 Thanks for checking out this movie review video So this is for the 1994 John Carpenter film in the mouth of madness now This is a film that for a lot of people who are deep into the horror genre have been saying for quite some time now That is a very underrated film and upon Another watch right before I'm doing this review. I would definitely agree with that I think the first time I watched it I enjoyed it But I didn't enjoy it as much as the second time and part of the reason for that being it Begs for more than one viewing it actually begs for multiple viewings because there's a lot going on I think there's even more subtle things in there that if I watch it yet another time I would pick up on but I'm gonna give you in this review as much as I can obviously your spoilers to this since it's an Older film, so if you haven't seen in the mouth of madness, I definitely do recommend it Go watch it first then come back to this review because spoilers ahead for sure So like I said directed by John Carpenter, we all know John Carpenter and actually at this point I feel like I've done enough Reviews of his films and I will do more because I really would like to do the fog and maybe even escape from New York Soon so I might start a playlist on my channel for John Carpenter film reviews at this point But look for that, but anyway, we all know John Carpenter. He's done a ton of awesome stuff But this film happened to hit after he did body bags, which I enjoy. That's fun. That's on shutter I think at the moment it's still on shutter check that out and then before he did village of the damned Which I haven't heard a whole lot about that one I don't know if that was one of the flops which actually by the way in the mouth of madness when it was released was a failure It was considered to be a failure. It's yet another one of those horror genre films that Didn't do well when it came out, but has gained a pretty substantial cult following sense And I feel like in the mouth of madness hasn't even hit its peak yet I feel like the momentum on this film is just gonna keep going up and up and up until it hits a higher status Because it is kind of cult status right now, but it's kind of not at the level that I think it's gonna end up So let's keep pushing that though because this is a good film This one was written by Michael De Luca who wrote a bunch of episodes for the TV series Freddy's Nightmares Which I have not seen but I've read about I know plenty of it Eventually I might want to get my hands on some of that He also wrote the script for Freddy's dead the final nightmare as well as Judge Dredd he didn't do the story for Judge Dredd because it was comics, but he did the screenplay for Judge Dredd Yes, the Sylvester Stallone one not the Carl Urban one, which I have not seen either But I hear that The Stallone one's a fun time and the Carl Urban one is actually not bad I have read a bunch of the Judge Dredd comics and they are actually really good comics I recommend that if you're into comics Obviously this film star Sam Neal who does a very good job in this film because it's a demanding role to be honest he needs to be very put together and real and Sobering as a character at times and then he needs to be off the rails unhinged crazy at other times and he oscillates a Few times and he does a great job with it. So he was in such things as the hunt for red October Jurassic Park, we all know him most from Jurassic Park probably except for us horror people who appreciate him most for Event Horizon, I'm sure which that's another film that I need to do a video review of so Just add that to my list I have so many I want to do reviews for and by the way if people have certain ones They'd really like to see me do you can put some comments down there I'll see if I can get to them or if they're already on my list. I'll just pop them further up So this is actually this film is considered to be the final The final final film in the trilogy that John Carpenter did call the apocalypse trilogy Which is the first of which was the thing which is phenomenal I have a review for the thing on my channel the second of which is Prince of Darkness Which I also have a review for on my channel and that one There's good and bad that one. I'm not I'm not a huge fan of Prince of Darkness The thing obviously a huge fan of that one that one's great So this is the third installment for the apocalypse trilogy and I view it more as not necessarily the apocalypse Totally happening, but kind of the precursor although in the mouth of madness. Obviously there is an apocalypse at the end But it's also in question whether it's real or not And we'll talk more about that as we go on the script the script for this was actually written in the early 80s and John Carpenter initially passed on it passed on it for about 10 years or so There were other people signed on to direct it I think like two other directors who were signed on to do it And then things didn't end up working out and then eventually Carpenter it came back to him and he said okay I passed on it before but I'll do it now. Let's let's have a swing at it It's based on the writings of HP Lovecraft and the title is actually a nod to an HP Lovecraft story At the mountains of madness. I actually have never read any Lovecraft I'm not a huge reader, but I read here and I read books here and there I really probably should read some Lovecraft because first of all Lovecraft has influenced a lot of horror throughout the decades and Second of all, I feel like we're starting to get more films recently that are going back to Lovecraft for inspiration So it'd be good to kind of have a basis for comparison of those films Next I did Sorry, it didn't do well in the box office, but it was nominated for a Saturn Award at that point for best horror films so You know, there's the disparity