In celebration of director and composer John Carpenter’s upcoming live tour, we’re showing one of his most mind-bending and overlooked works: In the Mouth of Madness. Featuring Sam Neill as an insurance investigator searching for a famous horror novelist gone missing, the film is both an homage to the weird fiction of H. P. Lovecraft and a reflection on how mass media consumption (literally) shapes reality.

John Trent (Sam Neill) is hired to track down horror author Sutter Cane (Jurgen Prochnow), who has mysteriously disappeared just before the release of his latest novel, titled In the Mouth of Madness. When Trent stumbles upon a tiny village that appears to be taken straight out of Cane’s books, his skepticism begins to be challenged at every turn as he realises Cane’s ambitions are higher than hitting the bestseller lists.  

Carpenter has referred to this film as the final installment of what he calls the ‘apocalypse trilogy’ of his work, following The Thing and Prince of Darkness, invoking similar themes of ancient evils beyond humankind’s understanding and the loss of free will, but its self-referential commentary on horror storytelling also places it alongside other mid-90s ‘meta’ horror films such as Wes Craven’s New Nightmare and Scream. With creepy practical effects and a truly bonkers plot, this is one not to miss.

Stick around after the film for an evening of Carpenter-esque horror wave, retro synth, and dark soundtrack music in the bar with DJs El Judas and the Priesto!