I’m a big fan of stop-motion animation. It may be antiquated as an animation technique when compared to what computers can do in movies today. It’s also an animation method that has stood the test of time better than any other style when considering that its earliest incarnations still look good, whereas computer-generated special effects from the 1980s and ‘90s look terrible. Watching the original King Kong from the 1930s is still impressive every time I see it, especially when you consider they used techniques that have essentially been forgotten over time. It’s an art form that is labor-intensive and difficult, but when it’s pulled off well, it’s amazing to see. It naturally has an uncanny effect other animation methods don’t have, which makes it work well for the horror genre. That’s why my ears perk up with anything in regards to a relatively recent horror movie that uses stop-motion to any degree, let alone one that focuses on it. A friend of mine informed me of Phil Tippett’s Mad God a year ago, and I was only just recently able to get onto Shudder to see it for myself.

Pros

Animation is incredible
Gruesome and horrific imagery that makes the movie unsettling throughout the whole experience
Cool creature designs

Cons

Abstract and almost nonexistent plot

Plot & Thoughts

Mad God does not really have a plot. If it does, I didn’t pick up the exact messages or intricacies embedded within it. The piece of inspiration I recognized in watching Mad God was the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, as the overall experience is very similar to a person traversing the different layers of hell. The movie follows a masked individual who appears to be tasked with an important and dangerous mission. He’s lowered into a hostile environment in a strange pod device, which he promptly leaves behind and begins going down various staircases, trap doors, and dark shafts. It’s mostly a series of different scenes in which this nameless adventurer moves from one gruesome destination to another. What he encounters on his journey varies from mechanical monstrosities to malevolent creatures with sadistic tastes.

Without much of a plot, each scene feels like part of a horror slideshow from the minds of the film’s creators. I get the impression a fair amount of this movie was story-boarded with the question: “Wouldn’t it be cool and creepy if ____ happened?” As the mysterious wanderer makes his way through each new area of hell, he encounters things that look like they fell out of a Hellraiser movie or an H.R. Giger art book. It’s very striking, and the animation helps sell the unsettling nature of each scene.

I have mixed feelings about Mad God. On the one hand, I was awe-struck several times by how amazing the animation looked. There were some instances in which I couldn’t figure out how the animators accomplished what they did. The creature designs are wild, including some that only appear on-screen for a few frames. The sound effects are also impressive with some creepy noises from the various monsters. If you are a fan of stop-motion animation and the creepy way it can work well with horror, Mad God is a must-see.

On the other hand, there’s no connective through-line for the movie to follow. There’s no text or dialogue to guide you through the experience, so you just have to go along with the series of uncomfortable images and scenarios to formulate the “story” in your own head based on what you see. It works fine in a short film—or in a particular music video about lamenting sobriety—because you can tell a compelling enough story where you don’t need that many details to get the point across. A full-length movie, however, is a bit of a stretch. When something takes up so much of our time, we expect a little more complexity and plot to keep us invested. At 83 minutes, Mad God starts to wear out its welcome, despite being shorter than most modern movies.

If I were to cut up different sections from the movie and put metal music over it, I think it would be perfectly fine. I think Mad God is also the perfect movie you could put on a loop on the T.V. during a Halloween party, muted and in the background. However, I don’t think it’s a movie you can sit down to watch and really enjoy unless you have an affinity towards the craft of stop-motion to carry your interest.

TL;DR

Mad God is an impressive spectacle in the art of stop-motion that is such a labor-intensive animation style that it only still exists thanks to the most passionate creators who prefer it. For those who enjoy that style of animation or have a curiosity for the style, Mad God has a lot to offer in its technique, polish, and creature designs. However, its lack of plot makes it difficult to recommend to any average horror fan. It’s not for everyone.

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