of box office sales versus critical acclaim all that jazz The opening music for this film actually sounds inspired by the song Enter Sandman by Metallica Does anyone else feel me on that put a comment down there say no, I don't think it it doesn't sound like it It sounds inspired by it. It's kind of in the same vein Which by the way, some of the music in this was actually done by John Carpenter because as we all know John Carpenter in the 70s is a rock star He's been touring around with his band doing music from his films and that's nuts, but it's awesome So watching the process of the printing press in the beginning of this film is actually really really cool I'm one of those people who finds it interesting and actually kind of relaxing when you can see All the moving parts of a machine like that. It's just interesting. It's fun I don't know if anyone's ever seen the show how stuff works On TV like they go through and that's kind of what they do They don't have Narration usually and it just kind of shows Machines through all the processes of making things which is really cool. So it's just you know, it was a nice nice beginning for me This is one instance where starting with the end is actually a good thing It actually works because it makes you think wow This is this is a nuts situation that our primary characters and how do we get here? And then it's like rewind let's go through it But obviously throughout the whole thing we're questioning it because there's this whole thing at play of Well, he's telling the story Trent the character John Trent is telling the story But is what he's telling us just in his mind. Is he truly mad at this point? I think he says schizophrenia is what he was diagnosed as when he's in the mental hospital at the end But well end of but is the beginning end of the story beginning of the film So it's this question like is this real did this happen or is this just in his head and it Consistently just keeps going back and forth on that. There are things that would indicate. Yes, it's real There are things that it would indicate. No, it's not and I have a theory I have I had some theories pop up throughout the film And I'll talk about him as I go through, you know my notes, but in the end I'm not sure I can give a definitive I really don't and I'm sure a lot of people have seen the film feel the same way But if you have a theory on whether you think it was actually real or if it was just in his head put Comments down there. I could go. You know, I sway either way based off what evidence you're pointing at because there's plenty of it to go either way So the crayon in the beginning on Trent's face Doesn't actually help his case of him trying to say I'm not insane, you know The the guard gives him a crayon. He draws all over the walls, but he also draws all over his face. He draws all over his medical uniform, I guess and Yeah, I mean that that's not gonna help you convince someone that you're not Losing it or have lost it already The guy with the axe is a good way to start the craziness And also seeing the double pupils and double irises because they focus in on that when Trent sees that in the guy That's a really good way of indicating this guy's not just crazy. There's something else occurring here and Obviously, you'll get that in the story as it goes on. So I think that's a good way to kind of open up the craziness to it I believe they said that guy was his like his his representation His his agent basically. Yeah Trent is such a creeper when he keeps trying to hit on Linda's styles Which I will refer to you for the rest of this as just styles because that's how Trent refers to her They were for each other's Trent and styles So, you know, which is cool because it's kind of like the whole detective thing We're detectives are just referred to by their last names and Trent and styles are basically doing detective work in this So it really fits that they use Trent and styles throughout the film The intense nightmares that Trent has after reading Sutter Cain books gives the first inkling that he's starting to potentially Lose it and furthermore one of the interesting things is he reads some books and then he has you know False sleep and has those nightmares when he wakes up. He has like black under his eyes Which I think is is like a callback to the fact that he had all that black crayon on his face in the mental Institution so the little bit of black is showing a Contrast of when it was all over his face and those marks are kind of the first Portion of madness starting to affect him of the influence from the Sutter Cain books Actually worming their way into his head So I thought that was a cool cool little subtle thing they did The idea of a town that's not on the map Definitely sounds suspicious immediately and I love it for a film I love that idea because it adds even more mystery. It adds even more adventure. It's more of this Well, what's really at play here? Well, like where are we going with this? And I think overall that's a really good thing with the film is it you never know where it's going Like you never fully know where it's gonna go next and that's what I love those films It just keep you guessing and keep you guessing and this one obviously does it and does it well. I'm a fan The counter with the old boy on the bike is a signal that there's no going back at this point when they're going to the town of Hobbs and and Styles is driving and Trent is asleep and she sees twice like the old man on the bike But then hits the car and it's the voice of a child But he's saying I can't get out That is the signal that them going in there's no turning back at that point They're stuck with what's about to happen that it will consume them and there's no There's no going back to regular life. There's no going back to reality so to speak a Pivotal