Review: Mad God
Blu-ray: Mad God (2021)
30 years in the making and painstakingly put together frame by frame by visual effects maestro Phil Tippett, Mad God is a visual and aural assault on the senses that keeps you wondering just what the hell is going to happen from minute to minute…and anything can happen in this (make sure to listen to my interview show with Phil where he’ll tease about Trump and Putin having sex in the movie, as well as how researching internet porn led to them experimenting with hotdogs falling out of buns).
Telling the tale of ‘The Assassin’ who must traverse through a nightmare underground world of torture, ruins, monsters, and so much more, this stop motion epic has to been seen multiple times to even begin to absorb everything that is happening onscreen. The level of detail is incredible, from the character designs, through to the many sets and the lighting of them, all of which exude an air of menace and impending doom which is palpable while watching it all play out before you.
The animation is incredible, giving a fluidity of movement which astonished me on more than one occasion…there is no way that I could have the patience (or skill) to create anything near as good as this.
The practical effects and characters have a far more lifelike feel to them than anything cgi could create, which leads to a more emotional punch when things begin to get bloody (and things get very bloody) as I found myself actually empathising with characters here, wanting them to escape the torturous underworld in which they were trapped.
Those looking for a traditional 3 act structure with a defined narrative flow are going to be disappointed (possibly confused too), as Mad God treads many grimy paths before reaching its end, all of them intertwined via various strands that take the viewer into darkened corners which are often jolting and unexpected.
This is a movie to take in like a fine wine, appreciating and enjoying each little sip of it, knowing that you’re going to have to taste it again and again to get the full body of it…then still finding nuances that you hadn’t noticed before when you dip into again in the future.
The special features include an unmissable commentary track by Phil Tippett and Guillermo del Toro which adds so many more layers to the movie too.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Commentary with Phil Tippett and Guillermo del Toro
- Cast & Crew Commentary
- Interview with Mad God Writer/Director Phil Tippett
- Mad God Influences & Inspirations
- Maya Tippett’s “The Making of Mad God”
- Maya Tippett’s “Worse Than the Demon”
- Academy of Art University & Mad God
- Behind the Scenes Montage
- Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
Review by Dave from a disc kindly supplied by Acorn Media International via Aim Publicity.