In the Mouth of Madness

In the Mouth of Madness (1995)

Timing: 1:35 (95 min)

7.206/10
1842

6.962/10
25082

7.1/10
89000

All about film

Video 11

Photo 79

Actors and characters

Release date

1995-02-03

Country

United States

Production

New Line Cinema

Genre

Horror, Thriller, Mystery

Budget

$8 000 000

Revenue

$8 924 549

Website

http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/in-the-mouth-of-madness/

Director

John Carpenter

Actors

Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow, David Warner, John Glover, Bernie Casey, Peter Jason, Charlton Heston, Frances Bay, Wilhelm von Homburg
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Sandy King, Michael De Luca

Operator

Gary B. Kibbe

Composer

John Carpenter

Artist

Audition

Editing

Edward A. Warschilka
All team (32)

• The film is a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft and contains numerous references to his works. The film’s title is reminiscent of “At the Mountains of Madness,” Lovecraft’s favorite story. The film begins with a scene where the protagonist is placed in an asylum, and the subsequent narrative unfolds through his recollections – a favorite device of Lovecraft. The film also contains a reference to the “Elder Gods” – characters from the “Cthulhu Mythos” – and mentions locations and characters (such as Mrs. Pickman) from his texts. The film even features direct quotations from Lovecraft: when John Trent reads excerpts from the books of Sutter Cane.
• The character of writer Sutter Cane is a clear reference to John Carpenter’s friend Stephen King, with whom Carpenter had previously worked (“Christine” (1983)) as had screenwriter and producer Michael De Luca (“The Lawnmower Man” (1992)). “Hobb’s End” – a fictional town in Maine – is a nod to “Castle Rock,” the setting of many of King’s novels, and the very theme of the relationship between a writer and the crowd is extremely well-developed in King’s work.
• Throughout the film, Sutter Cane utters the phrase, “I told you, my favorite color is blue?” All the characters in the film have blue eyes in close-ups.
• The film completes John Carpenter’s “Apocalypse Trilogy,” begun with “The Thing” (1982) and “Prince of Darkness” (1987).
• The building where scenes from the insane asylum were filmed is a water treatment plant in Toronto. It was also frequently used for scenes in other films. After September 11, 2001, the plant became a closed facility, and nothing will be filmed there anymore.
• Sam Neill, who started as a director, gave Carpenter useful advice during filming. Among other things, he advised shooting some shots in the hotel scene from above.
• "Hobb" is an archaic English word meaning "devil."
• The 1953 film "Robot Monster," which Sam Neill's character watches near the end, is one of Carpenter's favorite monster movies from his childhood.
• The original titles of the six books by Sutter Cane, whose covers Sam Neill's character used to create a map, are: "The Hobb's End Horror," "The Feeding," "The Whisperer in the Dark," "Something in the Cellar," "The Breathing Tunnel," and "In the Mouth of Madness."
• The "Black Church" in Hobb's End was filmed using the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Slovak Greek Catholic Church.
• When John is placed in a padded room, even without a bed, to prevent him from harming himself, the attending physician leaves a chair in it after leaving, which contradicts the rules.
• The Slovak Greek Catholic Church of the Transfiguration was used as the location for "Black Church" in Hobb's End.