Based on the trailer and its near-mythical status as a project Oscar-winning animator and special effects supervisor Phil Tippett has been working on for 30 years. This movie is much more frightening than you thought.
Mad God is mostly stop- motion animation blended with live-action, and it plays out across intricately detailed, precisely lit sets and characters that showcase a breathtaking range of texture and proportions. The movie begins with a threatening passage from Leviticus, which sets the tone for the brutal, monster-populated world it will plunge us into. Mad God isn't going to deliver a lot of plot if you're looking for it, and it's very experimental in its narrative approach.
There is a story that shapes this visual feast. We meet the helmet-clad and gas-masked "Assassin" early on, and he becomes a sort of guide through Mad God's multi-tiered realm. He carries a map that starts to fall away each time he opens it, and a bomb, at a certain point, it becomes clear he is aiming to blast this terrible, ruined place to its foundations. The mission encounters some difficulties, and that is when we meet some of Mad God's other characters, including "the Surgeon" and "the Nurse." Body horror rendered in gory, glistening stop-motion animation, with some weird twists, but still won't be ready for? Mad God has something for you to see. Alex Cox, best-known for directing cult movies Repo Man and Sid and Nancy, is the actor who portrays the new assassin in the movie.
As gross as it is, the visual aspects of Mad God are the main reason to see it. It took 30 years for it to be completed. Mad God's bleak story and almost overwhelming vibe of dread can make it feel relentless, but it is an artistic achievement. It reminds us that animation is more than just a way to entertain kids; it is an art form as well. You definitely want to keep the scariest kids away from this one.
Shudder has Mad God on stream.
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