'In the Mouth of Madness': A Movie Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft

Credit: Pixabay

As I said last week, there won't be a Book-To-Movie this month. Again, I apologise. I should have something read by next month and its movie adaptation viewed. But I also said that I would have a movie review this week and so kept my word on that. The movie isn’t an adaptation of a book, but it is a movie about books. In fact, it’s about horror books and itself is a horror film. It's one of many movies inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. It's 1994's "In the Mouth of Madness", directed by John Carpenter ("Halloween", "The Thing").  This film isn't based on a Lovecraft story but it's clearly Lovecraftian horror. 

Movie’s Synopsis, Original Theatrical Release and Reception

"In the Mouth of Madness" uses many ideas from H.P. Lovecraft’s works while telling its own story. The story is an insurance investigator, John Trent (played by Sam Neill) looks into the disappearance of a bestselling horror author, Sutter Cane, whose books have somehow caused his fans to go on killing sprees. Trent soon begins to see things and events that are too similar to ones in the books. 

Originally released in Italy in 1994, the movie was not received well on its US release the following year. Much of this was due to, according to a Wikipedia article, what critics called a confusing plot. But it was probably also due to it being a surreal film during a time when Hollywood and its followers seemed to be anti-surreal. 

Also, in the 1990s movies influenced by, let alone based on, H.P. Lovecraft’s work were not that popular among general audiences and they aren’t much more today. Even the late Roger Ebert, one of the world’s most famous film critics, didn’t even go over the Lovecraftian elements in the least when he reviewed the movie in 1995. Instead, he talked about the many references to Stephen King (who everyone, horror fans as well as non-horror fans, knew like today). Yet, he wasn’t wrong about those references because they are in the movie, including King as competition to Cane.  

A Homage to Lovecraft

"Mouth of Madness" is first and foremost a homage to Lovecraft. This is first seen in the play on the movie’s title which is from the title of Lovecraft's novella, "At the Mountains of Madness" (like what "Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness" does today). Then there’s the wordplay on the titles of Cane’s books such as “The Hobb's End Horror” which comes from Lovecraft’s book title, “The Dunwich Horror”. 

Although the movie’s plot does not come from any one work by Lovecraft, it’s partly based on the Old Ones legend from his Cthulhu Mythos which ran through much of his stories. Like the Mythos, the storyline to “Mouth of Madness” involves the scheme to open an interdimensional gate that will let in the Old Ones, a race of cosmic beings, to take control of the earth. The storyline also contains the Lovecraftian element of insanity as a consequence of acquiring forbidden knowledge which is the case with many of the characters in this movie. In fact, the movie opens with Trent being committed to an asylum where he tells his story to a psychiatrist about how he got there. The events of that story make up most of the movie. But for those of you who hate movies that take place in flashbacks, I wouldn’t worry too much. The events in Trent’s flashback are revealed and shown in such a way, with plenty of irony, that you’ll probably forget that it's a flashback and so the scares are genuine. 

The Good and Bad of the Film

There were several things I liked about this movie besides the homage it paid to Lovecraft’s work. One is that the plot is unique while still utilising the Mythos in the storyline. Another was the atmospheric, dark settings and special creature effects both of which were done really good and convincingly. Speaking of which, several of the monsters were similar to those of Lovecraft's without being made too recognisable. The other thing I like about it was that, surprisingly for a Carpenter film, the gore wasn't overdone. It was there but not for mere shock. 

There were also some problems I had with “Mouth of Madness”. A lot of the characterisation was stale, especially Trent's. His character wasn’t only stale but unlikeable. As good of an actor Sam Neill is and as good as he plays his part, his character is that of an egotistic jerk who I could not care about until the very end of the film. Even then, I only cared about him in the slightest because he faces a tragic event. 

Another problem is that, like with too many of Carpenter’s movies, there are some actions that seem to come up without purpose or surrounding context. An example is when Cane’s editor Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), passionately kisses Trent for no apparent reason. But this kind of problem is minor compared to many of Carpenter’s other films. However, if you look past these problems, and watch the movie for its suspense, action and stunning visualisation, it's a really neat film. It’s also a rarity in horror of its time.

"In the Mouth of Madness" is a Lovecraftian horror film that doesn't adapt from any one of Lovecraft's stories but honours them by reflecting many of his ideas. This may be what makes it its own unique story. Sadly, however, the movie was far too underrated during its initial release year.  Yet, it would eventually receive a cult following and better reviews in the following years. I hope this review will be considered a better one for it because I really do think “Mouth of Madness” is one of the best movies inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s horror. I suggest it for both general creature feature horror fans and Lovecraft fans alike. 

Upcoming

I'm still working on the May/June issue of "Night Creatures' Call", my monthly author newsletter. It's been a slow process because of my day job and long public transit commute to it. However, I'm revising the progress report section of it for my upcoming book of short fiction, "Bad Apps", in which I'm rearranging the organisation of events in one of the stories right now. So, I'm going to try to release the newsletter by midweek next week. And believe me, I'm really going to try. I don't want it to turn into a May/June/July issue! If you’re not signed up for my newsletter you can do so for free here. 

Then starting the first of next month, by books will go on sale for Smashwords’ summer book sale! It's a month-long event when books are marked down anywhere from 10 percent to 100 percent! Yes, that means marked down to free! One of my books just may be one of the free ones! So, keep checking back here and at my Facebook page for more details as it gets closer to the date.

Have you seen "In the Mouth of Madness"? What other horror movies inspired by H.P. Lovecraft have you seen? Will you be checking out Smashwords' summer book sale that starts July 1?

Until next time . . .