In the Mouth of Madness: Difference between revisions

{{quote| ''A reality is just what we tellDo eachyou otherread itSutter is.Cane?''}}

The third instalment of [[John Carpenter]]'s "Apocalypse Trilogy" (preceded by ''[[The Thing (Filmfilm)|The Thing]]'' and ''[[Prince of Darkness (Film)|Prince of Darkness]]''), ''[[In the Mouth of Madness (Film)|In the Mouth of Madness]]'' explores reality, fiction, and the thin, horrific line that separates the two.

* [[Bigger Than Jesus]]: Sutter Cane repeatedly claims more people believe in his novels than believe in the ''[[BibleThe (Literature)Bible|Bible]]''.

* [[Driven to Suicide]]: One of the town's residents kills himself with a shotgun after his daughter attacked him and his wife. He makes it clear that he doesn't have a choice in the matter, as he possesses in-universe [[Medium Awareness]].

{{quote| "I have to, he [Suttter Cane] wrote me this way."}}

* [[Go Mad Fromfrom the Revelation]]: {{spoiler|During the ending, after witnessing the collapse of human civilization in a rising tide of madness and mutation, John Trent cracks when he discovers that the nightmarish book that did the deed was just a novelisation of everything he did in the last few days. He finds this out by watching the film adaptation. More to the point, it's rather implied that Trent's burst of laughing madness is due to his realization that he is in fact a fictional character, perhaps even of not only Sutter Cane, but also the screenwriter of this movie.}}

* [[Jump Scare]]: Used extensively.

* [[Kill It Withwith Fire]]: Doesn't work. {{spoiler|Since at that point, burning the book is like trying to burn the entire world.}}

* [[Nightmare Dreams]]: Trent has an extensive one that takes place in an alleyway at night.

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Sutter Caine is a mixture of [[Stephen King]] and [[HPH.P. Lovecraft]].

* [[Red Right Hand]]: Readers of the books of hack horror writer Sutter Cane go insane and develop strange physical afflictions, like a second pupil in their iris, or bleeding from their eyes. And berserk homicidal tendencies, of course. Over the time, these minor affliction develop into serious bodily mutations- including tentacles, distended jaws, and reversible joints.

* [[Rewriting Reality]]: Hobb's End and {{spoiler|John Trent}} were written into existence by an author called Sutter Cane, who also produces a number of retcons that remove a character from existence and reshuffle an entire sequence of events within the film. By the end of the film, the entire world has apparently been absorbed by Cane's latest novel. It should be noted that once he finishes his novel close to the end of the film, Cane appears to be able to warp reality at will, as demonstrated with the conversations he has with John Trent.

{{quote| "The crosses are a nice touch. They'd almost have to keep you in here after seeing these, wouldn't they?"}}

* [[Shout-Out]]:

** Lots to [[HPH.P. Lovecraft]], including several names, like Mrs. Pickman. And the title is reminiscent of both Lovecraft's novella ''At the Mountains of Madness'', and the town of Innsmouth, mentioned in several of his stories.

** Sapirstein is the name of the Satanist doctor in [[Rosemarys Baby|Rosemary's Baby]].

{{quote| "This is reality!" *[[Foreshadowing|knocks on wood]]*}}

* [[Through the Eyes of Madness]]: {{spoiler|The movie was heavily inspired by the Cosmic Horror of [[HPH.P. Lovecraft]]. To make it even better, the question isn't just limited to whether John Trent is (in)sane or not, but also whether he actually exists or is just a figment of the in-story horror writer's imagination (or for that matter, a figment of the screenwriter's mind). The man's not just in the mouth of madness, but ''being digested''.}}

{{quote| "All done. ''In the Mouth of Madness''."}}

* [[Touched Byby Vorlons]]: Or [[Eldritch Abomination]], in this case.

* [[Town Withwith a Dark Secret]]: The secret being that {{spoiler|''the town only exists in Sutter Cane's mind.''}}

* [[Window Pain]]: