INTERVIEW: JOE BADON

 

In an age when so many major films have escalating budgets that rely on soulless, artificial digital CGI effects to tell their stories, it is refershing when a micro-budget film like Sister Tempest arrives to remind us of the exciting possibilities still inherent in cinematic storytelling. 

Using a budget that is only a fraction of the cost of a typical studio film, the filmmaker Joe Badon uses practical effects, as well as carefully, hand-crafted costume and set designs to tell an expansive story with loads of imagination in Sister Tempest. In this interview, Joe Badon discusses what inspired him to make Sister Tempest, as well as his thoughts on film and art.

Can you talk a bit about your own background as a visual artist and illustrator, and how this inspired your films?

I've been professionally illustrating comics and storyboards for about 13 years. Somebody once called comics the "Poor man's movies". That's basically why I pursued comic illustration for so long. Also, storyboarding under other directors gave me plenty of insight on how to tell a story visually. 

Sister Tempest provides a very unique take on the family drama story of the bond between sisters. What inspired you to create this story?

This story is one of the most personal pieces of art I've ever created. It's me dealing with my personal relationships and also my divine relationships. I have a lot of religious shame from growing up in a Catholic Church to then eventually becoming a Youth Pastor at an Evangelical Church and then leaving the church having to deprogram myself from basically this cult that I was once in. And then after all of that, having to come to terms with and accepting who I really am-- which is basically just a screwed up weirdo. 

I took those experiences and funneled it into this fantasy tale about a torn relationship between two sisters. 

The special effects, as well as the set and costume designs, for Sister Tempest were very impressive. Can you talk a bit about the budget for Sister Tempest, as well as some of the visual and cinematic influences on your visual design for the film?

I wanted this film to be a cinematic mixtape so each layer of the movie had to have a distinct style. BUT we were on a VERY tight budget of $25,000. So I decided that the best way to pull off big ideas on a tiny budget was to keep everything retro looking and kitschy. 

I remember that I told my special effects guys that I wanted us to pretend that we're in the 70s and we're trying to pull off this big sci fi film with only the available resources and style that would be available to us in the 70s. I'm not sure if I pulled that off but that's what I was aiming for, at least. 

With the family drama, we wanted a 70's tv show sitcom meets Wes Anderson style. My wife Tonya really helps me with the look of my films (sets, costumes and wardrobe). So we both looked at shows like The Brady Bunch and One Day at a Time for the sets, wardrobe and hairstyle of the family drama aspect of the film. 

For a lot of the fantasy and choir sequences, we referenced The Color of Pomegranates because I am obsessed with that film. It's a perfect visual style that is obscenely underused. 

For the Kaiju sized Spaceman sequences, we studied Godzilla (of course) but also the TV show Danger 5 for its miniature work. 

There's a Space Council in the film. That was mainly inspired by the space council from the film The Evil Brain From Outer Space with some Zardoz and Zeta One sprinkled in there. 

How did you find the performers for your film?  In particular, the lead actress Kali Russell gave a very powerful performance.

I put out a casting call on Facebook and that's how I found the vast majority of my performers from both the films I've made. 

And Kali NAILED her video audition. Then she came over and read for me and I was convinced because she could change emotions on a dime and completely convince you. She's classically trained and because of that, she makes it look effortless. Plus, she was EXTREMELY easy to work with. She was up for anything you needed her to do, any last minute changes or requests-- she just went with it. 

Your own films have very elaborate and impressive production designs but on a limited budget. Would you ever want to work on a huge budget Hollywood studio film, and if so, are there any film franchises, books, or existing characters you would like to make with this increased budget?

Honestly, I really just want to get my own stories out there instead of working on someone else's creation. It feels weird. Not to say that I wouldn't do it but it just feels weirdly unfaithful to tell any stories other than my own.

BUT for shits and giggles, in another reality: 

Maybe take a stab at Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune. I know I'd fuck it up severely but it'd be fun to shoot! Dr. Phibes would make a fun remake that everyone would probably hate. Maybe lovingly remake Exorcist 2: The Heretic because Boorman is incredible and that was an incredibly underrated film. 

Oh and Krull...that has so much potential for sci-fi, psychedelic, fantasy insanity. 

Can you talk about any future projects you are working on now?

