On this episode, we briefly flip the script* and begin our Post-Apocalyptic Sports Movie Series with David Webb Peoples’ Blood of Heroes.
Starring Rutger Hauer (Sallow), Joan Chen (Kidda), Vincent D’Onofrio (Young Gar), and Delroy Lindo (Mbulu), this one-of-a-kind sports film is criminally overlooked. A strange fusion of Mad Max sensibilities and underdog sports movie tropes, Blood of Heroesdelivers a surprisingly feel-good story about a ragtag troupe of amateur athletes who drift around and survive by playing Jugger against rivaling tribes in the barren Australian wasteland.
Jugger itself is a fascinating invention: a fully-realized yet fictionalized sport that sort of resembles lacrosse or field hockey, only with a dog’s skull as the ball, makeshift shields & steampunk-esque gear as equipment, and spiky Q-tips & lacerating chains as choice weapons of carnage. Combining physical dexterity with bludgeoning brutality, Jugger is as gritty and unforgiving as the harsh and rugged Outback.
The brilliant, genre maestro SF Covell joins us for a riotous conversation of this soon-to-be anointed cult-classic. In addition to an illustrious career spent preaching the potency and power of sci-fi, western, dystopian, and Shakespearean texts on college campuses, Covell is also a bonafide bard (effortlessly turning everyday musings into thespian poetry) and a self-published author. You can find his latest novel (a postmodern/fanfic triumph!) Gatsby’s Revenge on Amazon today!
*Going forward, we are going to switch things up from time-to-time — jumping between concurrent themes/mini-tournaments to make sure we stay fresh, upbeat, and always on our toes!
