"Judge Dredd: Superfiend" takes a short and welcome abstract look at the story of Judge Sydney from his sadistic childhood, to his equally sadistic adulthood and further development into Judge Death.
Superfiend has an underlying premise which is important to understand; it is grotesque in every way. It is based on the idea of the grotesque, and shows this in both its narrative, narrative structure and animation style. Its point is less to show an in depth look at the story of Judge Death from a perspective of lore, and more to show the universe of Dredd in a style that fits the horrid nature of the comics. The story of Judge Sydney provides a perfectly morbid backdrop for exploring the disgusting nature of 2000 AD in a way only animation can truly accomplish, showing the development of an entity that juxtaposes Judge Dredd as a view of chaos not order.
This harbours an interesting middle ground between fan development and official lore, and the nature of amateur film and professional film, as well as an interesting middle ground for Dredd fans, providing a perspective of Judge Death in, as stated, an artistic way, allowing the audience to grow a mix of hatred and admiration for this villain-protagonist, and reflecting well how the comics wanted Death to be seen. Its interesting to see what, in the naturally abominable universe of Dredd, is considered truly evil, and I feel that this piece does a good job in showing the nature of Death through its visual and narrative style.
I would say, however, that scenes are overly short and lack pacing, leading to a bit of a jittery overall narrative. Some of the animation can, at times, clearly be seen as amateur and while it is certainly enjoyable, I would desperately like it to be longer. It took me a while to understand what was happening at some parts, as well as questioning the appearance of some characters which are not at all explained. It confused me more than anything on the first viewing, and I found that to fully appreciate the story, you need to have some preconceived knowledge of the lore of Judge Death. In this way, I feel it does let down the average casual viewer, and is far more directed at those who already enjoy the universe of Judge Dredd, designed more to give them a new perspective, rather than an in depth story.
