Mouth Of Madness

In the Mouth of Madness(1994) - John Carpenter

An Insurance investigator is sent to find missing horror author Sutter Kane and ends up in the mysterious town of Hobb's End. In the Mouth of Madness is a movie about the reality of fiction…or the fiction of reality. It is a perfect blend of Carpenter’s apocalyptic preoccupations and his love for other Horror auteurs like David Cronenberg, Lovecraft, and Steven King. Much like he did in The Fog, Carpenter is able to directly reference other artists while reshaping things to match his style and sensibilities. The unraveling reality of this film provides numerous opportunities to load the movie with some seriously strange shit. All this strangeness is tethered by a reliable Sam Neil who spends most of the movie trying to deny the nature of his reality. Next to Possession, I think this is Neil’s best performance, it’s a blast to watch his sturdy Bogartesque anti-hero become unhinged. In the Mouth of Madness is one of Carpenter’s best, and if you still haven’t seen it, I highly recommend checking it out. If you really want to dive deep watch it with Carpenter’s other apocalyptic movies The Thing and Prince of Darkness.