Rent In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
3.4 of 5 from 90 ratings
1h 35min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Horror author Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) is missing. As crowds turn violent waiting for copies of his latest book, Cane's publishers enlist insurance investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) to find him. With Cane's editor, Linda Styles (Julie Carmen), Trent sets off in search of the elusive author and finds himself trapped in Hobb's End, a town that should only exist within the author's books. As fiction and reality blur, Trent begins to realise that between the lines, beyond the page, somewhere out there in the dark, something evil is waiting to break through.
- Actors:
- Sam Neill, Jürgen Prochnow, Julie Carmen, David Warner, John Glover, Bernie Casey, Peter Jason, Charlton Heston, Frances Bay, Wilhelm von Homburg, Kevin Rushton, Gene Mack, Conrad Bergschneider, Marvin Scott, Katherine Ashby, Ben Gilbert, Dennis O'Connor, Paul Brogren, Sharon Dyer, Sean Ryan
- Directors:
- John Carpenter
- Producers:
- Sandy King
- Writers:
- Michael De Luca
- Aka:
- John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness
- Genres:
- Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers
- Collections:
- A History of Films Set In The Future, Cinema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 2, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Bookshop Scenes, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 15/10/2013
- Run Time:
- 95 minutes
- Languages:
- Canadian French Dolby Digital 2.0, Castilian Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital 2.0, Latin American Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing, French, Spanish
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.40:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- Commentary by Director John Carpenter and Cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 27/10/2025
- Run Time:
- 95 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- DVD Regions:
- Region 0 (All)
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.39:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- Archive audio commentary with director John Carpenter and producer Sandy King Carpenter
- Archive audio commentary with director John Carpenter and director of photography Gary B. Kibbe
- Brand new audio commentary by filmmakers Rebekah McKendry and Elric Kane, co-hosts of 'Colors of the Dark' podcast
- Making Madness, a newly filmed interview with producer Sandy King Carpenter
- Do You Read Sutter Cane?, a newly filmed interview with actor Jurgen Prochnow
- 'The Whisperer of the Dark', an archive interview with actress Julie Carmen
- Greg Nicotero's 'Things in the Basement', an archive interview with special effects artist Greg Nicotero
- We Are What He Writes, a new featurette in praise of John Carpenter and 'In the Mouth of Madness'
- Reality Is Not What It Used To Be, a new appreciation by film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
- Horror's Hallowed Grounds, an archive featurette looking at the locations used in the film
- Home Movies From Hobb's End, behind-the-scenes footage
- The Making of 'In the Mouth of Madness', a vintage featurette
- Theatrical trailer and TV spots
More like In the Mouth of Madness
Reviews (2) of In the Mouth of Madness
EXPLORING THE HORROR OF HORROR - In the Mouth of Madness review by Frank Talker™
A diverting exploration of the essence of all horror: The implied mental illness of often feeling that the real world is ultimately unknowable.
This theme makes little sense in the context of a predicted global apocalypse since it implies that there is no actual distinction between madness and sanity despite the actual events depicted here being clearly distinguished from the more fantastic and brilliantly realised on-screen apparitions.
Julie CARMEN is sexily sinister and Sam NEILL expertly conveys a strong sense of the world turning upside down - both inside his head and in the world at large.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Where Someone Else Is Flipping the Pages - In the Mouth of Madness review by griggs
Meta-horror with a severe case of madness. John Carpenter blends cosmic horror, straight from the H.P. Lovecraft playbook, with a clever, unsettling story about a writer whose books don’t just scare people—they shatter the fabric of reality. The concept is brilliant: eerie atmosphere, disturbing characters, and reality-bending twists abound. It gets a bit messy in places, but it’s never dull. Sam Neill is a delight as he unravels, chewing scenery and losing his grip in style.
It’s not Carpenter’s most polished work, but it’s bold, bizarre, and feels like a half-remembered nightmare. If you like horror that twists your brain more than your stomach, this is one to seek out. Imagine reading a Stephen King novel and realising halfway through—it’s reading you too.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.