Definitely not for everyone. It's twisted, depressing, deep, stupid, occasionally hilarious, sometimes unsettling, and undeniably creative. If you like shows made by the PFFR team and/or things that are very unconventional and are difficult to categorise you'll like this. Otherwise you're probably best skipping this one.
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mavickery29 December 2018
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hoboss-511-90903924 December 2018Watched it while I couldn't sleep and started with episode 6. It was so disturbingly weird and profound at the same time that I loved it. It's surrealistic and illogical, yet deep and appealing. It's like a wonderful but weird dream.
It is one of the most daring short animation I've seen. A must watch.
The show is not your normal comedy. So skip it if you want to laugh. -
midnightmosesuk17 June 2020Nothing can quite prepare you for this show when you watch it for the first time. I sat in my armchair, grinning like an idiot, thinking "What the hell was that?" I needed more. It was as if I'd just watched someone's nightmares.
Profoundly disturbing and disturbingly profound, the show looks at the human condition through the skewed lens of surreal dream logic, it is often disturbing, usually gory but always funny. Why do butterflies hate Bali? What happens when you have too much self esteem? And what happens when you manage to get that 'little bit of God' that everyone is supposed to have inside them to leave your body at gunpoint? All these questions are answered, even though you never realised you actually wanted to know these answers in the first place. -
uniden03 October 2019This show makes me incredibly uncomfortable. It's like how you would see a fever dream if you could remember it when you wake up in the morning. I don't know wtf is up with this show, but I cannot take my eyes away from it.
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Silent_Rocco9 December 2018I cannot find the right words to describe this show. I'm in utter awe. With the style of Anomalisa, this anthology is going places that are unimaginable, endlessly creative, shockingly brutal, yet somehow often deeply profound. This is, to me, by far the best, most daring TV production in a very long time. It will disgust many, but it's a highly rewarding treasure chest for those who seek for originality.
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timnr-1164928 January 2018I saw the pilot at Sundance without any context or knowledge of the upcoming show and this is by far the funniest thing that I have seen in the whole festival and possibly in my life. I thought it was a self contained short and was elated to find out afterward that this is a pilot episode for a show. I don't know how much I can talk about, but dreamlike is an apt description. It is like if Robot Chicken had a fever dream and it is beautiful.
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StanhopeFan22 December 2018I absolutely love everything the PFFR crowd do (some of their crew even co-write South Park.) These episodes, only 11 minutes each, pack more madness and laughter in than entire seasons of other shows. Not for the faint-hearted. If you liked Wonder Showzen, Xavier Renegade Angel or similar, this is for you.
And if you can't stand the dull fare of most output and wished to just try something unhinged and completely different, give it a go. -
moniquerich11 November 2022Ok, I've been on this earth 41 years and I've never seen a show like this!! It's pure genius.
It's hard to really explain this one, as you would have to see it for yourself. It's one of a kind. It's almost like being on a shrooms trip. I mean, this show is OUT THERE. Like Pluto out there!
It's witty, sometimes scary, sometimes unexplainable, always entertaining. I wish there were more seasons. It's literally the best show on HBO Max that's only 10 minutes an episode. The stories don't blend well, but somehow they blend perfectly. As weird as that sounds, it's what makes this show brilliant. It's unlike anything you've seen and you won't ever see anything like it again. -
hurdrandy19 December 2018Very creative and playful. A must watch for anyone who wants to get away from predictability. Reminds me a little of Mr. Pickles and Mr. Show.
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irisbennun14 May 2018The shivering truth is a pilot by the genius creators of the cult shows ''wonder showzen'' and ''xavior the renegade angel''.it is a dreamy,surreal and nonsense yet deep travel to the paths of existence. and as pffr's past show's. it is a unique show and unfortunately we dosen't have a lot of shows like this let alone animated ones.so i really hope that adultswim will adapt this pilot
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I watched the pilot, gave it a solid "Meh." It wasn't great but hey, it only took about 10 minutes of my time, so no big deal. 2nd, 3rd and 5th episodes, (Skipped one.), were, I'm sorry, just tedious. They and the first episode, were occasionally unsettling but never particularly 'Shivery'. Nor were they particularly insightful. Or funny. THIS is another one of those "Not for everyone." Things. Some will love it, Some will hate it. Some will be non-plussed by it. I strongly recommend mood-altering substances be applied liberally prior to ingesting this rather odd and off-putting assemblage of the uncanny valley.
