MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Supernatural Horror/Stars: Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow, David Warner, Charlton Heston, John Glover, Bernie Casey, Peter Jason, Frances Bay, Wilhelm von Homburg, Hayden Christensen/Runtime: 95 minutes

In the aftermath of his rather unique (to put it politely) Chevy Chase-starring 1992 sci-fi dark comedy Memoirs of an Invisible Man falling completely flat on its face with both critics and the movie going public at large, iconic horror maestro John Carpenter decided to turn his attention back to TV work courtesy of a made-for-TV film known as Body Bags in 1993. Yet for some directors you can only work on TV projects for so long before you start to get the itch to go back to telling stories that can only be told on the biggest screen possible. Perhaps this is why then in the long-gone year of 1995 Carpenter, equipped with a 8-million-dollar budget, decided to make his return to the big screen with a slice of cinema that was to be the conclusion to an unofficial trilogy of films christened the “Apocalypse Trilogy” that he had started in 1982 with The Thing and continued in 1987 with Prince of Darkness. On top of that, this slice of cinema would also reunite Carpenter with the highly underrated Sam Neill who was still on cloud nine following the smash success of Jurassic Park a couple of years prior and back him up with a fairly competent support cast including Jurgen Prochnow, David Warner, and none other than Hollywood icon Charlton Heston respectively. The result was an insidiously brilliant little slice of cinema known as In the Mouth of Madness. Yet in an intriguing wrinkle I have noticed that, despite getting better reviews than the vast majority of Carpenter’s work released during that era and even since for that matter, this slice of cinema is still not really appreciated as much as it ought to be. This truly is a shame because in the eyes of this reviewer dear reader this slice of horror cinema is actually not that bad. No, it is by no means on the caliber of Carpenter’s earlier works like Halloween, The Thing, The Fog, or Escape from New York to name but a few. At the same time though, the cast here isn’t too bad, the story is actually a tad bit thought provoking once you give it a chance to sink its claws into you, and the work done behind the camera is also more or less fairly capable as well in its own right. Suffice it to say then that despite having a few flaws here and there In the Mouth of Madness still manages to be one fairly intriguing cinematic nightmare that I can promise will not only stay with you for quite a while after the credits have begun to roll, but it also proves to be both a fairly loving tribute to the work of HP Lovecraft to say nothing of a twistedly delightful cinematically sinister test for your mind to determine just what is reality and what is imaginary in a way that I must profess I haven’t seen a lot of horror cinema do on the level that this slice of cinema does either before or since.

The plot is as follows: In the Mouth of Madness gets its haunting narrative underway as we find ourselves heading to a psychiatric hospital and, upon arrival, getting to pay witness to a fairly common sight for that particular type of institute. Namely that of a man in a strait jacket being firmly carried by a pack of guards to a padded cell, but not before claiming he is not crazy, taking successful aim at various parts on the guards’ anatomy in the process, and then being exposed to the worst tool in the 90s psychiatrist’s arsenal. That being none other than the song “We Have Only Just Begun” by The Carpenters (oh the horror!) Yet, intriguingly, we soon see that there might be more to this guy and his claim than what we initially assumed. This is because shortly thereafter on a dark and stormy night he has a visitor in the form of a noted psychologist by the name of Dr. Wrenn who, we pick up on, has been investigating similar cases to this one for some time now though the others have been a bit more…. unusual for lack of a better word. At any rate, it is through Wrenn’s initial interview with our mystery man that we finally start to get some answers about who he is and more importantly how he wound up taking up residence in a luxurious suite at the Looney Bin Inn. In regards to the former his name is Jackson Trent and as for the latter it would seem that, before allegedly losing his marbles, he was a highly skilled insurance investigator of the freelance variety that, following a successful bust, had lunch with a friend/colleague who, during the course of the meal, politely and cordially requested that Trent assist him on another investigation. It seems a New York-based publishing house by the name of Arcane Publishing is in a spot of trouble due to the fact that their most iconic client, a consistently best-selling writer in the horror genre by the name of Stephen King ehhh Sutter Cane has seemingly completely and utterly disappeared without a trace. Even worse though is the fact that his latest book, which he owes to the publisher and was set to be released in a matter of days, seems to have vanished right along with him. As a result, we see that, despite his cynical and consistent belief that this disappearance is no more and no less than an elaborate marketing campaign to drive pre-sales of the book even further through the roof than they already are, Trent decides to work with Cane’s editor Linda Styles to get to the bottom of this mystery. Yet by doing so, we see that Trent is doing more than just agreeing to a case. Rather, he is also unknowingly taking the first steps on a nightmarish journey that, by the end of it, will see him interact with the properties of terror and challenge his perception of the world around him forever….

