Sci-animated horror film Mad God coming to Shudder in June

Horror streaming platform Shudder has announced yet another acquisition, which will begin streaming in June. Mad God was written, directed and produced by Phil Tippett, the visionary behind films such as Starship Troopers, RoboCop, Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Tippett is the founder of Tippett Studio, and is an Oscar and Emmy Award winning special effects supervisor and stop-motion animator. Those are pretty lofty credentials, and a look at the images for Mad God shows some pretty eye-opening effects.

Shudder describes Mad God as “an experimental animated film set in a world of monsters, mad scientists and war pigs.” The plot is explained as a visually arresting tale set in an old, ruined cityscape attended by zombie-like guards. When The Assassin shows up, he must make his way through the twisting maze of the city, encountering bizarre beings and off-putting landscapes.

The new Shudder film was 30 years in the making, and combines intricate miniature sets, live-action, stop-motion animation and other breathtaking effects, all bringing Tippett’s vision to life.

Tippett began filming Mad God while he was working on RoboCop 2, but filming ceased when he started to believe that stop-motion animation was no longer relevant. Twenty years later, he started working on it again, with the first two-thirds of the film funded in part through Kickstarter donations.

Shudder acquired Mad God after its debut at 2021’s 74th Locamo Film Festival.

While on the Film Festival circuit, Mad God won multiple awards, including Fantasia’s Most Groundbreaking Film award, Best Film and Best Visual Effects at Sitges Film Festival, and Best Film at Trieste Science+Fiction Festival.

If you are still in doubt about Phil Tippett‘s abilities, just know that his work has been praised by the likes of Steven Spielberg, LucasFilm President Kathy Kennedy and Paul Verhooven.

Mad God will premiere on Shudder on Thursday, June 16.

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