Mad God (2022)

Streaming Service: Shudder
Movie Name/Year: Mad God (2022)
Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Horror
Length:  1h 23min
Rating: Unrated
Production/Distribution: Tippett Studio, Shudder
Director: Phil Tippett
Writers: Phil Tippett
Actors: Alex Cox, Niketa Roman, Satish Ratakonda, Harper Taylor, Brynn Taylor
 
IMDb Blurb: A corroded diving bell descends amidst a ruined city and the Assassin emerges from it to explore a labyrinth of bizarre landscapes inhabited by freakish denizens.

 
Selina’s Point of View:
Do not go into Mad God thinking it’s a typical horror. Horrors push the limits of fear. Mad God pushes the limits of disgust and the disturbing.
 
I don’t entirely know what I was expecting. I knew there was not going to be any discernible dialogue, and that it was more of a showcase of visual arts, but I still didn’t fully expect something this experimental. Normally, I don’t do well with that kind of thing, but this was leagues above anything else.
 
If anything, I’d compare the horrific visuals of Mad God to the feel of a David Cronenberg (The Fly, Crimes of the Future, eXistenZ) film before anything else. Though, there were some that also brought to mind the video game Little Nightmares (2017). Both things are sincere compliments coming from me.

 
It was a piece of extremely disturbing artwork. I think that’s the best way to describe the experience of watching Mad God. It’s less like sitting down to a basic movie and more like taking a walking tour of a single piece of renaissance artwork depicting hell. “The Harrowing of Hell” by Jacob van Swanenburg comes to mind.
 
Phil Tippett (Jurassic Park, Starship Troopers, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi) showed off his absolutely incredible talent in ways no one else could, and he created a masterpiece.
 
It’s not the kind of thing that would be for everyone, not even every horror film buff. For people willing to test their limits, however, Mad God is a must-see. 

 
Cat’s Point of View:
It’s not every day that you hear about an animation genius and pioneer working 30 years on their magnum opus. That very passion project, which had survived a slow churn on the backburner while he worked in his career, now had a scheduled release. This was something that firmly caught our attention.
 
From the outset, the trailer for Mad God promised a trippy experience through a stop-motion animated landscape of horrors. Phil Tippett (RoboCop, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation) seriously outdid himself. This cinematic offering was almost the opposite of what I would have expected from the man behind the visual effects of some of my most beloved movies of all time.
 
The level of darkness explored within this feature was, frankly, alarming. Part of me was torn between wanting someone to perform a wellness check on Tippett and the realization that Mad God was far more than its shocking surface.
 
We all have inner demons that manifest in different ways. It’s often the case with creative souls. H. R. Giger had to create his artwork to purge his nightmares. In this case, Tippett was giving us some social commentary. My own curiosity drove me to hunt down whatever information was out there that spoke to the answer for the burning question – where did this come from? I think the HorrorBuzz interview captured a great explanation: he watched the news.

 
Regardless of its origins, Mad God played out like a hellish fever dream of a brutal and cruel nightmare world. It was a meticulously crafted literal descent into depraved madness. As an animated horror movie, Mad God undeniably represented the genre well. At the same time, I felt like I needed a shower after I finished watching. I also had some really crazy dreams. I digress…
 
While Mad God was a genre masterpiece, I would be remiss if there weren’t a few disclaimers mentioned.
 
Any who does not react well to graphic body horror might want to heavily consider their tolerance levels before viewing this production. Honestly, anyone that doesn’t do well with gore might want to give Mad God a pass. I generally stomach these things fairly well and felt myself going a bit green at a few points and experienced a few gagging moments. Mad God is not for the faint of heart or constitution.
 
While I laud the work, creativity, and craftsmanship poured into this movie, Mad God wouldn’t be my average choice for entertainment. I will likely never watch it again intentionally, however, it will haunt me forever with its layered messages and ghastly visuals. 

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

 
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 88%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –None
Metascore – 70%
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 7.0/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5

Trust the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – R
 
Movie Trailer:

'Tis the Season - Christmas Crossfire (2020)

 

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Christmas Crossfire (2020)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Length:  105 minutes
Rating: TV-MA
Production/Distribution: DCM Productions, Boje Buck Produktion, DCM Film Distribution, Netflix
Director: Detlev Buck
Writers: Martin Behnke, Detlev Buck
Actors: Alli Neumann, Anika Mauer, Bernd Hölscher, Dela Dabulamanzi, Detlev Buck, Frederic Linkemann, Jakob Schmidt, Karsten Mielke, Kostja Ullmann, Malte Thomsen, Merlin Rose, Peter Kurth, Roman Schomburg, Sascha Alexander Gersak, Steffen Scheumann, Sophia Thomalla
 
IMDb Blurb: A man foils an attempted murder, then flees the crew of would-be killers along with their intended target as a woman he's just met tries to find him.

