the plot: A new book by horror writer Sutter Caine (Prochnow) is driving everyone who reads it insane, compelling them to pick up axes, knives and other sharp objects and engage in violent bloodshed. But just before a major tour to promote the book, Caine vanishes, and his editor Linda (Carmen) and insurance investigator John Trent (Niell) are sent to track him down. The search leads to Hobb's End, the fictional New England town created by Caine that's suddenly a very real place. The residents of Hobb's End don't take kindly to visitors, though, and Trent and Linda must fend off all manner of beasts and ghouls before they come face to face with Caine. Trent races to stop the terror Caine has unleashed, but quickly realizes that instead of stopping the apocalypse, he's inadvertently hastening it.

why it's good: In the Mouth of Madness is like a patchwork quilt of horror staples. There's a Stephen King-esque horror writer, a host of H.P. Lovecraft-inspired monsters and a couple of throwbacks to the Hammer horror films of the 1960s. As a whole, Madness is a high-concept love letter to the genre from Carpenter. Unfortunately, he doesn't maintain the same kind of atmosphere as the films and books he's paying homage to. Don't get me wrong-Madness is a decent fright flick with some interesting ideas and neat creatures (such as the tentacled old lady who keeps her husband on a leash), but the film lacks the creepiness and genuine scares found in most Carpenter films. Perhaps its because the movie, with its meta-fictional screenplay that loops back in on itself, begins in the midst of the plague of insanity unleashed by Caine's book. There's no real suspense or even plausible reactions from the characters; Trent stumbles along, never quite believing anything strange is going on, even when people start randomly attacking him with bloody axes. It's not until the end, when Trent gets all bug-eyed crazy and hysterical, that the film is really good.

why you should own it: New Line's DVD edition of Madness doesn't have much in the way of extras-just a commentary from Carpenter and cinematographer Gary Kibbe. It's worth a rent, if only for the clever concept and Niell's goofily maniacal performance near the end.