I keep forgetting that there’s an entire generation out there to whom the mention of the name Howard Phillips Lovecraft doesn’t inspire vivid images of dread and foreboding, peering into an entire universe of horror, and an evil more ancient than the stars themselves.  Some of you out there are grinning that grin of those “in the know”; you guys are the ones for whom the origins of such tales as Re-Animator and The Dunwich Horror originate are firmly etched in your consciousness; others may be fans of these films and others like them, but be totally unaware of the tie that binds them.  While most Fellow Fans are familiar with the work of H.P. Lovecraft, many aren’t aware of it; I still run across a lot of people that, although they’re dedicated horror fans, have simply not yet been directly exposed to the works of the man who is in no small part responsible for what horror is today, and have yet to become absorbed in the rich tapestry of mythology that he created.

 

Well friends, if you really want to get “in the know”, go out and pick up some of the collected works of this imaginative man in that oft-forgotten, archaic, and magical format known as “books”; failing that, however, I can’t think of a better jumping-off point for a journey into his rich (and terrifying) world than John Carpenter’s 1994 film, In The Mouth Of Madness.

A man is brought, kicking and screaming, into a rather imposing looking facility that is obviously an institution of the high-security mental variety.  It’s not long before we learn that this man was once respected insurance investigator John Trent, now but a shadow of his former self, babbling on and covering his room and himself with various incarnations of the cross.  When doctor Wrenn arrives to examine him, it’s plain that this important doctor has concerns that go beyond the patient in the room.  “It must be getting pretty bad out there“, Trent intones, and Wrenn’s eyes tell us that something about this is true.  Trent then begins to relate the events that brought him here to this place, starting with his being contracted to investigate the disappearance of wildly popular horror author Sutter Kane.  Kane’s books are selling off the shelves, and aside from the hefty dollar signs this signifies for the publisher, the effect that his works have on the readers is somewhat troubling; there is an almost cult-like mentality amongst his fan-base, and things have gone as far as violent mob action when a bookstore has been unable to keep up with orders.  Trent, ever on the watch for a con, sees all of this as a pretty crafty publicity scheme, and in his research finds that the small town where Kane frequently sets his tales of terror, Hobb’s End, is a real place, despite being on no map and adamantly denied by the publishers.

Undaunted, he sets out to find this “mythical” town, and reluctantly takes Linda Styles, Kane’s editor, along for the ride.   The pair find Hobb’s End, much to the surprise of Styles (she’s a great actress, Trent thinks), and everything is just as it’s written…right down to the squeaky floorboards in the town’s hotel.  Styles notices some strange behavior in the town’s children and geography, but can’t get Trent to relent on his stance that it’s all a big scam.  In desperation, she sets out on her own, and ends up confronting Kane himself, much to her dismay.  Tracking her down, Trent is made all too aware of what the editor has been trying to convince him of all along; Kane’s work, now more believed in than the Bible itself, has imposed itself on reality; but not solely through Kane’s efforts.  No indeed, the author makes it known that the power he wields is granted to him by something far more powerful, far more ancient…and now he has paved the way for their return to this dimension.  Trent flees Hobb’s End, but finds that even his flight is as he himself is written, a character in Kane’s final story, ultimately a pawn for the dark and twisted powers that now hold sway over our reality…

Though not directly based on any of Lovecraft’s works, the influence is undeniable; Carpenter shows his love and respect for the mythos with his carefully-crafted tale of those “others” who, just on the other side of a dimensional barrier, exercise their formidable influence on a hapless mortal, using him as a tool to prey on the weakness of man, securing their release from their ancient prison.

The narrative borrows also from the works of Stephen King (himself openly admitting that Lovecraft is a huge influence), the vivid geography and populace of the allegedly fictional Hobb’s End an obvious nod to King’s Castle Rock…even the typeface on Kane’s novels is almost identical in style to that of King’s in the ’90s.  This chilling and tense atmosphere is made all the more nail-biting by use of good ol’ practical effects, other-worldly beasties and impossible realities coalescing on the screen and in our minds thanks to the deft hands of the KNB Effects Group; although keeping to his typical “less-is-more” approach to what you see, here the glimpses of horror and bloody suggestion Carpenter gives we the audience is fearsomely effective.  Befittingly, the performances here are also top-notch; Sam Neill, as the cocksure and skeptical investigator John Trent, is quite convincing in his characterization, both first as the disbelieving realist, slowly convinced that “reality isn’t what it used to be“, and later as the raving, mad-with-fear victim of impossible circumstance.  Julie Carmen as the fetching yet mysterious editor Linda Styles is both sympathetic and suspicious, and despite short screen times, Jürgen Prochnow and David Warner are their usual brilliant selves, bringing hair-raising menace and a voice of reason, respectively, to the film.  Not surprisingly, the late Charlton Heston also impresses as the hard-boiled publisher of Kane’s works.

Using his trademark directorial style, with dynamic camera set-ups and utilization of shadow to let you see just enough for your brain to do the rest of the heavy-lifting, Carpenter creates a visual tapestry of dread and terror without overworked exposition; In The Mouth Of Madness is a competent and knowledgeable nod to the source material and its author.  Insanity was a staple of Lovecraft’s work, with either madness driving mere men to horrific things, or horrific things driving mere men to madness…

…Here, we have a little of both.

Recommended…and that comes with more than the standard two cents.

–Mouse