Check out our review of The Blood Of The Dinosaurs and our Q and A interview with the director Joe Badon. The Blood of the Dinosaurs will premiere Tuesday, July 19, at Fantasia International Film Festival.
Review
Joe Badon’s short Blood Of The Dinosaurs (a prologue to his next film The Wheel Of Heaven) is a wild, subversive, bizarre, menacing and scary short.
Setup as a TV show that we see played out in front of us including off camera. We have the unhinged host Uncle Bobbo taking us through the show, as Blood Of The Dinosaurs refuses to stay in one lane. Social commentary permeates the short and its an accomplishment that Badon has managed to cram in as much as he has into this short film.
Absurd, funny and at times disturbing, The Blood Of The Dinosaurs is Badon’s own thing. Keeping it creative and the audience always on their toes at all times. Let us all hope to see more of Joe Badon!
Joe Badon was also kind enough to give us some time and some answers to a few questions we had. Check it out below.
Interview
HH: You seem to definitely be a march to the beat of your own drum kind of guy. Is this just who you are or did you channel that attitude into Blood Of The Dinosaurs?
Joe Badon: This is who I am creatively. I’m a pretty normal guy in some ways – I live in the suburbs with my wife and little dog and 2 grown kids. But creatively, I’m all about chaos, experimentation, honesty and discovery. I feel like the creative arts (especially film) should be challenged and reinvented.
HH: What was the inspiration?
JB: The inspiration for The Blood of the Dinosaurs comes from my love of absurdist cinema (like Rubber or Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway) and television (like Off the Air or The Mighty Boosh). And it was a challenge to experiment creatively without a tether and keep it entertaining.
HH: Do you see this short as subversive art or just a film and the audiences can make up their own mind?
JB: It’s definitely subversive. What is it trying to subvert? I’m not entirely sure.
HH: To me there is a current of social issues running through Blood Of The Dinosaurs. Is this intended or am I just looking into things too much?
JB: There are social issues and ecological issues being addressed but it’s to serve the story (even though there really isn’t a story). It’s more of a meditation. And with meditations, I’ll have a starting point but the purpose of a meditation for me is to let myself just drift down the creative river and let the water pull me where it wants to. It sounds stupid and pretentious, I know, lol.
HH: What is your story? Was film always something you wanted to get into?
JB: I always wanted to make films, really ever since I was a child. But it always just seemed so unattainable, then I just said: “Fuck it, either I jump in and do it and never do it” so I jumped in and did it!
HH: What is your dream project?
JB: I have a holiday/action/romance/art house/clown/mime/drama/musical that I am currently writing. But really, whatever my next project is is my dream project.
HH: What are your favourite horror books or films?
JB: I’m not a big reader, so films:
The Devils (1971)
The Thing (1982)
Under The Skin (2013)
Evil Dead 2 (1987)
Santa Sangre (1989)
Eraserhead (1977)
3 Women (1977)
Suspiria (1977)
Mrs 45 (1981)
Repulsion (1965)
Boxer’s Omen (1983)
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
Altered States (1980)
Exorcist 3 (1990)
Hausu (1977)
Carnival of Souls (1962)
HH: What does the future hold for you?
JB: Right now, we’re in post production for The Wheel of Heaven, a mini-series that I wrote and directed that we’re aiming to complete by the end of the year!
haddonfieldhorror.com 
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