To those, like myself, who don't particularly care for this, THIS is what it feels like to be out with friends and they're all partying their a**es off and YOU'RE the designated driver. End of the night, they're relaxing, just talking. Really pondering the universe. Next day, they want to reminisce about what a great talk we had and I have to tell them it was mostly mumbly gibberish, shouting over each other, gleefully giggling about things not said and for the most part, their merely having imagined that something profound was spoken of, when it wasn't.
Just not for me. I don't care for the art style, the attempt to be thought-provoking and creepy seem like fails on both counts. The creators tried for both and failed at both. Some segments were shallow, barely explored and others went on beyond any point, like a bad SNL Sketch that went on a bit too long. In almost all cases, reaching a conclusion that could, for the most part, only be labeled 'disappointing' for me.
All that being said, give it a look, it IS different and ONLY about 11 minutes. Some of you will like its peculiar strangeness. Michelle Provencher. -
Sounds_Shadey4 December 2018Eat some shrooms' and trip balls! This is classic Adult Swim. If you are not into stupid funny shows, that make no sense, this is not for you...
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ZenShark18 August 2022Love the writing on this. Completely off the wall and unpredictable. It's quite refreshing considering how generic everything has become. As you watch episode to episode you end up wondering how the crayon came up with some of the scenarios, and one really doesn't know what's going to happen next.
It's not for everyone as the humour is very dark, and there's a lot of gross out violence. But if you can deal with that, and love interesting writing you'll really love this. Plus the short episodes really make the entire thing binge worthy. -
TheVictoriousV11 May 2020A truly creative show understands what sort of unseen images you can create when not bound by reality. In the case of The Shivering Truth, a relatively new show on Adult Swim, stop-motion animation is used to its utmost potential of grotesque and surreal creativity. It is nowhere near reality, yet it might also have gotten to the bottom of it.
I have compared the show, in some ways, to Netflix's The Midnight Gospel, which sets surreal CalArts animation (in lieu of a better term for the recently popularized Adventure Time style often found under the CalArts umbrella) to the philosophical musings of Duncan Trussell - it is essentially an animated podcast à la The Ricky Gervais Show, only with heavier themes, e.g. what humans would really be conversing about once the end of the world drew near. Alas, that one has often been dismissed as simply reciting Philosophy 101 and "basic" musings in a way where you're supposed to suck on a blunt and nod at the insisted poignancy (according to Dave Trumbore's review).
I don't know that The Shivering Truth can be discounted quite so easily. Much like Xavier: Renegade Angel, another deceptively simple-looking Vernon Chatman piece, it can be enjoyed as a brief episode of comedic rapid-fire nonsense, but all of its symbolism and visual punnery cries out to be painstakingly analyzed in terms of its commentary on spiritualism, society, humanity, existence in general, or even the very idea of worrying about these topics. The animation of The Shivering Truth visualizes Chatman's supposedly random ramblings, but after one gets done laughing at the imaginitive dream logic, one might wonder what Chatman's consciousness has tapped into that the rest of us haven't discovered yet.
When I reviewed Xavier: Renegade Angel, I made the case that it manages to say more in its mad-yet-brilliant comedy than Rick and Morty or Bojack Horseman managed in any of their serious interludes (being annoyingly preachy can be a lot less effective in communicating ideas than, say, peppering an eye-popping piece of comedy with heavy symbolism). The newly kicked-off season of The Shivering Truth proves that Chatman's still got it - even if I may not be evolved enough to know what "it" is. -
As I scrolled through the adult swim section of imdb, one title conveyed to me an atmosphere of the gloriously and mysteriously bizarre. The same bizarre that stroked my fancy as a child drawn to scary movies, voodoo ritual descriptions, ghost stories and horror games.
Today, I hypothesize the inclination towards this material to come from an innate tendency for my internal world of myth, to spiral into dark imagery, fantastical interpretations of ambiguous events and the recurring nightmares which plagued me for many nights.
Some emotions and images remain captured to this day, on childhood drawings, where factory machinery rip people apart in imaginative ways. Flashback to the future, 15 seconds into the first episode of The Shivering Truth and my expectations are concurrently confirmed and exceeded, as I reconnect with the realm of the maliciously grotesque.
