In the Mouth of Madness - If Stephen King had Powers

 Sometimes, a psychological horror movie just goes unnoticed and unappreciated. For some reason, this horror cult classic flew under the radar of the pop culture and was brought into VHS shelflife and movie channel obscurity that would later bring it about top 10 best horror movie lists of many variations. The world that John Carpenter built around a very mysterious and sinister book author is discovered by two insurance investigators, John Trent played by Sam Neil and Linda Styles played by Julie Carmen. 

The mystery they wrap this whole movie around is one that captures your interest from the very start, given that we see Trent brought to an insane asylum, raving and panicking as he is brought to an interviewer. He begins the tale when he got the job for the insurance investigation of Sutter Cane, played by Jurgen Prochnow. While he is given the job, he is assailed by a man with an axe. After shrugging off near death, he accepts the job. Trent is paired with Miss Styles and the two of them begin their very entertaining and witty journey to some place called Hobbs End, somewhere in New Hampshire. As soon as they arrive in the place, we see that something is wrong. 

One of the greatest elements of this film is, not only the main, but the supporting cast. All of them play their parts so well, from the old lady who has sleep deprivation from reading to the kids who apparently can't stop being eerily creepy. The more we see these people in the town, the more we start to see things are not right. They are looking for Cane, and everyone seems to know where he is, but they're too busy being ominous to give them any real information. 

Then we finally meet Cane and he has no problems showing a father his child before transforming into attack dogs! Soon, we start to see some serious Lovecraft imagery. Once Styles comes clean about the fact that this was a publicity stunt, even she begins acting strange. Without warning, she begins coming onto Trent, but he is a little too freaked out that everything starts feeling like it was... written prior. Cane has proven to be connected to a darker power, one that can drive someone mad simply by showing them what terrors lie beyond. The practical effects in this movie should have won some kind of award because they are astounding. 

Once Styles really gives into Cane's influence, her transformation is disgustingly nightmarish and perfect. The final conversation between John and Sutter is one of the highlights of the entire movie. The imagery of the Old Ones or even Sutter Cane's entire body attachment needs to be remembered forever. Even the fallout from his visit at Hobbs End turns out to be real but not real at the same time. What happens with the new book that was never released is kind of brilliantly mind-bending. The book and the movie can make people insane and such an idea is quite wondrously terrible. 

It's almost like he's watching a movie where a man walks into a theater to watch a man watching a movie where a man walks into a theater to watch a man watching a movie where a man walks into a theater to watch a man watching a movie where a man walks into a theater to watch a man watching a movie where a man....