December 10, 1994 (Italy)
February 3, 1995 (United States)
In the Mouth of Madness is a 1994 American supernatural horror film directed and scored by John Carpenter and written by Michael De Luca. It stars Sam Neill, Julie Carmen, Jürgen Prochnow, David Warner and Charlton Heston. Neill stars as John Trent, an insurance investigator who visits a small town while looking into the disappearance of a successful author of horror novels, and begins to question his sanity as the lines between reality and fiction seem to blur. Informally, the film is the third installment in what Carpenter refers to as his "Apocalypse Trilogy", preceded by The Thing (1982) and Prince of Darkness (1987).
In the Mouth of Madness pays tribute to the works of author H. P. Lovecraft in its exploration of insanity, and its title is derived from the Lovecraft novella At the Mountains of Madness. Distributed by New Line Cinema, In the Mouth of Madness received mixed reviews upon release, but has since garnered a cult following.
Storyline
When horror novelist Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) goes missing, insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) scrutinizes the claim made by his publisher, Jackson Harglow (Charlton Heston), and endeavors to retrieve a yet-to-be-released manuscript and ascertain the writer's whereabouts. Accompanied by the novelist's editor, Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), and disturbed by nightmares from reading Cane's other novels, Trent makes an eerie nighttime trek to a supernatural town in New Hampshire.
Sound Effects Used
- Hollywoodedge, Lightning 08 CloseG SIG012601
- King Ghidorah Roar (Either one of the Showa era roars or a very similar sound is used once for a monster near the end of the film.)
- Looney Tunes Explosion Sound 3 (Either the 1st half of this sound or a very similar sound is heard once.)
- Mothra Roar (Either a slightly edited variant or a very similar sound is heard.)
- Quentin Tarantino Swoosh Sound (Unless confused with a nearly identical sound.)
- SKYWALKER, THUNDER - DEEP, LOW CRACKLE
- SKYWALKER, WHOOSH - JUMP LUNGE
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, FOOTSTEP - SEVERAL PEOPLE RUNNING FAST (Either a small portion of this sound or a very similar sound is heard once in a slightly lower pitch.)
- Sound Ideas, GUN, HAND GUN - AUTOMATIC PISTOL: SINGLE SHOT 02
- Sound Ideas, SMASH, GLASS - WINDOW SMASH (Either an edited and enhanced in quality variant or a very similar sound is heard once when the Axe Maniac smashes a window in the resturant John and Robinson are in while they're talking about Sutter Cane being missing.)
- Sound Ideas, WIND - WIND PANS & FADES AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, WEATHER (Unless confused with a nearly identical sound.)
- TECHNICOLOR GLASS SHATTER 01