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In the Mouth of Madness

Play trailer Poster for In the Mouth of Madness R 1995 1h 35m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
61% Tomatometer 57 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
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.
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In the Mouth of Madness

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Critics Consensus

If it fails to make the most of its intriguing premise, In the Mouth of Madness remains a decent enough diversion for horror fans and John Carpenter completists.

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Critics Reviews

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Ryan Gilbey Independent (UK) Jul 16, 2026
John Carpenter makes a partial return to form with this eerie horror. Go to Full Review Jake Cole Slant Magazine Oct 13, 2025
With 1994’s In the Mouth of Madness, John Carpenter again drew on cosmic horror traditions, like he did for The Thing and Prince of Darkness, but ramped up the metatextual vibes. Go to Full Review Adrian Martin The Age (Australia) Mar 2, 2024
Carpenter's work with music and sound design has never been so radical and the film's set pieces are breathtakingly executed. Go to Full Review Bryce Hanson Horror Movie Talk Jul 22, 2026
7/10
The idea takes center stage and isn’t handled preciously. It presents itself as a cool thing and lets the audience take a little ride without delving deep into the psychological or taking itself too seriously. Kind of like a Stephen King novel actually. Go to Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills Jul 15, 2026
It’s a movie with more promising (if borrowed) ideas than it can comfortably develop in 95 minutes, on probably a tighter budget than would have been ideal. Still, Carpenter and his cast seem to be enjoying themselves, and the viewer will too. Go to Full Review John Scalzi Fresno Bee Jun 9, 2026
B-
Carpenter's directorial panache makes the material seem fresh, even when it's not. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert P @Superbad Sep 9, 2026 This movie = a 3.5 star Movie See more B P @Bradster69 Sep 4, 2026 Definitely Recommend It See more Tomek D @SzybkiSeans Sep 1, 2026 W paszczy szaleństwa zaczyna się jak historia o zaginionym pisarzu, a kończy pytaniem, czy cokolwiek, co właśnie obejrzeliśmy, było w ogóle prawdziwe. John Trent jest idealnym bohaterem takiej historii. To cynik i sceptyk, zawodowo zajmujący się wykrywaniem oszustw. Nie wierzy w duchy, potwory ani zjawiska paranormalne. Przede wszystkim nie wierzy ludziom. A potem trafia do miejsca, które nie powinno istnieć, i krok po kroku odkrywa, że rzeczywistość może być czymś znacznie mniej trwałym, niż mu się wydawało. Carpenter bierze tutaj lovecraftowski horror i robi z nim coś kapitalnego. Potwory nie potrzebują portalu do naszego świata. Nie potrzebują armii ani żadnego wielkiego rytuału. Potrzebują… wydawcy. Im więcej ludzi czyta książki Suttera Cane'a, tym więcej osób wierzy w opisany przez niego świat. A im więcej ludzi w niego wierzy, tym bardziej staje się on prawdziwy. See more Zachary S @Zach154 Aug 20, 2026 Getting to see this film on the big screen for the first viewing was beautiful. Rest in peace Sam Neill your final scene inside the cinema for this film was glorious. See more Blobbo X @Blobbo Aug 4, 2026 Stylish with scares make Blobbo jump two times. Interesting story. A little thrown together feeling. Not terrible. See more Tim M @tgmacman Jul 26, 2026 While its literary inspirations make for some memorable visuals, In the Mouth of Madness and its scary story is hardly a page-turner. See more Read all reviews
In the Mouth of Madness

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Cast & Crew

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John Carpenter

Director

Sam Neill

John Trent

Julie Carmen

Linda Styles

Jürgen Prochnow

Sutter Cane

Charlton Heston

Jackson Harglow

David Warner

Dr. Wrenn

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In the Mouth of Madness

In the Mouth of Madness (1995) In the Mouth of Madness (1995) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis 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.
Director
John Carpenter
Producer
Sandy King
Screenwriter
Michael De Luca
Distributor
New Line Home Video [us], New Line Cinema
Production Co
New Line Cinema
Rating
R
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 3, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.9M
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Surround, Stereo
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