Revisiting IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS in 4K

IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (4K UHD)

1994 / 95 min

Arrow Video

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Home video has been pretty damn good to John Carpenter over the years. He’s done movies that run the gamut from great to good to abysmal, yet Halloween notwithstanding, none of them were blockbusters. But you’d be hard-pressed to name another director responsible for more movies that went on the become cult classics due to getting a second life on VHS and DVD. 

For years, Shout Factory led the charge in curating Carpenter classics (and a few that are not-so-classic), releasing and re-releasing collector’s Editions of most of his movies with good restorations, loads of bonus features and great packaging. This includes 1994’s In the Mouth of Madness, one of the most Lovecraftian films that isn’t actually based on one of his stories.

One of Carpenter’s better late-career films, it’s also emblematic of a lot of his ‘90s output…two-thirds of a great movie that doesn’t quite stick the landing, at least narratively, with a final act that’s a bit more disjointed than it needs to be. But tonally and visually, In the Mouth of Madness might be the director’s most immersive film since The Thing and has enough of a cult following deserving of the 4K treatment. 

The scariest part of the movie? The price of that popcorn bucket.

This time, however, Arrow Video is doing the honors. Having previously seen both Warner Bros’ and Shout Factory’s Blu-ray editions, I can say this 4K transfer is an overall improvement, with a generally excellent video restoration, as well as two audio options, the best one being the well-balanced 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. This release also comes with a nice selection of new and archival bonus features, the latter carried over from Shout’s Blu-ray edition. Carpenter's considerable cult of fans should have no complaints.

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.

NEW INTERVIEWS - Individual interviews with producer Sandy King Carpenter, actor Jurgen Prochnow, actor Julie Carmen.

ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW - With FX artist Greg Nicotero, (carried over from the Shout Factory blu-ray release).

WE ARE WHAT HE WRITES and REALITY IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE - These are a couple of new appreciations for John Carpenter and the film.

3 AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By director John Carpenter & cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe; 2) By director John Carpenter & producer Sandy King Carpenter. 3) By Colors of the Dark podcasters Rebekah McKendry & Erlic Kane (not Sutter).

FEATURETTES - Horror’s Hallowed Grounds focuses on the shooting locations; The Making of In the Mouth of Madness; Home Movies from Hobbs End.

TRAILERS & TV SPOTS