'Mad God' is less than ninety minutes long, but getting through it still feels like an ordeal. The film is the passion project of special effects expert Phil Tippett and was (sort of) in development for over thirty years, the director abandoning and returning to it several times before completion. Apparently, he suffered a nervous breakdown while filming, 'Mad God' is a film that has been stubbornly forced onto the screen.
It's almost entirely stop-motion and essentially, it's a vision of hell. There's not much of a narrative, but it starts with a gas-masked soldier descending from the skies through anti-aircraft fire into a desolate, nightmarish landscape. His craft goes down and down and then down some more, finally touching the ground in the centre of a crossroads. With only a crumbling map and a briefcase, the silent protagonist walks out into the wasteland, encountering all manner of horrors on his way, and then things start to get really weird.
To call 'Mad God' bleak is an understatement. The story is so threadbare that the film essentially turns into a mood piece. With no plot to hold onto, the viewer becomes a sightseer into an unforgiving world where grotesqueries wait around every corner. The denizens of this world seem to exist only to suffer or inflict suffering, and they vomit, defecate, and bleed on one another constantly. Grue splatters against walls and bodies and blood spills in rivers. There is no sunlight, writhing monsters wail like bubbies, and witch doctors in plague masks float ethereally from one horror to the next.
It's part David Lynch, part HR Giger, and part Hieronymous Bosch and frankly, it's as disgusting as it is unhinged. The stop motion only adds to the creepiness and thanks to the excellent sound/music production, it's weirdly enthralling. 'Mad God' is an appropriate title, this movie feels like it was made by people who have stared into the abyss for too long.
This does mean that it's not going to be for everyone. It's easy to see how it could be interpreted as a stop-motion effects showreel rather than a "proper film." The unrelenting darkness and cruelty hides a serious intellect, but it could be easily dismissed as being edgy for the sake of it.
Sit back and allow the darkness to envelop you though and 'Mad God' is impressive. It's going to have its detractors and it is a shame that the whole thing isn't animated, there's a few live-action sequences that jar with the rest of the film, but if you're willing to embrace a wordless, experimental horror, you'll find a lot to admire. If there really is a hell, it probably looks like this.
Also, keep an eye out for Robbie The Robot and an ED-209.
It's almost entirely stop-motion and essentially, it's a vision of hell. There's not much of a narrative, but it starts with a gas-masked soldier descending from the skies through anti-aircraft fire into a desolate, nightmarish landscape. His craft goes down and down and then down some more, finally touching the ground in the centre of a crossroads. With only a crumbling map and a briefcase, the silent protagonist walks out into the wasteland, encountering all manner of horrors on his way, and then things start to get really weird.
To call 'Mad God' bleak is an understatement. The story is so threadbare that the film essentially turns into a mood piece. With no plot to hold onto, the viewer becomes a sightseer into an unforgiving world where grotesqueries wait around every corner. The denizens of this world seem to exist only to suffer or inflict suffering, and they vomit, defecate, and bleed on one another constantly. Grue splatters against walls and bodies and blood spills in rivers. There is no sunlight, writhing monsters wail like bubbies, and witch doctors in plague masks float ethereally from one horror to the next.
It's part David Lynch, part HR Giger, and part Hieronymous Bosch and frankly, it's as disgusting as it is unhinged. The stop motion only adds to the creepiness and thanks to the excellent sound/music production, it's weirdly enthralling. 'Mad God' is an appropriate title, this movie feels like it was made by people who have stared into the abyss for too long.
This does mean that it's not going to be for everyone. It's easy to see how it could be interpreted as a stop-motion effects showreel rather than a "proper film." The unrelenting darkness and cruelty hides a serious intellect, but it could be easily dismissed as being edgy for the sake of it.
Sit back and allow the darkness to envelop you though and 'Mad God' is impressive. It's going to have its detractors and it is a shame that the whole thing isn't animated, there's a few live-action sequences that jar with the rest of the film, but if you're willing to embrace a wordless, experimental horror, you'll find a lot to admire. If there really is a hell, it probably looks like this.
Also, keep an eye out for Robbie The Robot and an ED-209.