Sean Parker
A new trailer for Phil Tippett’s Mad God has dropped ahead of its premiere on Shudder next month. Beginning the process in 1987, this stop-motion animated horror film features an underground world of monsters, mad scientists, and war pigs, painstakingly hand-crafted over the last thirty years. With dozens of unique puppets and environments, a team of more than sixty artists helped bring Mad God to life, and the result is gorgeous! There are even a few early moments in the trailer where the animation is almost indistinguishable from a live-action film. Mad God makes The Nightmare Before Christmas look like a fond, far-away memory of what is possible in the medium.
The Mad God trailer showcases horror of all kinds, filled with scenes of a desolate wasteland, war machines, and grotesque monsters. Following a character known only as The Assassin, the audience journeys through a subterranean labyrinth of surreal landscapes, cursed inhabitants, and things from beyond “forged from the most primordial horrors of the subconscious mind,” according to the press release. Where The Assassin is headed, or who’s facing the barrel of his gun, isn’t clear. But the experience looks incredible.
As the trailer says, Phil Tippett is a visual effects genius, winning multiple awards for his achievements on films like Return of the Jedi, Jurassic Park, and Starship Troopers, and Mad God is already sharing similar success. The film has already been lauded by Stiges, where it won Best Special Effects and the Jose Luis Guarner Critic’s Award for Best Film, the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival Nocturno Nuove Visioni Best Film Award, and Fantasia’s Audience Award for Most Groundbreaking Film.
Featuring the voice talents of acclaimed cult director Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid and Nancy) among a list of A-list visual effects workers lending their voices, Mad God currently sits at 93% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Don’t miss this one; it looks like something extraordinary.
Phil Tippett’s Mad God premieres exclusively on Shudder on June 16.