God, I'm just trying to get through promoting, marketing and selling this one. I do have quite a few story outlines, plus I've shot a quarantine short film (that may stretch into a feature) but right now I've been devoting all my time to the post and premiere of Sister Tempest. 

Plus, I need some slightly bigger investors for projects moving forward, mainly because I want to pay all the cast and crew a living wage. I'm tired of having to have people pretty much volunteer their time. They need to be paid better. 

Thank you for your time, anything else you would like to mention?

Thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time to watch the film and interview me! You can check out Sister Tempest at sistertempest.blogspot.com or look us up on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Just search for Sister Tempest.

 

FILM REVIEW: SISTER TEMPEST

The astonishing film Sister Tempest (2020) is not for the faint of heart, nor for those with limited imagination. Instead, if you crave films that will sever your carotid arteries, as well as warm up your still beating heart, then the absolutely gonzo and brilliant filmmaker Joe Badon has created something that will satisfy your love for the blissfully strange. Sister Tempest recalls the 1970s midnight cult films of Alejandro Jodorowsky with its startling scenes of hallucinatory depravity, and its non-linear, trippy narrative ranks with the best of classic surrealists like Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel. But, in the end, Badon has constructed an absolutely idiosyncratic and unique cinematic experience that is entirely his own. Sister Tempest is a visual feast and a new cult classic that reminds us of the immense possiblities still waiting to be discoverd in cinema. 

The less said about Sister Tempest's story the best, as one of its chief pleasures is to see how the plot steadily reveals more and more surprising layers. Its framing story involves two close-knit sisters who have to fend for themselves after a family tragedy. Anne Hutchinson (played by Kali Russell in a powerful performance) watches over and raises her younger sister Karen (Holly Bonney) as if she was her own daughter. After Karen mysteriously disappears, Anne's life falls apart until she meets and develops a sisterly relationship with Ginger Breadman (Linnea Gregg), a young student of hers at an all-girls art school. Eventually, Ginger's relationship with Anne starts to mirror her previous relationship with her missing sister Karen, whom Anne has never fully gotten over.

Built around this central framing story is a dark and twisting deep dive into the inner psyche of Anne, whose fragile mental state steadily falls apart until we are essentially viewing the mind-scape of what may be a schizophrenic. Badon fills Sister Tempest with alternately shocking and aesthetically gorgeous visual tableus that reflect Anne's deteriorating mental state. We are witnessing both an unsettling portrait of a woman gradually descending into insanity, as well as a blissful examination of the bonds of familial love. 

The visual references in Sister Tempest range from Japanese kaiju films like Godzilla, to 1950s cult classic science fiction Hollywood films like the Day the Earth Stood Still and The War of the Worlds. Major figures in Anne's life manifest themselves as pop culture representations from the world of cinema, painting, as well as comic books. Badon, who is also an accomplished visual artist himself, stages several scenes in Sister Tempest against colorful, animated backdrops, giving the film the feel at times of a live-action manga. Near the end of Sister Tempest, Badon even includes a clever reference to Marvel superhero films and Japanese anime.

What makes Sister Tempest such an astonishing achievement is that Badon has been able to create eye-popping special effects and set designs at a fraction of the cost of a typcial Hollywood blockbuster film, but with even more imagination and visual flair. Badon created elaborately constructed miniature sets for many of his major locations (as an homage to similar sets from the classic Toho Studios Godzilla films), and the psychedelic costume and creature designs fit his overall pop-culture, retro 1950s aesthetic. Oftentimes, the digital CGI effects of modern day Hollywood films feel hollow and artificial, but Badon's practical effects and hand-crafted set design feel visually alive and authentic.   

Most of all, Sister Tempest is a reminder that there are still possiblities for cinema to continually innovate as an artform, and to embrace new forms of visual and narrative storytelling. Sister Tempest's continuous parade of hallucinatory sequences can enduce an almost trance-like state in the viewer, resembling what Jodorowsky was attempting to accomplish in his late career films The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry. Like those films, Badon approaches cinema as the ultimate, mind-altering experience. Indeed, at times the dream-logic and startling use of colors in Sister Tempest resembles an acid trip; one that begins as a horrifying nightmare, but gradually evolves into a peaceful dream about sistery love.