Rating: 
Summary: Terrifying And Thought Provoking
Review: In The Mouth Of Madness is a cross between reality and fantasy coming together. Sam Neill was terrific as the investigator but it was Jurgen Prochnow's performance as the twisted author Sutter Kane that makes this one of John Carpenter's best.
Rating:
Summary: Carpenters best work since The Thing
Review: John Carpenter has always been a favorite of mine. He is very distinct in his directing style, from the use of cinemascope, to writing the music, to using alot of the same actors and actresses from one movie to the next. I think he has really done a service to his fans by adding director commentary to his movies on DVD. I think this shows just how proud he is of his work, that he is willing to talk about his past movies, as well as his upcomming projects. In The Mouth Of Madness, was a movie that I got simply because of Carpenters name on the box. This is due to the fact that I had never heard of it up to the point I saw it on the shelf in the video store. Carpenters best work since The Thing, and that's saying alot since there are some really good movies in that span.
Rating:
Summary: What a bizarre story!
Review: I love this movie! The guy below me, Diego (or something like that) pretty much gives you the basis of the entire movie in his review which saves me from doing so. However, I must say that if you are a fan of really weird movies, this is a great one. This movie is completely strange, once you get into Hobbs End, there is no way out. It's prolly safe to say that everyone there is totally insane. Even Williams' character heads down that road, it's up to you to decide if he actually makes it to the end or not. This is a very good movie and I recommend every one to see it at least once.
Rating: 
Summary: A Lovecraft cocktail with many flavourful twists
Review: I don't care for anything John Carpenter has directed after 1982's "The Thing". However, I am a fan of H.P. Lovecraft's literature, and I do like Carpenter's earlier films, so when I was in the rental shop the other day I thought I'd give this film a viewing. I'm glad I did."In The Mouth Of Madness" is not an actual H.P. Lovecraft story; nor is it based on H.P. Lovecraft's work. It is, however, styled on and after H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos and short stories. And the film, like a fungus, grows on you. Should you not be too impressed with it on the first viewing (as I was not), I recommend watching it again. The premise of "In The Mouth Of Madness" is about a fraud squad detective (Neill) hired by a publishing company to find the whereabouts of a mysterious best-selling horror novelist, as well as to look into the growing hysteria surrounding readers of his books. The performances are first rate, the story engaging and thrilling, the locations are colourful, and the cinematography, music, and special effects work very well in complementing the aforementioned. What's particularly interesting about this film is the style with which it opens: very Stanley Kubrick. And Carpenter certainly doesn't waste any time, either: there's never a dull moment in this film. And despite some big name seasoned actors in the cast, Sam Neill (who's become a big name himself) absolutely steals the show. "In The Mouth Of Madness" is an extremely well done, professional film with a fairly original story. And Lovecraft fans will definitely see familiar Lovecraft elements and creatures in this film, as well as get the disorienting feeling, albeit a shallow one, that Lovecraft implements in his stories about a particular narrator going mad, etc. But the film isn't without its share of downsides. For instance, I can't say that I really felt the credibility of the "madness", myself. It is because of the cerebral condition involved in madness, a condition that only a reader through his or her imagination can realistically conjure up and interpret, that I believe Lovecraft's work untranslatable to the big screen. In addition, I can't say I found anything in the film particularly scary, either. Eerie, perhaps - maybe even tense. But scary, no. With all the usual John Carpenter "stingers" and horrific creatures and sequences, I'm led to believe that this film was supposed to be scary. (I think, perhaps, I've just seen too many horror films that use the same old tricks, which this film is guilty of, to be scared by any of them anymore. Of course, should this film have come out in the early 1980s, I would've certainly been scared.) However, I did get confused, "taken", and muddled, as there are a good deal of twists in this film that are meant to disorient the viewer. In fact, there are so many twists that the viewer will come to expect them - which ultimately kills any kind of credibility of any particular scene henceforth. This is a problem. Another downside is the editing: certain shots should've been deleted from the film entirely to leave something to the imagination; other shots should've just merely been briefer to give more impact to the shot. However, despite the drawbacks I mentioned, which may not even be a factor for some viewers, "In The Mouth Of Madness" is the kind of Horror Thriller that will withstand the test of time and that one will be able to appreciate and enjoy in more than one viewing. Personally, I would've liked to have seen some deleted scenes interwoven in this film, myself, to have it fleshed out more.
Rating: 
Summary: Lovecraftian Experience!
Review: In the Mouth of Madness is a tale based on H.P. Lovecraft's writing, and if you know Lovecraft then you know how extraordinarily refined and chilling his writing is. This film is not deviating from Lovecraft's creativity-it is right on the money. In the Mouth of Madness is about John Trent (Sam Neill) and his quandary with madness. The madness is as painfully real and nerve-racking as being tied up and seeing something abhorrent approaching and slowly clawing for you. The trick question is: where is the madness? Intrinsic or Extrinsic?
Rating:
Summary: Probably the Best H.P. Lovecraft Film Ever.