moment for the audience is this in this is actually when the church is revealed when they go to I think it's Pikmin's in and they go to their room and they're kind of saying well If this is based on the book if this is anything like the book then there will be a church with these spires out But then Styles points know it's actually this window if you would have paid more attention and once that is revealed That is a huge indicator to the audience that everything in the books tie to this town and that's the first big big big indicator that You're gonna have to figure out what's really going on here Is it that what Cain is writing is coming to into reality or that Cain is just writing What's already there? so I Flipped out when the character of Simon showed up because I totally forgot that he was in this and I was like oh my gosh It's a Vigo the Carpathian For anyone who doesn't know that reference which I'm sure a lot of people actually do Ghostbusters to the guy in the painting Vigo the Carpathian that evil dude It's the same actor from that and his name is Wilhelm von Humberg and Funny about this guy. He actually got his start Being a wrestling star in Germany in the 1950s Obviously he then is as time went on became an actor and I'm glad he did because his role in in the mouth of man Is he does a great job and he looks very rough and creepy and same thing for his role as Vigo in Ghostbusters 2 so I saw that was great to see him There's a subtle signaling when style says to read the new book The book that isn't even published yet And when she says to just skip to the end Trent touches his forehead because that's where it ends with him in a mental institution When she's signaling and she said it's this idea that well we read the book to figure out what's gonna go on And he's like well, I've read the books and she's like no no no the new book And he's like and she's like we could just you know skip ahead to the end And then immediately after that he starts like going like this Which is a is a very subtle signaling That that's where the end of the book is the end of the book is him in the in the loony bend So he touches his head because that's a signal that the craziness the madness Has him in the mental institution at the end of that book So I thought that was really cool It's my favorite portion of the movie When all hell breaks breaks lucid the pigment in when the old lady has all the tentacles coming out And she chops off her her husband's arm who was um who was handcuffed to her leg Uh, and then you see that other creature In the um little greenhouse that's attached like all the stuff that goes on at that point at Pikminen is my favorite part of the film It shot really well the practical effects are awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And uh, I love it. I love that part I love simons quote Reality isn't what it used to be That's a wonderful wonderful quote and that could be applied to so many things in life Because the reality that people live in is consistently changing. I mean there's actually, um There's a french philosopher that i've read some of uh gi debard who wrote a really good book called society of the spectacle Which is all about kind of the philosophy behind How we perceive things what we think reality is and he has this concept that Everything is imagery basically and what our reality is is all based on images. It's not based on what's actually real Like to give you an example of the concept of a door Like a door is not a door. That's a societally created concept that we came up with a door is actually it's parts It's it's like wood and there may be glass to it and all these things But when we look at it we see an image we see something that we created as a society and we call that a door so I just think that quote is so awesome and it made my head go there So maybe that's another reason I liked it that much because it had a connection for me I like how people in movies just know how to hotwire cars The moment where that kind of horde of people with axes and everything are coming at Trent And he needs, you know, um style swallowed the keys while possessed kind of styles at this point swallowed the keys um, he just like has a uh has a Screwdriver For some reason in the uh in the glove box and then he just hotwires the car because that's a thing I've seen it so many times, especially in like 80s and 90s movies Where someone's in this situation and they just happen to know how to hotwire a car and do it quickly Nonetheless, so this was one of those moments. I'm like, ah, yes, of course the quick hot wiring scene So the discussion with sutter cane In like the the kind of confessional Where he reveals his whole, you know, meaning behind what he's doing and everything I feel like it's a little much. It's a little too on the nose I feel like it's revealing way too much about it And I think a lot of this stuff would have been better left as subtext because it's clearly a statement on religion at this point and I mean from the from the aspect of You know, what's sutter cane is the minister for these old beings that are telling him what to write that end up going out into the into the Into the community and infecting these people. So it's a commentary on religion and how You know, these ministers are filtering this message That's then put into writing that's then put out to the people of of these towns And it infects them and it changes their reality and it makes them act different And it gives them a whole different set of how they live their lives and who they become as people and everything like that So and that's like every religion pretty much. So But I just thought that the explanation that cane was giving to tren at that point It was just it was too much They should have held a lot of that back and and made it more subtext Because it you