Review of Nova Seed (2016) by Richard D — 04 Oct 2016

In a future dystopia, Doctor Mindskull has been launching attacks on the cities using remote control monsters. The authorities enlist a bioengineered lion/human hybrid manufactured for gladiatorial combat to enter Mindskull's lair and put a stop to his plans.

The lion-guy has plans of his own, and absconds with Mindskull's Nova Seed, a humanoid creature who can create plant life, in an effort to defeat Mindskull on his own. From here, things get a lot weirder.

This immensely creative sci-fi fantasy feature was hand animated by Canadian animator Nick DiLiberto over a 4 year period. It's very much like a Saturday morning cartoon meets Heavy Metal magazine, and I thought it was quite wonderful.

It shows an immense amount of promise for this young animator who previously worked on video game animations for Bioware. Besides animating the film and doing some of the voice work, DiLiberto created many of the film's sound effects just using his own vocalizations.

If you like wild, sci-fi animation, you need to see this. Stephen Verrall's pulsing synth score is another highlight.