90s Movie Review - In the Mouth of Madness

Director: John Carpenter
Genre: Thriller/ Horror/ Mystery
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 1994
Starring: Sam Neill, Charlton Heston, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow
Description: An insurance investigator (Sam Neill) begins discovering that the impact a horror writer’s books have on his fans is more than inspirational.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 37: A THRILLER OR SUSPENSE FILM
 
Review: Sutter Cane is the author of a famous horror series. Cane has gone missing and so is the manuscript of his last book. No copy of it exists. According to insiders, the book is said to be so terribly scary that it drives readers to madness. Cane’s publisher appoints insurance investigator John Trent to find the author and his work. This search leads John to the isolated village of Hobb’s End in the state of New England, where the true nightmare begins.

John Carpenter is most known for his horror films “Halloween” and “The Thing”. Atmosphere is something Carpenter manages to create best and this is also something very present in “In the Mouth of Madness”. The film is suspenseful and very creepy and disturbing. It’s a low-budget film and he lets his imagination run wild. It has a H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King vibes. The film is not for light-sensitive souls. 

I really enjoyed it, even though it’s very weird and scary.

Rating: 4 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 135: The Fog

Director: John Carpenter

Genre: Horror

Runtime: 89 minutes

Year: 1980

Starring: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook, Tom Atkins, John Houseman, James Canning, Ty Mithcell, John F. Goff, George Flower, Charles Cyphers, Jim Haynie, Nancy Loomis

Description: Legend says that Antonio Bay was built in 1880 with blood money obtained from shipwrecked lepers but no one believes it. On the eve of the town's centennial many plan to attend the celebrations, including the murdered lepers.

Review: At the beginning of the film you already learn that something bad is going to happen: lights turning on and off, electric appliances showing malfunctions, breaking windows, moving furniture. The message is clear. And it’s the not knowing what it is, that makes this movie scary. A fog is coming and something bad is hiding in the fog.

Sometimes the omens are hard to explain, they don’t seem to fit the rest of the film. Like a coin turning into a piece of driftwood, and that same piece of wood changing letters and bursting into flame. The movie loses its logic. But luckily the fog and what’s hiding in the fog gives us the tension and excitement.

There isn’t a clear leading character. There are several character we are introduced to, so we follow more than one in this story.

“The Fog” is directed by John Carpenter, the man that also gave us “Halloween” and “The Thing”. “The Fog” is a solid horror film, but never reaches the level of the two other films.

Rating: 3/ 5