Review: In the Mouth of Madness will prabably be somewhat mystifying to viewers who aren't familiar with H.P. Lovecraft's classic horror tales about "The Elder Gods", monstrous beings that have been imprisoned in the depths of space since the dawn of time, waiting patiently for their chance to return to Earth, and reclaim it from the insignificant creatures (US!) that roam her...lovecraft wrote in a style that is virtually untranslatable to the screen...even the most successful adaptation, "Re-Animator", had to veer wildly off from the source material in order to be viable... Well, here John Carpenter decides to cut out the middle-man, and rather than change Lovecraft around, he simply gives us H.P.'s worst nightmare: The Elder Gods are coming back....Run..... Sam Neill plays John Trent, an insurance adjuster looking for missing Horror novelist Sutter Cane. Cane has been incommunicado for weeks, sending his new novel in in dribs and drabs. The publication date is coming up fast, and Cane's less-than-stable fans are REALLY anxious to read his latest- So anxious that they're starting to have book store riots looking for copies. Trent and Cane's Editor (Julie Carmen) stumble upon Hobb's End, the FICTIONAL town that is the setting for all of Cane's books, and from there things just get weird. Cane is writing his latest, "In the Mouth of Madness", as a way to increase belief in The Old Ones, thus opening the doorway for their return to our plane of existence. The film is very entertaining, but seems kind of constrained by the budget...the deserted streets at the end just didn't seem big enough to convey the feeling Carpenter was trying for. I think Lovecraft would have enjoyed it, though. The disc has both widescreen and full-frame versions of the picture (Pick widescreen!), commentary by Carpenter and the Cinematographer, the theatrical trailer, and a filmography for Carpenter and the cast. (Jurgen Prochnow's filmography has an Easter-Egg- The trailer for Twin Peaks:Fire Walk With Me.) Also, look for a young Hayden Christensen (Star Wars Episode II's Anakin Skywalker) as the paperboy towards the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: John Carpenter's films are a list of hits and misses, and this one's a miss. Check out the first in what Carpenter refers to as his apocalyptic trilogy: The Thing. It's a far, far better film. This one suffers from a number of fatal flaws, and ultimately comes off as one of those regrettable Stephen King dogs you'd rather forget.
Rating:
Summary: "John Capenter's in the Mouth of Madness"
Review: In the Mouth of Madness (R) *****/5
Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jurgen Prochnow, John Glover, Charlton Heston.
Directed by: John Carpenter.
Synopsis: An insurance fraud investigator's search for a missing author leads to the discovery of a deadly threat to reality.
Special Features: Wide-Screen and Full-Screen Versions, Feature Length Commentary, Trailer, Filmographies.
Review: When the recent releases of films questioning reality came out this film is often not mentioned. This proceeded "The Matrix", "eXistenZ", and "The Thirteenth Floor". It is also one of the eeriest, deepest, most terrifying horror films in ages. Insurance fraud investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) is sent to find missing author Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow). He is accompanied by the author's agent. They arrive in the small town which only exists in Cane's novels. Trent is sure this is a scam, but he slowly unravels that Cane's writings may threaten reality itself. Sam Neill is stupendous in this film, Prochnow is memorable in his small role as is Charlton Heston, Carmen is interesting, but forgettable. Carpenter's direction is fantastic his uncanny eye builds suspense on a stellar level. As for the DVD? The Wide/Full screen kills the space for most special features, but it is still well worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: lesser Carpenter story
Review: In "In the Mouth of Madness", John Carpenter sets up John Trent (Sam Neill), a straight-laced investigator up against a mysterious horror novelist named Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow). A brilliant, if reclusive novelist, Cane may have learned how to break down the walls between the order of reality and the chaotic universe of his novels, which appear to drive his fans to random acts of savagery. Tracking the author down to his home in the mysterious, and supposedly fictitious town of Hobbs End, Trent finds its inhabitants enthralled by Cane's latest screed. Not entirely convinced that the books unsuspecting readers will catapult themselves into Cane's chaotic universe, Trent finds zombies and monsters, and watches as people are transformed. Soon he realizes that he must, at any cost, escape Hobbs End and prevent Cane's publisher (Charlton Heston) from printing the new book. I loved "The Thing" and "Prince of Darkness" but couldn't get into this Carpenter work. It looks too slick - lacking that student-movie crudiness of the earlier films, and not relying on a tight and easily defined plot (rescue the president from NY before WWIII; an alien, capable of morphing into anything it touches, is loose in some Antarctic research station; the anti-god resides in an antediluvian barrel of toxic waste, while a message from the future warns of its imminent release). Instead, Carpenter works up a single premise - Cane's novels destroy order, and our addiction to his thrills will drive us to his prose - and doesn't go from there. Cane hints at the return of elder gods, but that hints at a larger plot, and the lunacy of his story prevents the script from fleshing it out. If order is breaking down, who cares why? "Mouth" would be more fun, but its horribly miscast. I love the talent they put together for this flick, but it's the wrong talent - too prim, serious and (most of all) European. If Sutter Cane is supposed to be based on Stephen King, why not get some guy who manages to be scary because he looks so normal like King. (Wayne Knight did a classic take as King on an episode of Mad TV, and would have been perfect here) And Sam Neill (also a great actor) is set up for a fall the minute he first appears, while David Warner (another favorite) doesn't help. All those accents weigh the film down, and undermine the final shot, one meant to be funny and scary at the same time (or simply a funny end for a John Carpenter movie). The only real fun is Charlton Heston, to whom Trent warns that Cane's book will drive people crazy. "I hope so", he says in perfect deadpan, "the movie's coming out next month."
Rating:
Summary: Watch This Movie, Be Scared, Question Reality.
Review: This movie takes the concept of horror to a differnt level. The story centers on an insurance investigator who goes looking for the famous author Sutter Cane after he mysteriously vanishes before giving his latest manuscript, "In the Mouth of Madness," to his publisher. The plot concept in this movie is mind-bending, beyond what any other movie I can think of has been able to reproduce. Definately a good addition to your DVD collection...that is, if you can handle it.
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