In the Mouth of Madness 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

In the Mouth of Madness 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 12, 2025

Anyone remember the late if not exactly largely lamented supernatural television series Haven? Stephen King fans if no one else may well recall the show, which had at least tangential tethers to King's oeuvre, as in fact does In the Mouth of Madness, though in a "meta" fashion, in that a missing horror author named Sutter Cane in this story is ostensibly based on King (even if King is mentioned as a "nemesis" of sorts), maybe combined with a touch of enigmas like J.R. Salinger. What perhaps unites In the Mouth of Madness to Haven even more securely than any perceived Stephen King imprimatur or influence is the fact that both stories feature a "haunted" locale where mysterious and often nefarious things take place. Few would probably ever accuse this film's Hobb's End of being a haven in any sense, but that might suggest that Hobb's End actually exists, which, unlike the coastal town in Haven, may be up for debate.

In the Mouth of Madness has had two previous releases on 1080 disc in Region A. Those interested can consult Michael Reuben's In the Mouth of Madness Blu-ray review of a 2013 release by home studio Warner Brothers and/or Stephen Larson's In the Mouth of Madness Blu-ray review of a 2018 release from Shout! Factory. Both reviews list supplements (some of which have been ported over to this release) as well as reactions to the technical presentations.

In the Mouth of Madness 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: This release does not include a 1080 Blu-ray, so these screenshots are taken directly from the 4K UHD disc and downscaled to 1080 and SDR. Color space in particular is therefore not accurate, and I recommend those interested to look at some of the screenshots in both of the above linked reviews of previously released 1080 discs for a probably better representation of the palette. Since this release does not include a 1080 disc, the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

In the Mouth of Madness is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Video with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's perfect bound collector's booklet contains the following information on the presentation:

In the Mouth of Madness has been restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 w2ith 5.1 and stereo audio.

The film is presented in 4K resolution in HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K / 16 bit resolution at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging.

The film was restored in 4K resolution and color graded at Duplitech.

All materials sourced for this new master were made available by Warner Bros. ,br>
QC review was completed by Pixelogic.

I have long been repeating the mantra "different reviewers means different opinions" and that's already on display with regard to the different reactions Michael and Stephen had to the 1080 presentations they reviewed. I'll simply start by saying this 4K presentation corrects the aspect ratio to 2.39:1, which was minimally incorrect on the first Warner Brothers 1080 disc (at 2.40:1) and then kind of weirdly a bit more incorrectly framed at 2.35:1 for the Shout! Factory release. There's frankly not a huge difference in framings based solely on some screenshot comparisons (I don't have the Shout! release in my collection), but why Shout!'s release in particular would be at that aspect ratio when (according to Stephen's review) it was a 4K scan of "original film elements" is up for debate. That probably relatively minor issue aside, this presentation has some absolutely astounding vividness to its palette courtesy of the Dolby Vision / HDR grades. Some of the most gobsmacking moments aren't even the VFX sequences (which frankly can kind of be drowned in blue tones a lot of the time), but instead the brightly lit outdoor material, where gorgeous sunlit vistas pop with incredible energy. These more "naturalistic" moments contrast nicely with some of the more hallucinatory material, which can often be graded pretty agressively. Detail levels are typically excellent, with an understanding that old style composited effects can lead to diminutions in clarity and a spike in grain. Again based solely on screenshots, it looks to me like the timing here is considerably less pink and flushed than on the Shout! release in particular.

In the Mouth of Madness 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

In the Mouth of Madness features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 options. The surround track is often quite aggressive, with both scoring choices (co-composed by Carpenter, of course) and especially some of the sound effects in the hallucinations (?) offering really impressive immersion. There is an almost baroque quality to the layering of the sound design as things become more and more unstable, with both discrete channelization and some sweeping panning effects adding to the more than slightly askew feeling the film increasingly offers. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

In the Mouth of Madness 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: More information on the supplements ported over from previous releases can be found in the above linked reviews. I've marked the new supplements with an asterisk (*).

• Audio Commentaries

John Carpenter & Sandy King Carpenter




John Carpenter & Gary B. Kibbe




Rebekah McKendry & Elric Kane

• Interviews

Sandy King Carpenter* (HD; 21:37)




Jürgen Prochnow* (HD; 6:46)




Julie Carmen (HD; 9:47)




Greg Nicotero (HD; 16:35)

• We Are What He Writes* (HD; 33:25) is a newly produced appreciation of John Carpenter featuring Camille Zaurin, Tom Rutter and George Lea.


• Reality Is Not What It Used to Be* (HD; 11:27) is a visual essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.


• Horror's Hallowed Grounds (HD; 11:31) revisits the film's locations.


• Home Movies from Hobb's End (HD; 12:08) offer behind the scenes footage.


• Vintage Making Of. . . (HD; 5:03)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:47)


• TV Spots (HD; 9:35)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Arrow provides another handsomely designed Limited Edition package. An O ring slip encloses a slipbox that itself encloses a keepcase, perfect bound collector's book and a double sided fold out poster which offers the same two image options as the reversible keepcase sleeve. The booklet offers several really well written and interesting essays by Richard Kadrey, Alexandra West, Josh Hurtado, Guy Adams, Willow Catelyn Maclay and George Daniel Lea.

In the Mouth of Madness 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In the Mouth of Madness has a wonderfully arcane structure that is one part ouroboros and one part Möbius strip. This actually wasn't uniformly praised when it was first released, but to my way of thinking it's one of Carpenter's more audacious efforts, and it certainly repays repeated viewings. Arrow offers secure technical merits and some really appealing supplements. Highly recommended.