In the Mouth of Madness (1995)

By Kay -
(image from movieblog.mtv.com)

(Wikipedia Link)(TV Tropes Link)(imdb Link)
This isn't going to be a movie review, there's enough of them out there for this film if you look. I'll be writing down some feelings about it to bring a bit more attention to this rarely shown film (in the UK).

This 90s gem features Sam Neill, fully rested after running away from dinosaurs from his more well known 1993 film, Jurassic Park. Those of you familiar with the pulp horror work of H. P. Lovecraft, or who have ever played a Call of Cthulhu (CoC) RP game, will be instantly familiar with the progression of this story. A horror writer has gone missing, and it's up to Neill's character to investigate whether it's part of an insurance fraud by his publishers or not. As with all CoC adventures, the investigation doesn't lead somewhere nice. Or sane. At all. The film is directed by John Carpenter and, similar to his work on the 1982 remake of The Thing, there are some very well made gribblies/grues/nasties on show (pre CG). However, these are not the focus of the film or any particular shot, which is something modern day monster/horror movies gets so wrong. What I like about this film is that although there are some horrible creatures in it, it never turns into the clichéd action, gun-shooting kind of show.

I showed this film to a Cthulhuite friend last week, worried that the drab 90s visuals and pacing throughout the first third of the film might be seen as a little too 'slow'. That's always a problem with films that need to take the time to build up background and atmosphere, depending on how many explosions an audience expects to see per minute. However, he was intrigued by the mystery established within the first few scenes, and the showing was well received.

There is a solid build up of the world this film depicts as long as you pay attention to all the details. I don't want to say much more about the actual plot, as spoilers are bad, m'kay. What this film does get right is the ambiguity of what's /really/ going on. Although this is a very visually dated 1990s film, it's really worth giving it a go to see what kind of scrapes Sam Neill can get in to. Stick with it, especially if you enjoy psychological thrillers, horrors, Lovecraft, or puppetry work in the style of 1982 The Thing.

It is available on DVD and (I think) on the US Netflix selection.

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