The Last Drive-in With Joe Bob Briggs

Joe Bob is Joe Bob. Whether we like it or not, half of the US is "small government"-minded. What's great about horror movies is not only do they function as escapism, but they also reflect the paranoia and fears of the zeitgeist in which they were made. Though I'm a socialist and disagree wholeheartedly with most of what Joe Bob says, there's something comforting in his misanthropic rants combined with his unique knowledge of horror history and casting. Understanding the history of what has scared audiences of the past is one of the best ways for us to come together and defeat fear. Despite his ugly libertarian-minded language, Joe Bob has raised money to combat the bullying of LGBT kids. Ultimately, Joe Bob grew up in a time of prosperity and doesn't understand that a white man with a big mouth is old hat and is unnervingly annoying to people who have faced real adversity based on their identity or class. So to all my fellow leftists, don't try to cancel Joe Bob, don't analyze what he has to say too much. He might know a lot, and you might even learn something from watching his show, but he ain't smart and half of what he says he says to spark conflict and gain viewership like a 90's shock jock radio host. Take it from me, a native Texan: shut up and enjoy!

Joe Bob and Darcy are amazing. Their love and knowledge of this genre of movies is obvious. They are the best part of Shudder. Always informative and entertaining even if the movie they host may not be. Because of this show I have watched and enjoyed movies I've never heard of or would have never watched otherwise. Thank you for expanding my horizons and making me smile in the process.

First, I want to clarify something to a few folks. Joe Bob Briggs is a character that John Irving Briggs has been playing for near 40 years. That character is deliberately structured as a shock-and-awe nothing-sacred redneck. That has absolutely nothing to do with who John Briggs is, it's solely who the character is designed to be. While that character has clearly offended a few folks during his time, as has John albeit separately if I'm being honest, it's a stage routine. Sorry to spoil the magic, but Larry the Cable Guy is just a fictional character that Dan Whitney plays. Charo is just a fictional character Maria Baeza plays. Elvira is just a fictional character Cassandra Peterson plays. These stage personas might be parodies, satire, caricatures, or exaggerations of a person but they are not that person themselves. If you're not a fan of the character, fine. You're entitled to your own opinion and critique of any performance, I just want to make sure you have all the available facts before you run off to start writing strongly worded E-Mails to AMC (Shudder's parent company). Joe Bob & Darcy fill the gaps where the stopsets would typically fade, but since it's a Premium Content stream they don't really need advertisers so 'The Last Drive-In' is instead a program that does deep dive behind-the-scenes discussions/commentaries serving as a sort of pseudo-”art of” buffer between rundowns of B-Horror films. It's not riffs, though they're not above criticizing the content (one of the best parts of the show really). It functions with active participation via Twitter, but it's not your standard live call-in broadcast either. It's like watching a B-Horror movie, pausing it, and then watching a live Video Podcast about it, unpausing it, and repeating periodically (without actually having to pause). Still, it blends nicely, functions cleanly, and doesn't overdo it. Some of it is fun. Some of it is ridiculous. Some of it is tongue in cheek. Some of it is dreadful. Some of it is irredeemable/Halloween III (they could have called it anything else and made a tolerable movie without offing a franchise, just saying). It's definitely the high point of the Shudder streaming service in my opinion, and likewise kept the app afloat despite the high drop rates. If there's a series you enjoy on this app, that entered production after July 2018, this series is likely the reason you've gotten to enjoy it. Shudder is AMC's red-headed stepchild. They're paying the rent, and covering utilities, but it's content like this show that justifies the expenditure. Still, Joe Bob and Darcy aside, there is a finite amount of polishing they can do to some of the abysmal movies in the series' run thus far. Some of those movies absolutely don't fit, and you can tell the hosts are trying to turn pig-s--- into bacon. They have to tow the line a bit, and anything that has AMC's hands on it (or the Dolan Family's by proxy) is going to get presented as though it can cure cancer, Can't be avoided if you're going to sidestep the deluge of Corporate interference. It would be nice if they could up the catalog, and Shudder itself could get a hold of some additional content, but when you're only an appendage of an appendage on a far larger body the best most can hope for is staying on the air. Still, micro-management is kept to the bare minimum and the hosts are really given leeway to run with the show as they feel. That's why I'm giving this four skulls opposed to three. It's the reason many of us are here in the first place, the participation aspect makes it a fun way to spend an evening, and the hosts really do brighten up some of the uglier movies they have to present. It honestly bounces anywhere from two to five depending on the movie. If you don't like one, choose another, and you're likely to have an entirely different experience. The live experience really does up the ante and makes the program feel special, like a cult underground broadcast where anything can happen (and sometimes does), and the Social Media interaction helps you feel like you're contributing with more than just a debit card number.

I signed up for shudder solely because of Joe bob

None better.