 
Cat’s Point of View:
Most of us have run across the social media game that asks you to describe a movie badly in a sentence or two. Sometimes I feel like the person in charge of writing movie blurbs for Netflix is really trying to play that game with subscribers. While accurate, the description given for Christmas Crossfire was horrible. Unfortunately, IMDb and other sites ran with the Netflix version so I can’t offer much better.
 
One interesting thing to note about this German film is that its original title of Wir Können Nicht Anders roughly translates to “We Can’t Help It.” I think I like the English title better to describe the movie, but the original fits the story…generally.

 
When you get down to brass tacks, Christmas Crossfire was fairly decent. I had a few laughs with the wry humor, there was decent suspense in the thrill department, and I didn’t see the ending coming. There were a couple triggery bits here and there, however. Overall, I was believing what the production was selling. The chemistry between the protagonist couple was believable, and the story – while a little out there – was plausible. It was fairly easy to suspend my disbelief – especially while in a foreign language and subtitle situation. (Like the linked trailer shows, it does have an English dub, but the disconnect between words and mouth movements was bothering me so I watched it in German.)
 
As the title suggests, Christmas Crossfire is, in fact, a Christmas movie. The setting is squarely on the holiday, with lights and decorations to boot. The premise that gets this poor couple into their predicament is that the newly minted pairing decides to go to the girl’s home village for festivities. I can assure you, however, that Christmas Crossfire is nothing like what you’d find on Hallmark this year.  The ending, in fact, goes from shocking straight to strange.

 
I have a small confession to make. I watched most of this movie last year when it was released in 2020. I was intrigued by the trailer during our Top 20 research for last December, and in boredom played it one night. I was interrupted ¾ of the way through, though, so I hadn’t seen the ending before. I’m not sorry for watching a second time. I’m rather glad to get some closure for the escapades on screen.
 
If you’re looking for more standard Christmas movie fare, Christmas Crossfire might not be for you. However, if you like crime thrillers, this offbeat comedy might be a refreshing break from the hustle and bustle of the season – especially as we get into the week of the big day itself. 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 21%
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 4.8/10
 
Trust the Dice: Parental Guidance Rating – R
 
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3/5
 
Movie Trailer:

False Positive (2021)

Streaming Services: Hulu

Movie Name/Year: False Positive (2021)
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Length: 92 minutes
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: A24, Hulu
Director: John Lee
Writer: Ilana Glazer, John Lee
Actors: Ilana Glazer, Justin Theroux, Gretchen Mol, Sabina Gadecki, Pierce Brosnan, Josh Hamilton, Sophia Bush, Nils Lawton, Sullivan Jones, James Cusati-Moyer, Lucy Walters, Jaygee Macapugay, Zainab Jah
 
Blurb from IMDb: As if getting pregnant weren't complicated enough, Lucy sets out to uncover the unsettling truth about her fertility doctor.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
False Positive is the movie you should bring up if you ever need to give an example of a horror film that exists only to shock, with no depth or story behind it.
 
I’ll be honest, I had this movie scheduled for today and almost didn’t watch it. Cat needed the day off, and trailers for False Positive gave off the impression that it was going to touch on all of my triggers. I looked around, found another horror I was going to watch… and then saw that this was trending in some places. So, I decided to tough it out.
 
I shouldn’t have.
 
Every prediction I made about this flick, from just watching the trailers, was true. There were no surprises, no twists, and nothing to make it feel like it was worth attention.
 

There were also so many gratuitous moments that it’s hard to describe just one. Each one of them was based around one sensitive subject or another: miscarriage, abortion, rape, etc. None of them felt like they had any purpose other than to exploit the triggers of the audience.
 
Now, I don’t shy away from films that utilize triggers. I enjoy a good revenge story – and usually that includes something awful that needs avenging. There’s a way to do it, though. This was not it. It left me with some images that are just absolutely unnecessary.
 
False Positive was not good. It was overly stylized – valuing shock value over substance.
 
I do not recommend it.
  

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 50%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 20%
Metascore – 57/100
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 5.0/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 1/5
 
Movie Trailer: