Fantastic Fest 2022: Joe Badon's Short Film "The Blood Of The Dinosaurs" — A Kooky Banger
A children’s television host articulates the origin of fossil fuels in this madcap assemblage of parodic vignettes and distressing surrealism.
New Orleans writer/director Joe Badon is an infinite fount of wild and wacky ideas, and his creativity knows no bounds. As a writer, filmmaker, musician, and illustrator, Badon is a man of many talents, all of which coalesce nicely to create unique — and uniquely strange — cinema. He proved his status as a creative juggernaut in his sophomore feature, Sister Tempest, an inspired two-hour indie that boasts immense ingenuity with a small side of exhaustion, and he continues to surprise and delight in his latest effort, The Blood Of The Dinosaurs, which finds him honing his craft and artistic voice with even greater effect. Pivoting from feature-length to short format, Badon cooks up another gloriously gonzo good time that takes audiences for a raucous ride without even coming close to testing the limits of their patience.
Loosely framed as a madcap Mr. Rogers style program — called “Uncle Bobbo’s Christmas Kwanzaa Happy Hanukkah Winter Solstice Annual Sacrifice Holiday Special!” — The Blood Of The Dinosaurs follows a lonely Children's Show host, Uncle Bobbo (played with demented vigor by Vincent Stalba), as he teaches children (and deranged adults) where oil comes from. But there’s a whole lot more going on here than mere education, and it comes zooming at you from all directions in this admirably ambitious and absurd freeform short.
Totally committed to its non-narrative structure, The Blood Of The Dinosaurs sporadically slips in and out of different genres and tones, gleefully veering into whichever direction it pleases (or the wind blows it), whether that be the dawn of time, a public-access TV show, or a quick scroll through BornHub (yes, you read that right). Its affably oddball and amorphous experience is quite the twisted treat that minces silliness, surrealism, comedy, and horror into a pleasurable pulp. Not only does it keep you engaged — and on your toes — until the very end, but it also washes down surprisingly smooth and possesses the kind of aftertaste that leaves you wanting more.
As a self-proclaimed prologue to the forthcoming short, The Wheel Of Heaven, The Blood Of The Dinosaurs successfully builds intrigue and boasts more unapologetically zany madness to come. The film continues to showcase Badon’s penchant for unbridled visions, but as a standalone work, it feels slightly incomplete, given it’s only a small piece to a much more sprawling and intricate tapestry. There’s many questions left unanswered, but this isn’t necessarily a negative; the only “bad” thing about it is we have to wait to re-enter the wild and wacky and weird and wonderful world of the Badonverse. And we’ll be waiting, with bated breath, for The Wheel Of Heaven to turn and smile upon us.
Hankering for more?! Check out the links below:
Blood Of The Dinosaurs interview with Joe Badon
Sister Tempest review
Sister Tempest interview with Joe Badon
Fantastic Fest 2022 articles
Fantastic Fest 2022 reviews
Fantastic Fest 2022 podcasts
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!