believable’ statement can sometimes be hard to explain, but it is one of the rules I follow when writing short stories and novels, so therefore it is one of the rules I expect to be followed when viewing other peoples art as well. If a situation is believable in the context of the story or movie than I will enjoy it, if it isn’t, then I feel like the project was a failure. More on that later, for now, let me get back into In the Mouth of Madness.
Horror Movies - In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
I first saw In the Mouth of Madness several years ago on Joe Bob Brigg’s Saturday Night Classics (this is the show that replaced Monster Vision, a decision which ruined everything and is probably the reason why the show was cancelled shortly after), but unfortunately didn’t get the full effect of the movie, and was somewhat lost thanks to hacksaw editing TNT performed -- it is one thing to take out certain scenes that would be offensive to young viewers, but to chop up a movie to the point where one can’t follow the story, usually taking out
scenes just so it will fit in the two hour commercial packed time slot just isn’t right and shouldn’t be allowed (if you want to show the movie, show the entire movie). Last night, however, I got the full effect, and like I said, was completely blown away, so much so that I think that after Halloween this is John Carpenter’s best movie.
The film starts with Sam Neill’s character John Trent being dragged into a mental institution in a straight jacket. From there we get the feeling that something is going on in the outside world that isn’t good, but don’t fully understand what that is until John Trent’s story unfolds, a story that begins with him getting an assignment to find missing horror author Sutter Cain who has disappeared shortly before turning in the final pages of his new manuscript. Thinking the disappearance is a publicity stunt in order to sell even more books once the author is “found”, John Trent eagerly takes on the case, his desire to expose the fraud causing him to jump headfirst into the world of Sutter Cane, a world that seems to have the ability to drive people insane.
More complicated that most horror movies, In the Mouth of Madness compliments genera fans by recognizing the fact that we aren’t all a bunch of dimwitted social outcasts living in our parents dark basements who want nothing but blood and guts splattered across the screen, and gives us a movie that requires a lot of thought and attention, but not at the point of sacrificing entertainment, which is something we aren’t presented with all that often.
The film starts with Sam Neill’s character John Trent being dragged into a mental institution in a straight jacket. From there we get the feeling that something is going on in the outside world that isn’t good, but don’t fully understand what that is until John Trent’s story unfolds, a story that begins with him getting an assignment to find missing horror author Sutter Cain who has disappeared shortly before turning in the final pages of his new manuscript. Thinking the disappearance is a publicity stunt in order to sell even more books once the author is “found”, John Trent eagerly takes on the case, his desire to expose the fraud causing him to jump headfirst into the world of Sutter Cane, a world that seems to have the ability to drive people insane.
More complicated that most horror movies, In the Mouth of Madness compliments genera fans by recognizing the fact that we aren’t all a bunch of dimwitted social outcasts living in our parents dark basements who want nothing but blood and guts splattered across the screen, and gives us a movie that requires a lot of thought and attention, but not at the point of sacrificing entertainment, which is something we aren’t presented with all that often.
