Another Carpenter's Mess

I agree, I thought it was laughably bad, and I find it very entertaining how much people defend this movie. I've seen it three times, always trying to give it another chance, but it never makes it.

The scence I find particularly laughable is when Trent is trying to drive out of town (was that Hobb's End? It's been a while) and EVERY ROAD IS THE SAME!!!! Oooh, scary!

Also, this movie is not based on anything HP Lovecraft wrote. Not at all. Doesn't even come close. He did write a novel called "At the Mountains of Madness," but it took place in Antarctica and bears no resemblance at all to this film.

I admit, it's a pretty good premise (Cane's fans remind me of Twilight fans, now that I think of it), and a good cast, but the execution just doesn't do it. The whole world driven crazy by Cane's books? Sorry, that exceeded my suspension of disbelief. And the scares came off like a '50s monster movie.

Perhaps in the hands of a director whose time hasn't come and gone, this would have worked.

Actually up until the point when they arrive at Hobbs's End the movie is pretty good, but from then on is just a mess, I agree with you.

They Live is a masterpiece, though.

-------------------------------- Movie critics are mostly crazy!

Agreed. It's as if they said let's change the POV often and contradict ourselves repeatedly until every is so confused that just think we're brilliant. People! The emperor is naked!

This is the best horror film ever.

[deleted]

This was arguably Carpenter's last good movie

Op, are you familiar with H.P. Lovecraft's writing? If not, I would suggest getting familiar with it. His tales are classic and his prose is unmatched. Being familiar with the ideas behind Lovecraft's stories would really help you to better appreciate what John Carpenter was doing with this film. It's sad that Lovecraft seems so difficult to translate on screen. In The Mouth of Madness is not a direct adaptation of any story in particular, but it uses a lot of themes and ideas that are the gist of Lovecraft's stories. There is actually a lot here to appreciate in that regard. I enjoyed the movie when I first saw it, but since having read a lot of (but not yet all of Lovecraft's stories, it only seems to enhance my appreciation of this film. Most movies that actually try to adapt Lovecraft fall way short, yet Carpenter shows that he is a big fan in what he did here with this film. It's funny that a movie that is not based on a Lovecraft tale and instead a giant homage to the world of Lovecraft remains one of the best Lovecraftian films to date.

I think that Carpenter wisely took a slightly over the top approach to this story, as it can be quite difficult to relay Lovecraft's cosmic horror to the screen without it coming across as somewhat cheesy. I mean, how do you depict things that the mind cannot comprehend on the big screen? Rest assured, it is in no way over the top or cheesy on paper.

- - - - - - -
Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

The movie is awesome. Maybe the OP wasn't really ready for it.
I got to like it more and more with age, until I end up loving it.
It's one brilliant piece of work.