Mad God (2022) Directed by Phil Tippett
7D
Well,
Mad God is just about the damndest thing I have ever seen. Imagine an animated nightmare in which the talents of David Lynch, Guy Madden, Ray Harryhausen, Tim Burton, Jim Henson, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Ralph Steadman, and, especially, Hieronymous Bosch all collaborated with the deliberate intention to blow your mind while simultaneously giving you the worst acid trip that you ever imagined—and that will only give you a tiny hint of what this movie is like to experience. As for the plot, I’m not even going to try…maybe just call it an incredibly detailed trip through a hell that goes beyond what even Satan might come up with.
Animator Phil Tippett, seemingly a big name in the field*, has spent thirty years putting this thing together. To quote from
Rotten Tomatoes: “Every set, creature, and effigy in this macabre masterpiece is hand-crafted and painstakingly animated using traditional stop-motion techniques.” Here’s some other comments from
RT:
Randy Myers,
San Jose Mercury News: “It’s a striking, unsettling vision that defies narrative norms as it tugs you into the cesspool depths. It’s unlike much anything else you’ll ever see, and you might just want to un-see it afterward.”
Noel Murray,
Los Angeles Times: “For animation and sci-fi fans with strong stomachs and adventurous tastes... “Mad God” is a must. There’s never been a movie quite like it: an unflinching tour through the darkest recesses of a brilliant artist’s mind.”
James Croot,
Stuff: “You could argue there’s very little plot, but when things fail to go as expected and the horrors and brutality then ramped up, it’s hard not to be compelled by what you’re witnessing, even if it is while wincing and furtively peeking between your fingers.”
Noah Berlatsky,
Wealth of Geeks: “Lurking beneath the steampunk slime and gothic murk is a decidedly exhilarating exercise in visceral, boisterously unrestrained creativity. This is a weird vision that revels in its ability to realize every snaggle-tooth and rolling eyeball.”
Those reactions should give you some idea of what you are getting yourself into.
* Looked him up. He's been a primary contributor to a lot of major franchises:
Star Wars, Indiana Jones, RoboCop, Starship Troopers, Howard the Duck, Jurassic Park, and
The Twilight Saga. Hard to imagine a more impressive resume.
Best of '22
1) Hit the Road, P. Panahi, Iran
2) Everything Everywhere All at Once, Kwan and Scheinert, US
3) Mad God, Tippet, US
4) Mr Kaufmann and His Class, Speth, Germany (documentary)
5) Everything Went Fine, Ozun, France
6) Turning Red, Shi, US
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