One the best horror movies of the year is now available to stream on Shudder. Mad God, a surreal stop-motion animated movie from Star Wars effects icon Phil Tippett, has finally become widely available to anyone who’d like to watch it.
A project 30 years in the making, describing Mad God is difficult. We follow a mysterious called The Assassin, who descends into some dystopian civilisation that seems to resemble our own, until bizarre creatures make it clear this is not quite the Earth we know. The Assassin’s journey takes him through increasingly strange and awe-inspiring set-pieces, from mutated beasts tearing each other apart to gigantic, capitalist factories.
Despite being so grim, it’s also stunning, a filmmaking master proving why he’s been tapped to contribute to some of the greatest science fiction movies of all time. In my Mad God review from the Edinburgh Film Festival, I wrote: “For those who connect with it, Mad God may seem like an answer to their prayers. Everyone else can enjoy the desolation.”
If Tippett’s name isn’t familiar to you, his work is. He’s been integral to the effects departments in the likes of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Starship, Troopers, RoboCop, and many more.
Mad God was a true labour of love, started decades ago. A crowdfunding campaign was launched in 2013 to get more of it finished, and gradually, the fnished feature has reached general audiences. It enjoyed a lap of film festivals in 2021, where critical consensus was high.
Now you can see what all the fuss is about it. Mad God is on Shudder now.