SSC 11: In the Mouth of Madness (Carpenter, 1994)

Tim and Tay dig into their first horror movie of October with John Carpenter's In the  Mouth of Madness, discussing what it means to watch horror, the movie's classic literature and real-world psychological inspirations, and more.

In the Mouth of Madness tells the story of John Trent, an insurance investigator tasked with tracking down best-selling horror novelist Sutter Cane. When the investigation leads both Trent and Cane’s editor Linda Styles to a presumed fictional town full of strange phenomena, the two begin to question their grip on reality.

In the Mouth of Madness was directed by John Carpenter, written by Michael de Luca, and stars Sam Neil, Julie Carmen, and Jurgen Prochnow, and was released on Dec. 10, 1994.

In the Mouth of Madness is available as a digital rental.

Scene (31:00 - 35:47)

Styles and Trent drive through the night to find the fabled town of Hobbs End. While Trent sleeps, Styles encounters a young boy riding down the highway on his bike. Moments later she sees another similar figure, although much older, on a bike going the opposite way.

The boy appears for a third time and is struck by the car. Trent and Styles stop to check the body and the boy cries: “I can't get out”. He then mysteriously gets up and rides away. Styles continues driving, experiencing some supernatural phenomena before crossing a covered bridge that leads them right into Hobbs End.

Links

• 10:40 - Black Check episode on Halloween
• 12:50 - John Carpenter's financial approach to remakes
• 22:30 - HP Lovecraft
• 23:20 - The King in Yellow
• 24:00 - Media horror in True Detective
• 26:30 - GDT's At the Mountains of Madness
• 28:30 - Lovecraft's racism
• 30:00 - Filming locations in Canada
• 31:30 - Giger's alien designs
• 34:50 - "groupthink"
• 1:06:20 - Sorcerer essay

Recommendations

Tim: The Empty Man (Prior, 2020). Available to stream on Crave.

Tay: Sorcerer (Friedkin, 1977). Available to rent on iTunes.

All links are verified at the time of publication and based on availability in Canada.

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