I am reminded of the gruesomeness in the old folk tales, as woven in with a modern, less technologically saturated Black Mirror'esque vibe, that is then spun into a disturbingly abnormal, tormented and pathologically deviant perceptual universe that befall the characters of David Firth animations.
If you, as I, find yourself gravitating toward the dark and unbalanced possibilities of the human imagination, you will likely enjoy the aesthetically pleasing warped morbidities presented in The Shivering Truth.
Those with a well-developed radar for these exploits, will easily smell the flavor of the content from miles away. Others, will be smart enough to seek a rudimentary impression ahead of time, to determine if the show approximately aligns with their temperament for neurotic fantasies in visual entertainment.
If you fall within one of these two groups, you may, with moderate confidence, step away from The Shivering Truth, to comparatively conventional narrative forms or step inside the belly of the beast, to the very real potential of a truly sinister thrill.
Much admiration and appreciation for the skillful people behind this magnificent murmur of the surreal. The 21th century is a grand epoche to be breathing in moving pictures.
Oh. And as another reviewer has noted. Low reviews are appearing from people who are rubbed the wrong way by the show, as they are in no way disposed to enjoy this peculiar genre. Which is like having a proponent of right wing politics evaluate the ideation of left wing ideology. High susceptibility of negative bias.
The reduced Imdb score may make some people miss the treasure plainly hidden before them. And yet, many intelligent and critical people will look beyond the score, explore their own impressions and possibly derive a sort of pleasure from watching other people respond with discontent and disgust. I know I did. -
coolbob-762-54889528 October 2020This show is amazing. I will warn you before you jump in, it's very confusing at first. The show treats episodes like anthologies (that generally like to all tie together by the end) exploring various philosophical and emotional concepts. Although it does this in a very funny and entertaining way, and the show's sense of humor is almost adding weirdness and surreal things to already far out ideas. This show uses it's platform to explore all kinds of interesting ideas while also being funny and having gorgeous stop-motion animation. I think the reason I enjoy this show so much is that in just 11 minutes, an episode will throw so much at you that rewatching episodes is a must. I feel like the show likes to introduce concepts, and just as you start to feel like you understand what's going on they throw something else in there that throws you off the trail. Obviously this show won't appeal to all viewers, and I understand how the idea of a 'confusing show' may be off-putting. But please please give this show a shot if what I described above sounds interesting. It's surreal, it's dark, it's funny, and it explores a lot of cool concepts using metaphors you may have to watch a few times to understand.
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haghighiaria22 July 2020Another masterpiece by the creator of 'Xavier: Renegade Angel'. Terrifying, Unsettling, Hilarious, Clever and Creative all at the same time and Vernon Chatman's own narration makes this a hundred times better. If you liked Xavier, you're gonna LOVE this. Really hoping for a third season.
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The people who moan about this clearly aren't a fan of the genre so why bother? Just watch Wallace and Gromit.
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jackietison25 June 2020Sick and terrible nonsense! What happened to adult swim? This show needs to go!
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serahserah21 November 2020This series is so unhinged and crazy it's genius. It is like watching a vivid pharmaceutical induced dream/nightmare
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gallardologan3 September 2020It is so aweasome to watch and its trippy which makes it a very weird and unique show. Its dark, hilarious, and very entertaining.
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backslapjones26 August 2021Only adult swim could have a show this bizarre, but the quality of the writing is pretty impressive. Every episode is enjoyable to watch, and there's no point in the show where the writers betray the audience to take a stupid political stance or add a corny wholesome scene. This show always has something very strange and surprisingly deep to say, and the unpredictable freakish chaos of it all makes it pretty hilarious. I hope we get more episodes, or at the very least, new meats. Perhaps new gravies.
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cezarleonascimento10 October 2020I've never seen something that utilizes abstraction better than something like Eraserhead and maintains a existentialist's ideal of comedy.
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deeoo14 March 2022I love it when a series or film can truly baffle, surprise or freak me out. The Shivering Truth does all of that. The animations are great but be sure to mind the sound. No drugs are needed to ride this trip.
"Normal" people won't like this, but lovers of weird will get exactly what they need. Highly recommended for a specific group of viewers.