We’ve been eagerly awaiting more glimpses of Mad God, Tippett Studios founder Phil Tippett’s stop-motion animated film, a near-mythical project given it took the creator and his team 30 years to complete. A new trailer has arrived ahead of the film’s Shudder debut, and it is freaky. In a good way.
Mad God is written, directed, and produced by the Oscar and Emmy-winning Tippett, a pioneer in the fields of special effects and stop-motion animation (a field he was inspired to enter by the great Ray Harryhausen); his credits include RoboCop, Starship Troopers, Jurassic Park, and the original Star Wars trilogy. But it’s clear Mad God is a work carved from a special place in his highly creative imagination. Here’s a full synopsis, courtesy of Shudder: “Mad God is an experimental animated film set in a world of monsters, mad scientists, and war pigs. A corroded diving bell descends amidst a ruined city, settling down upon an ominous fortress guarded by zombie-like sentries. The Assassin emerges to explore a labyrinth of bizarre, desolate landscapes inhabited by freakish denizens. Through unexpected twists and turns, he experiences an evolution beyond his wildest comprehension. A labour of love that has taken 30 years to complete, Mad God combines live-action and stop-motion, miniature sets and other innovative techniques to bring Tippett’s wholly unique and grotesquely beautiful vision to life.”
Mad God has enjoyed a fruitful festival run (winning prizes at the Fantasia International Festival, the Sitges Film Festival, and the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival; it also screened at the Locarno Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Fantasia International Film Festival, the Oldenburg International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, and Beyond Fest)—but before long the fiends at home can behold its delights: it arrives June 16 on Shudder.
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