know, kind of bashes you over the head a little bit. So That's just one of my problems with it small problem though Um, so when styles is reading aloud at the very end in the church You realize that the newest book that was written by sutter cane is trench story You then realize that the entire movie you have watched is that book The movie you just watched in the mouth of madness is the book that sutter cane was writing during the film And it's john trench story, which you don't know in the beginning. I mean, it's from his perspective So like you understand that but the the awesome The awesomeness at the end when you realize like oh my god this The book he's he just finished is john trench story. It's very cool. I love that. It's very meta and I enjoy that To help people stay confused about whether tren is nuts or not He actually acts very unhinged after he wakes up in the middle of the street And that's actually standing in juxtaposition to all the people at that point that he interacts with act super super normal So it helps kind of plant the seed in the audience's mind Well, did this actually happen or is this all in his head? And that's just another one of those moments Meant to keep up the confusion of is this real or is this not real in the, you know, environment set up in the film Trent becoming just like canes agent in the beginning is actually a really good full circle for the film I mean where you start With with Trent is You know where he ends up But the roles are reversed basically like he's the one Who looks crazy and is wearing a trench coat and has an axe and is killing trying to kill someone And I think he actually does kill someone, but um, yeah, I saw it was cool And the end throws so many conflicting things at you that it's hard to walk away Knowing if it actually happened or not Especially with that ending where he breaks out and it's like it looks like it's an apocalypse And so you're like, okay, so it did happen But then he goes into the theater and it's a movie of the book Starring him and the other people And then you're just like Okay, so is this all in his mind then so it's just kind of like what is going on what is not going on here, you know so Anyway Carpenter actually did some of the music or I already talked about the music he did The way carpenter uses lighting in this and shadows is awesome This is probably one of the best films I've seen for the way he uses lighting in shadows If you're going to watch it again watch it and keep that in mind and really look out for that Like I said practical effects are great I like when when films really make you question whether the person's sane or insane And I think this is probably one of the best movies that lays that out that you don't Have a strong opinion at the end. So it does well for me So initially One thing I will point to that made me think that it is real Is when styles and Trent are going to Hobbes end And Trent falls asleep, but then you're seeing a bunch of stuff from styles perspective And a bunch of like crazy stuff that she's seeing So I thought at that point well, then obviously it's real Because if it wasn't real this is this is Trent telling his story to this investigator guy who shows up in the mental institution And it's all from his perspective. So while he's telling the story It would all be from his perspective and the fact that during this portion He's asleep and it's from styles perspective leads me to believe it was real But Then you find out the thing at the end where he goes back to the publisher and the publishers like whose styles I don't know what you're talking about. So then styles was potentially just a figment of his imagination So then that portion would actually make sense for it. Still all just being in his head So this is what i'm talking about. It oscillates. It's crazy There's a portion of this that kind of actually gets to how companies are so amoral nowadays Well back then and now it's probably even worse now actually There's so amoral that like when the craziness is happening with all of Sutterkain's books They're more concerned with either getting the book published or Um confirming that kain is dead so they can get their money. Like that's all they care about They're just like we don't really care which way it goes. We just want to make money somehow And that's a really clear point made in this film about companies. That's how companies are It also speaks to how inflexible People are in society with their assumptions Trent assumes this is like any other fraudulent claim initially. He's unwilling to open his mind Initially, but then again, maybe opening his mind is actually what the problem ended up being in the end And had he just Stuck to it the way he originally viewed it He could have been fine, but then again that all depends on whether this was in his mind or actually happening That's what i'm talking about. Like this this movie just cycles and cycles and cycles through your mind If if you allow it to it's going to make me mad. No Um Yeah, and that's actually uh, those were my closing thoughts on it. So With uh, I've got to do my rating on this possible five stars with half stars in play I'm gonna plant this firmly on a four star rating. I it's not perfect. Um, but It's quite good and I really do recommend it to people I think it's definitely one of carpenter's better films and I do Agree with a lot of people who say this is a super underrated film. It is very underrated. I quite like it So, yeah, let me know your thoughts put some comments down there Do me a quick solid hit that subscribe if you're not already Subscribed and if you are hit that thumbs up just to let me know you're still watching and to encourage me to keep going But uh, thank you for checking this out and spending your time with me in this way and until next time keep it brutal