FilmSnobReviews

Title: Mad God
MPAA Rating: Not Yet Rated
Director: Phil Tippett
Starring: Alex Cox, Niketa Roman, Satish Ratakonda, Harper Taylor
Runtime: 1hr 23 mins

What It Is: A stop-motion / live-action epic graphic nightmare decades in the making, imagined, created, and animated by special effects god Phil Tippett (Jurassic Park, Robocop, Starship Troopers, Star Wars). A winding and delirious visual tale following a mysterious character called The Assassin, as they traverse a myriad of dark, violent, and fantastical worlds on a punishing quest to nowhere.

What We Think: In short, my feelings could be summed up by this video, otherwise, we have a lot to discuss for what is one of the most punishing and titillating surreal film experiences I’ve had to bear.

To preface, the trailer does not, will not, and should not come close to anything the movie actually entails, or should I say entrails. Thus, dear readers and Snobs, I do need to give you fair warning before you might decide to give this one a watch. I cannot tell you all of the unimaginable horrors Mad God has in store for you, like…. literally. I couldn’t even have a place to start when it comes to the hyperviolent and disturbing imagery, because it doesn’t even stop there.

Is this the best-worst nightmare fuel you’ve probably ever seen? Yes–and I have witnessed a LOT of shit portrayed in cinema. Is this also akin to any number of Heironymous Bosch or Zdzisław Beksiński paintings in which grotesque dystopian societies and eldritch ecosystems feed off of the endless cycle of machines and lifeforms eating, torturing, and shitting each other out in nonstop diverse Hellscapes evoking an eternal sense of hopelessness and dread? Yep. If I could list any other stomach-churning works I’ve witnessed that come anywhere near close or could help paint the severity even a little, I would have to recall those such as Gozu (2003), P.T. (2015), the Silent Hill games, Dead Man’s Letters, Bobby Yeah, Hunger (1974), Alien, and Midori (1992). As far as the level of disturbing imagery, or imagery period, it’s really hard to say anything really comes close. Never have I seen so much horrifying shit in one place. I went in expecting a dark fantasy epic, and well…. received a bile-stained film made with painstakingly intricate practicals, design, and puppetry that made me feel at least a little bit ill, a little bit overwhelmed, and a lot uncomfy. It’s a feast for the eyes you can’t help but swallow (and gag, some).

The absolute scope of which evil, torture, death, nihilism, and tyranny are portrayed in this amount of time that spans across civilizations and societies is difficult to comprehend, at least on my first viewing. Calling it morbid is a cute way of putting it–you very much get the sense that this world is built by a “Mad God” and that existence is only pain. Small moments land to indicate the worst is around the corner and train you to fear what’s next to come because, in this world, things can only get worse. The big punch-packing moments would, in short, result in my jaw hanging unhinged and hands over my face laughing or groaning uncomfortably. And yet, the delivery of all the horridness masterfully balances a sense of real sadness, melancholy, curiosity, introspection, and even playfulness.

If you can allow yourself to handle these sort of works, absolutely watch this and add it to your collection of atmospheric God-mode treasures. There’s so much to dive into and so much that combines everything that we love about iconic filmmaking. This isn’t your average spooky torture porn or sneaky subversive psychological horror, this is an unbelievable and layered work of art that will certainly be making history, especially considering how much history it took to make it. I can’t believe something like this really exists, and that excites me. Lovers of art and formative horror will find themselves reminded of why exactly they feared and admired the Giger-aesthetic of Alien, wars between monsters, the weight of death and loneliness, and how it’s barely perceived in the forever that is time… I could go on. I could literally talk about this film for hours. I cannot wait to put myself through it again, hopefully, Tippett will be able to continue his reign of demented stories and imagery for years to come, and if not, at least this gem exists with us now. I have never had so much respect for something that had me so troubled and disoriented. This was built on blood, sweat, tears, vomit, and crowdfunding, and I am none the more grateful.

Our Grade: A++, One of the best films if not THE best film I’ve seen all year, far too good and vulgar for the Academy to ever acknowledge. It’s someone’s Tool-music-video DMT PCP nightmare with Alice in Wonderland syndrome; it makes you uncomfortable by many means and hypnotizes you by its endless creativity, all on its own terms. The settings are painstakingly, jaw-droppingly detailed, yet arrive at a breakneck pace, creatures and mutants and worlds seem to function by their own rules of punishment and savagery, while time and space are also motivated as characters meant only to expand and destroy. It literally feels like a descent into Hell, without any consolation that there is ever any end to it. In my viewing experience, I was winded by a certain point and paused the film only to be confronted by the fact that I was only halfway through the movie. And I was happy to sign up for another torturous half: this experience was as challenging as it was entertaining and as disgusting as gorgeous it was to view.

And, last thing: do NOT watch this high, at least for your first viewing. I beg of you. You will not be okay.