Mad God is the second feature from Phil Tippett, the special effects and stop-motion mastermind behind some of cinema’s most memorable creatures, from Star Wars’ Jabba the Hutt to Starship Troopers’ giant insects.
It’s an experimental film that combines some of the stop-motion techniques that Phil Tippett has been working on since RoboCop 2 (1989). But, doubting the usefulness of mechanical visual effects after working on Jurassic Park, he left things hanging.
Twenty years later, the project has resurfaced, especially with the help of nostalgic volunteers from this digital age and crowdfunding started in 2010. Mad God ended in 2020, with Phil Tippett single-handedly completing the film during the pandemic.
This week’s feature film has won over the French press with an average of 4.1/5 (out of 10 critics). It is even the 6th highest rated film since the beginning of 2023 (The Fabelmans, On the Adamant, All the beauty and the bloodshed, Tár and I will always see your faces).
What does the press think?
According to Culturopoing.com:
“A grandiose work that renounces all narrative, betting only on the evocative power of its imagery, is a worthy successor to experimental fantasy.” (Jean-Francois Diekel) 5/5
According to Mad Movies:
“The Mad God honors the expectations placed on such a disproportionate project while at the same time turning them back. It is as much a promise, a requiem, a baptism, a resurrection.” (Francois Cau) 5/5
According to Cahiers du Cinema:
“If here and there, on the surface of the image of a mad god, in the midst of waste towers, pterodactyls and toothed spiders (…) the filmmaker does not look at dark Hollywood in stop-motion, that he transforms the love of art into a teratological epic.” (Jean-Marie Samok) 4/5
According to Widescreen:
“A staggering technical and aesthetic achievement, as well as a netless plunge into unprecedented depths of darkness.” (Matthew Jaborska) 4/5
According to Les Fiches du Cinéma:
“If one gets a little lost in this nightmarish film with an unclear narrative, its extraordinary visual richness impresses.” (Gael Reyre) 4/5
According to Rolling Stone:
“Beyond the opening synopsis, which we quickly forget (an assassin immersed in a world populated by mutant creatures and mad scientists), so much so that the story itself sometimes seems secondary, the phantasmagoria of the world captures and enchants, dark and nightmarish.” Will.” (Xavier Bonnet) 4/5
According to Telerama:
“He is a pioneer of special effects in Hollywood. Phil Tippett delivers the first radical animated film that flirts with horror.” (Augustin Pietroni-Locatelli) 4/5
According to Le Parisien:
“It’s taken more than three decades to bring all of the creator’s obsessions to the screen, which here is more a sequence of breathtaking images than a well-constructed screenplay.” (era) 4/5
According to the first:
“But the technique of the film, which is necessarily ultra-meticulous, actually makes Mad God the work of a true craftsman who thinks and masters his work every second. The result proves that every drop of sweat can last for thirty days, thirty months or thirty years. creates a cosmic pandemic.” (Sylvester Picard) 4/5
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
