In the Mouth of Madness

Freelance insurance investigator John Trent is tasked to find Sutter Cane, a famed horror writer who has now vanished as his increasingly erratic throng of fans clamour for his yet unfinished book, In the Mouth of Madness.

Directed by John Carpenter, In the Mouth of Madness acts as meta-narrative twist on H.P. Lovecraft’s works. The title, which plays on the name of Lovecraft’s At The Mountains of Madness, is an eerie descent into a labyrinth of perception as sanity and insanity twist into one another. Against the backdrop of a looming crisis and civil unrest, John Trent finds himself being enveloped by eldritch forces as his search expands for Sutter Cane. Mirroring Carpenter’s The Thing, the narration of events become unclear as the film plays with the subjectivity of what is sanity, alongside Lovecraft’s trope of mankind’s inability to comprehend certain forces. For all its potential, In the Mouth of Madness feels lacking but not for a want of trying. Carpenter, who is a fan of Lovecraft’s stories, clearly poured passion into the film. In many ways Carpenter successfully invokes the eldritch spirit of Lovecraft’s words; of a darker reality whispering at a few unlucky human beings. Moments also do truly terrify, while the films surreal opening within an undisclosed asylum subtly forewarns viewers that their perception of events cannot be trusted. The narrative is later hamstrung by its own confusing twists which weakens the impact of the film’s moments of horror. Some of the practical effects fail to past muster by today’s standards while Trent’s journey to another reality acts as a dead sea within the story. This problem may stem from the budget and from the source material. Although Carpenter ignited his career by crafting low-budget films which gained critical and or commercial success, by the time he made In the Mouth of Madness Carpenter had fallen out with the big budget Hollywood system. There are some scenes in the film, especially when monsters are alluded to, that In the Mouth of Madness feels a bit thin. The lack of impact as the film progresses may in large part be due to the weakness of Lovecraft’s own style. Despite his fantastic command of prose, Lovecraft’s stories often peter out. In the Mouth of Madness intermittently shares the same sense of ebbing momentum.

Ignoring its flaws, In the Mouth of Madness is enjoyable and will understandably draw fans of H.P. Lovecraft and Carpenter alike. The certainty of film’s events, especially its ending, will stay on the mind long after viewing. The film has moments of dread and conjures the essence of a strange reality mixing with our own. The film also boasts a great performance by Sam Neill, of Jurassic Park and Peaky Blinders fame, as John Trent. Mimicking a Mid-Atlantic accent closer to the English side, Neill is still convincing and charismatic as the lead in this troubling word.

By Saul Shimmin

For the trailer, see below:

The Endless

Rating: 5 out of 5 (Classic)

Synopsis: Brothers Justin (Justin Benson) and Aaron (Aaron Moorhead) receive a cryptic video from the ‘UFO death cult’ they escaped from 10 years ago. Intrigue entices the pair back to the community of Camp Arcadia and ensares them in a darker mystery.

The Endless deserves to be a classic lauded with wide recognition rather than the cult film it will likely become. I had not heard about The Endless until the film’s trailer swayed me to attend a Q&A screening. Directors Benson and Moorhead, who play The Endless’ protagonists, expressed surprise at the audience’s size after earlier films had only drawn crowds of 2 or more. Yet The Endless is a flawless thriller whose cosmic horror burrows into the viewer’s nerves and never relinquishes control.

H.P.Lovecraft’s tales, as John Carpenter touched upon in Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown, can fumble as a twist ending negates the horror of man versus the unknown. The Endless’ Lovecraftian roots show in a quotation from the writer, yet the film succeeds where Lovecraft failed. The Endless’ success comes from its relatable story of family and brotherhood, nostalgia and rebellion. The horror of The Endless while gripping and manifest is the supporting context for the tale. Who or what is around Camp Arcadia is drawn out through layers of sub-plots hiding secrets, red-herrings and teasers which open The Endless up to review and reinterpretation. Curiously director Aaron Moorhead said at the BFI Q&A that the film only had ‘two or three real mysteries’. Despite my prodding about the conclusion both directors upheld the film’s tantalising ambiguity.  The presence shrouding the cult is made potent by the film’s budgetary constraints. Any major Hollywood production would tape everything together with CGI. In The Endless however circling crows, crude charcoal etchings and antiquated tapes denote something odder and more menacing than a green screen lurking around.  Interestingly the recordings and images found in The Endless are more than clues, denoting the cat and mouse game between ‘it’ and the brothers as one watches and one searches for the other.

The plot, written by Justin Benson, scares initially and lingers long after its end through mystery, projection and minimal gore. The Endless becomes even creepier through Camp Arcadia’s inhabitants, whose oddness jars with their unbridled pleasantness. The plot’s progression, alongside Benson and Moorhead’s performance, creates a believable dynamic of siblings at loggerheads. The brilliant cast consists of crew members except for Callie Hernandez and Emily Montague who are established actors. The cast’s performance, combined with Benson’s deadpan comedy, exacerbates The Endless’ terror as reprieve turns to horror once again.

The Endless is showing in the U.K at certain cinemas and is available to rent on Itunes and YouTube. Though this is a film which rewards the finding of a screening at the cinema.

By Saul Shimmin

For the trailer, see below;