Cross-posting this watch party announcement from !movies@piefed.social ... according to wikipedia this movie has a lot of Lovecraft Mythos-inspired content, hope it's acceptable!

In the Mouth of Madness (1994) is the movie for this Sunday's "monsterdon" watch party over on Mastodon, our fediverse sibling!

  • Just start watching that movie this Sunday, August 9 at 9pm ET / 8pm CT / 6pm PT which is 1am Monday UTC
  • and follow #monsterdon over on mastodon for live text commentary. For example, you can follow that hashtag here: https://mastodon.social/tags/monsterdon
  • I usually open two web browser windows side-by-side on a computer. But you could follow the mastodon commentary on a phone app while watching the movie on TV or something.

How to watch the movie:

...supernatural horror film directed and scored by John Carpenter ... [Sam] Neill stars as John Trent, an insurance investigator who visits a small town while looking into the disappearance of a successful author of horror novels, and begins to question his sanity as the lines between reality and fiction seem to blur. ... In the Mouth of Madness pays tribute to the works of author H. P. Lovecraft in its exploration of insanity, and its title is derived from the Lovecraft novella At the Mountains of Madness. Distributed by New Line Cinema, In the Mouth of Madness received mixed reviews upon release, but has gained a cult following.

...

Critics generally commended the film on its technical aspects, particularly its special effects, acting, and directing, but perceived it as being too complicated, confusing, pretentious, and underwhelming. Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, saying that the film has an intriguing premise, but squanders it by relying on hackneyed jump scares and gore, taking the form of "a horror house movie, in which the protagonists creep along while creatures leap at them."[17] Gene Siskel gave the film the same rating,[citation needed] as did James Berardinelli, who said the film "comes close to doing something interesting but gets cold feet" and is "confusing, weird, and not very involving", comparing the film to buying an exotic sports car only to drive it slowly.[citation needed] Lisa Schwarzbaum, writing in Entertainment Weekly, gave the film a C rating, remarking that "much of it [is] bloatedly self-indulgent and a small part wicked funny", with only a smattering of successful moments.[18]

In fully positive reviews from the time period, Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a thinking person's horror picture that dares to be as cerebral as it is visceral".[19] John Hartl of the Seattle Times also gave the film a positive review, saying it is "a stylized collection of well-timed shockers, helped along by the contributions of its capable cast."[20] The Chicago Reader gave it three stars, calling it "a must see".[21] In a later review, Chris Stuckmann also awarded the film with an "A," noting its ambition, creativity, and originality alongside Carpenter's direction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Mouth_of_Madness

1994 movie poster for John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness"

all 2 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[โ€“] 2 points 3 months ago (1 child)

In the Mouth of Madness is great (although a little silly in places, iirc)! I'm surprised Monsterdon's watching it, tbh; they usually pick way more B-movie things.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • 14 comments in c/movies@piefed.social view that post
    [โ€“] 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (9 children)

    This movie is so much fun and has one of my favourite shots.

    spoiler
    ___I was thinking of the diner scene. Although, in my head, the shot was much longer of the two of them talking while the ax wielding guy walked towards them. The shot is still lovely but actually several combined shots. Still, a fantastic moment and I just absolutely love the juxtaposition of the two blithely talking while everyone sees the very real oncoming terrifying danger just a glance away.

  • source
  • hideshow 9 child comments
  • [โ€“] 7 points 3 months ago (1 child)
  • [โ€“] 1 point 3 months ago

    spoiler____I was thinking of the diner scene. Although, in my head, the shot was much longer of the two of them talking while the ax wielding guy walked towards them. The shot is still lovely but actually several combined shots. Still, a fantastic moment and I just absolutely love the juxtaposition of the two blithely talking while everyone sees the very real oncoming terrifying danger just a glance away.

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 4 points 3 months ago (1 child)
  • [โ€“] 2 points 3 months ago

    Sorry about that!

    spoiler___I was thinking of the diner scene. Although, in my head, the shot was much longer of the two of them talking while the ax wielding guy walked towards them. The shot is still lovely but actually several combined shots. Still, a fantastic moment and I just absolutely love the juxtaposition of the two blithely talking while everyone sees the very real oncoming terrifying danger just a glance away.

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 3 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Better than the medicine cabinet scene in Contact?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [โ€“] 1 point 3 months ago

    Like, not more technically impressive, no.

    spoiler___ I was thinking of the diner scene with the ax wielding guy walking towards Neill and buddy who are completely oblivious, despite sitting next to the giant window through which the viewer clearly sees the danger approaching. Just, the juxtaposition of complete and utter danger, with two folks engrossed in conversation in a completely natural framing absolutely works for me. (Admittedly, in my mind, I had remembered the shot featuring the maniac from much farther back, I'd forgotten there are a few cuts in there.)

  • source
  • parent
  • [โ€“] 5 points 3 months ago

    I usually post these watch party announcements on !bmoviebonanza@lemmy.world, but there's no way I'm gonna call a John Carpenter film a B-movie!

  • source
  • [โ€“] 4 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    Is it a coincidence that my local theater (that just reopened after 3 years), is showing this over the weekend? Very cool!

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [โ€“] 3 points 3 months ago*

    One of my fav 90s horror movies

  • source