For years, the works of H.P. Lovecraft have inspired the imaginations of artists of all kinds, but rarely have his works been successfully adapted to film. John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness" is probably the most spectacular succss.

An insurance investigator is hired to discover the whereabouts of Sutter Cane, a horror novelist whos stories have been linked with violent insanity among his readers. The main character is a hardened skeptic always looking for the con, but his sensible world is turned upside down when he encounters Cane's work. Now, in a town that only exists in fiction, he finds himself trapped in a mad storytellers yarn as the long-dreaded time of the Old Ones at last approaches.

Watch for many classic Lovecraft situations to crop up. Most infamously, the moment when the hero is running away and 'looks backward,' glimpsing the hideous hordes of Old Ones. Neil Gaimen once said that this was the moment - when the audience actually sees the alien monstrosities - when most Lovecraft screen adaptions fail, but Carpenter has come closer than any to capturing the insantiy-inducing experience of coming face-to-tentacled face with the eldrich creatures.

The movie also pokes fun at Lovecraft fans by playing off one of the more bizaare rumors surround him: that Lovecraft was somehow channeling 'real' Old Ones in order to prepare the Earth for their coming monsterous reign.

Lovecraft fans.

Duh, the Lovecraft references.

Reread my Lovecraft.

Like I was in a Lovecraft story.

Were all well suited to the project. Sam Neil is perfect as the cynical rationalist trying to hold on to sanity as his world is literally coming apart. Jurgen Pochnow is an excellent Lovecraft villain: a man who ventures 'too far' into the Stygian void and becomes one with the monsters he finds. Also, look for Charlton Heston in a short but punchy role.

Did I mention Lovecraft?

If you're not a Lovecraftian, you won't 'get' some of the situations.

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Created Jun 18, 2007 at 10:19pm • Submit your own review...