Now, it should be said that the work done behind the camera here might not be top-tier, but it certainly is by no means just a group of professionals merely going through the paces and/or sleepwalking through the making of this film either. This starts with John Carpenter at the helm and honestly he does a really good job here at not only instilling in this film a wonderful sense of dread and unease that is fairly consistent throughout, but also in ensuring that no matter what is going on at any point in time will you ever want to check your watch or find yourself slipping into a boredom-induced nap. Besides that though, Carpenter also takes this undeniable tribute to the iconic H.P. Lovecraft and then adds in a few well-done winks and nods to Stephen King thus making this one of the most reverential tributes to iconic horror fiction writers I have seen in some time. With that in mind though, there is one thing you should definitely know about this film’s plot. That being that this is one film that you will need to be patient with because it’s one that definitely requires at least rewatching at least once in order to fully comprehend what exactly is going on in this. Finally, it should also come as no surprise to learn that Carpenter also provided this film with its score and I must admit that, while it is not even close to the level of spinetingling that the Halloween theme or level of dread that the theme from The Thing instantly provides me with, it’s definitely intriguing in its own right. We also see that, from a story perspective, this film may prove to be a potent voyage to a dark corner of the universe where the barrier between what is real and what is imaginary has become significantly blurry, but it also does a wonderful job at being able incorporate into the mix such intriguing themes such as the struggle between determining if the choices we make are our own or preordained in some way to say nothing of just how potent of an influence a fictional world can have on our own sense of reality respectively. I also really dig the work done by the production design team on this in how they make the location of Hobb’s End one that could straight up rival Silent Hill (or all of Maine if we’re to believe Stephen King) in terms of being an absolutely creepy location that might seem normal at first, but after enough exploration of, to say nothing of interacting with the locals who reside there, you literally will be thankful if you are able to get out of there alive let alone in one piece. Indeed if there is one issue that I have with this slice of cinema, it’s in the designs of some of the more……horrific elements at play here. Not because they aren’t fairly well done because that is definitely the case. Rather, I think it’s because with how fantastic of a job the atmosphere does on its own at sending chills down your spine and jolts of fear to your heart, I think that some of the effects do show more than they should have. Minor quibble aside though, I must confess that the work done by the team behind the camera is certainly effective at bringing this cinematic nightmare to life.

Of course, the other component that proves to aid this slice of cinema quite immensely would be the fact that the cast assembled in front of the camera all do a fairly good job with their respective parts. This starts with Sam Neill in the lead role and honestly he is a pretty good fit for this role. This is because Neill does a wonderful job at making this character feel less like an archetype we have seen in slices of cinema like this before and more like a three-dimensional human being. A human being incidentally who, delightful sarcastic sense of humor aside, you really do identify and empathize with as he goes on this absolutely terrifying journey to the heart of madness and back. That, and without going into spoilers, but as this film goes on you really do find yourself caring about this guy so that by the time you get to this film’s final and genuinely haunting scene you are floored to be sure, but you also find yourself overwhelmed with just as much gut-wrenching despair as he is. Suffice it to say that it is a very intriguing performance that there are several components to that I can’t really go into for fear of spoilers, but what I can say is that it is a really good performance from one of the land of movie magic’s more underrated talents. It is that fear of spoilers incidentally that is also why I am reticent to say too much about the not bad work that is done here by Julia Carmen as Linda Styles. That is because although the character may come as either one note at worst or wildly careening from uptight and icy to flirtatious and loony at best, I can safely say that is not a detriment to the work done here by Carmen. Instead, all I can and will say is that every facet of Carmen’s performance is very much in synch with what we learn as the film goes on. As a result, it might at first seem highly uneven, but after finishing the movie and thinking back on things you realize how fitting this performance actually was. With that in mind, I will admit that I do have a soft spot for the work done here by Jurgen Prochnow in the role of the mysterious Sutter Cane aka Stephen King if his creepy factor and power of imagination were both elevated by a scale factor of at least 50. Indeed, this is a character that I can thankfully say without spoilers takes a while to show up in this and so, for the first half of the movie, finds himself remaining in the shadows. This is a brilliant move on the film’s part because by building this vital character up through being continuously referenced courtesy of dialogue about him and/or his work it really does build up the mystique of the character. For the character to fully make his intended impact on the proceedings though, that creepy factor and general aura of sinisterness must endure even after you reveal him on screen. Thankfully, Prochnow is one guy who has shown that he can be downright creepy and sinister before and here gives us a turn that every time he says or does anything don’t be surprised if you find some serious chills going down your spine. Suffice it to say that when you also factor in extended cameos from both David Warner and Hollywood legend Charlton Heston (who I could see playing either Trent or Cane had this been made 30 years prior incidentally), what you are given from an acting perspective is a genuinely good collection of performances from a cast of players that are talented and then some.

All in all is In the Mouth of Madness on the same level of greatness that other works of Carpenter’s such as Halloween “78”, the original Assault on Precinct 13, the original Fog, They Live from 1988, or even his take on The Thing from 1982 happen to reside? Unfortunately for a film helmer of his talent no I’m afraid not. At the same time though, is this one that is genuinely awful let alone worth a 58%, as of this writing, on “much beloved” movie review website Rotten Tomatoes? Absolutely not. In fact, if genuinely bad John Carpenter is what you seek then definitely check out 2001’s Ghosts of Mars and then forgive me when I laugh at you after you tell me that you did. Jokes aside though, I think the best way I can describe the overall quality of this film is “genuinely good, but certainly came out too early to be considered as such”. Indeed I am of the overall opinion that had Carpenter waited until well about now actually to release this slice of cinema I think it would’ve fared much better with both critics and the movie-going public at large. Even with that in mind though, when this movie came or should’ve come out is a minor detail in the grand scheme of things because, when all is said and done, I really do have a soft spot for this slice of cinema. No it might not be perfect by any stretch, but the work done both behind and in front of the camera does a chillingly good job at making a film that feels less like a film and more like a fairly twisted and brilliant to a significant degree cinematic voyage. A voyage incidentally that consistently makes you, much like the poor beleaguered main character acting as our extremely reluctant guide in this, wonder if what you are seeing unfurl before you is “objective reality” or if you too have managed to be pushed completely off your rocker and now psychologically reside in a nightmare that you will never quite be able to escape from. A scary thought to be sure, but then again….maybe there is something to it…..On a scale of 1-5 I give In the Mouth of Madness “95” a solid 3.5 out of 5.