Mad God

You might not know Phil Tippett by name, but if you've watched science-fiction movies for the past 50-odd years, particularly those with effects courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic, you doubtless know of his contributions to cinema. From Roger Corman to George Lucas to Steven Spielberg, this man has done stop-motion and creature design for some of the greats.

Ever since the production of Robocop 2 and Jurassic Park, there's another movie Tippett has been working on: a passion project that represents 30 years of toil that has, in a sense, been taking place "behind the scenes" of all these better-known productions. It spent a considerable number of years on the shelf too, admittedly, but thanks to the magic of Kickstarter, the project -- as dark and dreary as it may be -- has now seen the light of day.

That film is Mad God, a seminally unsettling and transfixingly dreamlike journey into the depths of... I don't even know where. Combining stop-motion and puppetry (the stuff Tippett is best at) with a bit of live-action and seemingly some CGI during the scenes that were likely produced last, the movie is unrelenting in its barrage of deranged images and so feels longer than it is -- albeit not in a boring way, but rather in the sense that a mere 5 minutes of runtime will be so rich with new, disturbing sights and sounds that they seem like 20.

Indeed, these are some of the most memorable images of this entire movie year. No sequence is quite like the last. They recall the nightmare-inspired short films of David Firth -- with some splashes of SFX-heavy classics like Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, et al. -- and also made me think of Vernon Chatman (of The Shivering Truth and XAVIER: Renegade Angel), whose works I often claim have a method to the madness, as the saying goes. More precisely, I propose that "Rarely has this much madness represented this much of a method".

Yes, as bonkers as this movie is in terms of tone and presentation, I often felt like I "understood" much of what I saw; like there were parallels, symbols, and distorted metaphors for the cruelties inherent to human society (as seems natural for a work of dystopian sci-fi horror). Some images bring to mind the "faceless", disposable nature of human lives in a world of industry and war, while a closing sequence -- inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey -- indicates that this system will continue to be replicated so long as humans are replicated. Something like that, anyhow.

Even when I didn't really understand what I was seeing, I wanted to learn more. I wanted to explore this universe further; to see what other layers there might be and what other creatures might roam beneath the rubble or behind the 1984-esque monitors. I wanted to see just how much deeper into the bleak depths Phil Tippett's imagination could bring us. I mentioned before that each scene has enough content and visual imaginativeness to fill multiple. Yet, this feels like but a glimpse into the world of Mad God.

Between this and the new season of Love, Death & Robots, 2022 is shaping up to be a triumphant year for those who truly make our movies happen through their painstaking VFX work, knack for design, and whatever else. If you're easily upset by violence or disturbing imagery, you probably shouldn't watch this; the cruelty inflicted upon these puppets is more nauseating than most live-action gore I've seen. That being said, anyone who respects cinema and special effects should see it at least once, and those who have lost faith in the art form -- insisting that Hollywood, with its modern creative bankruptcy, represents the totality of film (while refusing to seek out wildly imaginative, impassioned pieces like this) -- should see it twice.

Long story short: I think it's fair to say this is the best movie Phil Tippett has directed since Starship Trooper 2. Log on to Shudder and search for it, you handsome devils. Bring a puke pail.

Written & directed by Phil Tippett, a veteran movie special effects guy who's worked on franchises such as "Star Wars" and "Jurassic Park", this is a walk on a *truly* wild side. It's a stop-motion animated odyssey into a bizarre and freaky netherworld, as a character called "The Assassin" descends into the depths of Hell, clearly with an agenda in mind, as they work from a rapidly deteriorating map.

Even on his worst nights, Tim Burton probably didn't have nightmares quite like *this*. I'll say right now that this visually oriented picture is *not* for all tastes. Some people may feel that the "story" (such as it is) lets them down, with not much to engage them other than the grotesqueries on display. It's definitely an animation film for adults - it's dark, twisted, and very violent at times. It also tells this "story" through a succession of images rather than a conventional narrative. The viewers will notice that there's no real dialogue (as we understand it) to speak of.

This magnum opus for Tippett was *many* years in the making - he began it in 1987, and finally finished it in 2020. While I personally wouldn't call it a great film, it's so *interesting* and *provocative* to look at that it did hold my attention. That said, it's good that this has a relatively brief run time of just over 84 minutes.

I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to people looking for something way out of the ordinary.

Seven out of 10.

If animation cinema is your thing, and dystopian dynamics make you sing, here's a film that you should see, it will fill your heart with glee, a post-apocalyptic nightmare with a sting. You're not too sure what's going on most of the time, in this purgatory world where nothing's fine, but the creatures are amazing, the hellish landscapes quite hair razing (amongst other things), the whole experience is outrageous and sublime.

Some rather talented people have made a grotesquely engrossing animation that leaves a mark, or perhaps a scar, that will linger for some time after and compel you to introduce those you know.

The stop-motion animation in this movie is top notch. From the character design to the set pieces, the filmmakers put together a beautiful, eerie, post-apocalyptic world with an eye for texture and detail in order to build this world and make it a character in itself. The film has no dialogue, so it heavily relies on the creative sets and creature designs to speak for itself.

The entire film primarily follows the journey of the main character traveling through this industrial post-apocalyptic junkyard with a lot of grotesque creatures along the way, and as an audience member you need to be open to take this journey.

The film does move a bit slow, and the lack of dialogue might not be everyone's cup of tea', but it allows time for the movie to breathe and get immersed in the world it's trying to build.

It's gruesome, eerie, yet strangely beautiful, and kind of reminded me of an animated Mad Max.

If you love stop-motion animation, especially if it includes heavy elements of sci-fi - horror you'll want to check this out.

Mad God is one of the most visually and audibly arresting films I have ever seen. To say that the technical craft on display is striking would be a criminal understatement. This is thoroughly the singular vision of a master artist, and I am so glad I got to experience it.

It is chock full of metaphorical depth related to man's relationship to both creation and destruction, and for those who are patient and are in love with the macabre, there will be so much for you to glean from it.

As for myself, I did glean a bit from the film's heavy messages, though the extremely sparse narrative left me wanting a LOT more.

We never stay with a character for longer than 20 minutes, and our journeys with them are always cut short right as they're getting interesting. The lack of any clear stakes, motivations, or goals makes it extremely hard to get invested in, and makes 83 minutes feel like two hours.

It's clear that Phil Tippett used the 30 years of production to really get his visual ideas to be made manifest in gorgeous glory, but I do so wish that he had spent more of that time writing instead.