Toronto

In The Mouth of Madness (1994)

While visiting Toronto, I took advantage to hit up as many locations as possible. I was excited to be able to visit so many places used in John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness.  I wasn't able to get to everything on this trip, but will hopefully be able to get back there soon and finish it up.  Special thanks to David Fleischer's Reel Toronto column in the Torontoist for guidance on some of these locations.

At the end of the opening credit sequence, we end up at the mental hospital.  This is located at the RC Harris Water Treatment Plant at 2701 Queens Street East in Scarborough, Ontario.  This is a fantastic place to visit if you get a chance and has great scenic views.  This was also used as one of the brewery locations in Strange Brew.

The restaurant where Sam Neill is attacked is no longer there and unfortunately, the windows are covered up so I wasn't able to get proper screen-matched shots.  I did the best I could to get the reverse shots where the man comes across the street.  The restaurant was located at 120 Front Street East in Toronto. 

For the publisher's office, I had quite the search on my  hands.  I was able identify a few buildings in the background to begin to find the approximate area of the building.  Fortunately the rooftop still has a garden and water area.  The location is at 14 Duncan Street in Toronto.  I took a chance and stopped by the office to see if I could grab some pictures. Although I was denied at first, the receptionist let me take a few.  You'll be able to see it's been greatly renovated.  There are no longer stairs down to the third level and they have built a new conference room near the front.  

Now we're off to Hobb's End.  They arrive via a covered bridge in West Montrose, Ontario.  The bridge is located at the end of Rivers Edge Drive.

During the next shot, they cross the railroad tracks as they drive into town.  This location is located at Main Street and and Station Lane in Unionville, Ontario.

They actually drive in on the same road in Unionville, but from the opposite direction.   They pull in from Carlton Road and onto Main Street, stopping at 189 Main Street.

After they park and cross the street, Sam looks into this store, located at 190 Main Street.

The point-of-view shots where she sees the dog and running children are accurate.  The area has changed a bit, but you can still spot the distinctive door (now teal green) at 156 Main Street.  The building the children run by appears to be in the middle of renovation.  I tried to get screen-matched shots of the building where the dog runs by, but people were eating and seemed disturbed enough I was taking pictures in their vicinity!

Back to the store at 190 Main Street, now looking in the opposite direction.

We move back up the street for a long shot of looking at the same buildings as they cross the street to leave.

Next is the impressive cathedral used in several scenes in the film. The Cathedral of  the Transfiguration is located at 10350 Woodbine Avenue in Markham, Ontario.  The first few shots attempt to replicate the first moments of the scene of their first visit.  (I did not go into the field to get screen-matched shots, hence the black bars in some pictures.)

Next is the front door of the cathedral.  Different doors were used in the film.

Moving over to the right side of the building is this door with the ornate artwork.

Hobbs End locals drive up as the scene progresses.  As you can see, the area surrounding the cathedral has been heavily built up with apartments and stores.  

The dogs are released around the corner of the building to attack the locals.

A couple quick final shots before we leave the cathedral. 

We return to Unionville, Ontario, for the scene where Sam walks down the street to the pub.  He walks across the courtyard at 202 Main Street.

The next shots are from the scene where he leaves the pub, at 189 Main Street, and ends up getting caught on a loop where he can't escape.

I wasn't able to personally visit the Woodbine Motel on my visit, but included a Google view of it here for reference.  It is located at 7242 Highway 27 in Vaughan, Ontario.

Near the end, we return to the mental asylum, located at 2701 Queen Street East in Scarborough, Ontario.

And finally we end the film at the Eglinton Theatre, located at 400 Eglinton Avenue West in Toronto.

Below is me with producer, Sandy King, and actor, Peter Jason.