Mad God

Entire thing looks like a music video to a cd you weren't allowed to listen to as a kid.

No real characters to invest in but in this case the world was the character so I forgave it. Drenched in grotesque design, darkness and danger, Tippett created really vivid and memorable environments and things to encounter. The plot was shrouded in mystery because of a lack of dialogue, but I still found it mostly engaging as it unraveled, with a few brief moments of tedium. Also broke my heart to see how almost every living thing was treated, so that's where emotion came in.

No doubt a visual spectacle and impressive stop-motion affair from Phil Tippett, but Mad God has essentially zero plot or reason to care for anything that’s going on. Some unknown guy wanders around a machinery place seeing weird stuff, and that’s pretty much it. There’s no dialogue at all. If visual mindfuck-ery stuff and style over substance is your cup of tea, then you might love it. As for me, I needed more than that.

The film took 30 years to complete and that didn't do the project any good as it resulted in something inconsistent. The first 30 minutes are a masterpiece. But what comes after feels more like a filler that doesn't match the atmosphere established earlier.

The animation and design were truly original, disturbing, stunning, and sometimes darkly funny. I felt like I was watching a mental patient's nightmare. My mind ended up wandering quite a bit as the movie found its repetitive groove. I don't want to be too harsh on this nihilistic hallucination, as it has to be in the top-ten most unknowable movies I have ever seen, but I will say that the lack of narrative drive killed it. It was a piece of animated art to hang on the wall more than a movie.

Visually mesmerizing, but the lack of a clear/coherent story ultimately made me loose a bit of interest.

No coherent story or even themes (life and death?) to unify what feels like a series of disjointed vignettes.

If Hieronymus Bosch decided to alchemically combine a Tool music video with Brazil and Canterbury Tales, you might get something close to this. The film boasts a pretty singular aesthetic, but the lack of any semblance of a coherent plot--not to mention its glacial pace--detracts from any sense of profoundity this film always seems on the verge of uncovering. A good film, but ultimately toothless.

(THE DIVING BELL & THE BOMBER FLY)

A virtually plotless fantasy-horror mood piece set in a surreal hellscape presumably ruled by an imaginatively sadistic insane deity. The most frequently recurring character looks like an NCR ranger from the Fallout franchise. Many mediums are utilized, prominently stop-motion and live puppetry. Comic-book gore meets Svankmajer, Brakhage, Cosmatos. Instant cult classic for lovers of the aesthetic; a story would probably have ruined this, so for that do look elsewhere.

OK, so where do I join this church? I assume I'll have to tithe in some form of human effluvia? Fine with me, just as long as I get more of this.

The first fourth minutes or so was an easy 100 in my book: like a living Hieronymus Bosch painting soaked in that special kind of visceral texture only stop motion can create. From thereon it was a bumpy road, with some questionable green screen, poorly aged 90s aesthetics and meandering “plot” pulling it down. But regardless, Mad God is a wonderful endeavor and one of the most unique films I’ve seen in ages.

This is difficult to grasp onto as there is little to no plot, but I was just in awe of the visuals. It is a mix between various nightmares and something related to Eraserhead. There is so much detail on screen that it begs for a rewatch, but I just wish it had more of a coherent story.

Amazing feat that's almost perfect if not for a few parts that just drag the thing down. A must-see for any horror or stop motion fan, the most nightmarish vision of hell put to film yet.

Like walking through a haunted house designed by somebody that's actually been to hell.

It certainly is mad. The ending could have been more satisfying.

This movie is very difficult to rate. It's got a world that's very deep, disturbing, ugly and fascinating. You can see the passion and work that has been put into building it and the monster design is just crazy. I appreciated it for the art and the dedication put into it, and the visuals are crazy, but it's not something I would watch again.

God dam.

"But does it have the goop?!" Yes. Yes it does.

Such a tremendous undertaking, that came out outrageously impressive visually. There is a plot and purpose down there as well, you just need to descend deep enough.

Daaaaaamn!!!!! As a work of pure craft this is incredible, with so many phenomenal designs and unbelievably impressive shots that are also wildly creepy and terrifying, accompanied by fantastic, atmospheric sound design (albeit with way too many crying babies). The overall tone and story (what story there is) isn’t really my thing but it’s still hella cool and a truly impressive achievement from a real legend.

F**k this was s oooo boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lotsofcoolshit+hardtopayattention/followanythingifiwassuppsoedtolol+thenprettymuchdidntpayattentionlol+alotremindedmeofmatrixrealworldmixedwithbioshockkinda-endwascallbacktothecurseddesolationnuclearholocaustetc

This actually needed a plot, I enjoyed the visuals and most of it is a really long music video.

Incredible visuals though

A visual feast for the eyes and a real accomplishment in stop-motion animation. Tons of wonderful grotesque visuals, but I was less into the more juvenile gross-out visuals that the film indulges in semi-frequently, and I think I would have preferred if there was no live-action footage incorporated at all, it always stuck out and looked inferior to the animation work.

That was hard to watch. It was terrifyingly gruesome, but amazing and a great work of art on the other hand. Very difficult to rate a movie without a storyline or clear main characters. The characters were just a perspective on the scary hellish world around them where there is no 'fair' or 'safe', it's all doom and torture. Loved the high quality stop motion and the plague doctor was just amazingly floaty.

I watched this dead sober, and that might have been a mistake. If I had been intoxicated under some kind of substance, I might have been able to write off parts of the movie as a hallucination or false memory. It's godly animation of the most ungodly things imaginable. Disgusting, horrifying... More than any other movie, this made me feel like I was staring into hell. I had nightmares for a straight two weeks after seeing it.

a vision of that 'special place in Hell' everyone talks about

wow. couldn't look away, couldn't stop talking about it or thinking about it. what a feat. this movie is the culmination of the power of an artist's subconscious

Echoes of Maddin, Jodorowsky, Brakhage, Lang in this hellish descent of puppets. Will only get stronger on later revisits with a custom soundtrack.

Totally astounding, run don’t walk, etc. Would love to read anything about the editing/music process.

Looks great, sounds great, just a bit long.

"Mad God" is not for everyone, but for those who appreciate the artistry of stop-motion animation and are willing to endure the unsettling and disturbing visuals, it is a must-see. While the lack of a clear narrative may detract from the overall experience for some, the sheer craftsmanship on display is enough to make this film worth watching.

Phil Tippett is a master of his craft and that craft is stygian, fleshy, wet and goopy stop-motion puppet animation. The closest to this is Jan Svankmajer's fleshy short films like "meat love". Endless cycles of reproduction, exploitation, slavery, destruction, mindlessly missions for mad gods and creation.

I wouldn't want to be Phil Tippett's therapist or run into him in a dark alley, but as artistic achievement this is pretty astounding. There is essentially no plot or dialogue, so go in knowing that, but it's not really like anything I've seen before and it is absolutely worth seeing. Oddly beautiful despite the horrifying content.

Amazing stop-motion animation gives us a glimpse into a Hellscape that's resembles Fallout by way of Lovecraft.

Stupendous.