Visual FX Legend Phil Tippett's Experimental Feature Mad God Is Coming To Shudder

Shudder may not have every horror movie you want to watch when you want to watch it, but you can't deny that the horror streaming service has a keen eye when it comes to picking up exclusive streaming rights. From the childhood bleakness of "Tigers Are Not Afraid" to the heavy metal surrealism of "Mandy" or the pure delightful comedy of "One Cut of the Dead," there's a lot of gold in them hills. And it looks like they're not done sifting for gems yet.

According to Deadline, Shudder has recently acquired the rights to Phil Tippett's "Mad God," a thoroughly experimental stop motion film that our official /Film review described as 1. One of the weirdest movies ever made and 2. That "'Mad God' will be what flashes before my eyes as I'm lying on my deathbed and only then will I maybe actually comprehend the brilliance behind this waking fever dream." You might want to pencil in your screening of this movie in advance, because it sounds like the kind of experience that makes you less normal than usual for a little while (like when I went to a friend's birthday party after watching "Compliance.")

So what is the madness behind "Mad God"? I'm glad you asked, but I'm also concerned I can't give you the answer you're looking for because this movie might just be beyond our mutual understanding of language, symbols, and classical or modern story arcs. Anyway! The film, which is a casual 30 years in the making, follows a human-esque assassin wearing a gas mask and a black leather trench coat who descends into a horror hellscape unlike one you've ever seen or experienced (hopefully) that's also crawling with a lifetime'ss worth of monsters and filled to the brim with violence. That's it! Very little is said during the movie. This is truly all we know or understand.

At this point, I should also mention that even if you don't know Tippett's name or what he's about (or what his movie is about), you certainly know his work. He's a double Academy Award winner behind the animation and effects of movies like "Star Wars," "Jurassic Park," "Starship Troopers," and "RoboCop." The man knows what he's doing when it comes to making a visually engrossing movie, and he's certainly done it here.

Before "Mad God" burrows into Shudder on June 16, 2022, it'll enjoy a limited theatrical release. While I'm sure this movies hits in an even deeper and wilder way on the big screen, at least we can all rest easy known that it's madness will be streamable. After all, this might be the kind of movie you want to watch in a comforting space.