Joe Bob and Darcy never fail to entertain on The Last Drive-In, but sometimes they really go above and beyond!
Shudder series The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs is currently in its third season, and Joe Bob and Darcy never fail to entertain. But there have been times they have gone above and beyond for their fans.
The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs began as a “one-time” marathon, intended to be the swan song for Briggs, who was beloved from his time hosting Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater and MonsterVision. The marathon was so popular, it caused Shudder’s servers to crash.
Shudder knew a good thing when they saw it, and Joe Bob returned with multiple holiday specials before the series was finally born in 2019. The specials have also continued along the way, so we are taking a look at the entirety of the Joe Bob Briggs library on Shudder for the purposes of this piece.
And just because it’s fun, I have chosen to present these choices as awards. Consider it an homage to Joe Bob’s own Drive-In Academy Award nominations! So, without further delay, here we go.
The I Didn’t Even Know This Was Missing From My Life award goes to the original marathon from July of 2018 –After many long Joe Bob-less years, he came back with a vengeance, presenting 13 awesome films in 24 hours.
I wish newcomers to the world of The Last Drive-In were able to watch the marathon in its entirety, but unfortunately, licensing agreements are not eternal.
Of the original 13 films that were shown, only 7 can still be viewed: Tourist Trap, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Sleepaway Camp, Re-Animator, Demons, Hellraiser and Pieces. My personal favorite on this shorter list is Tourist Trap, which was way creepier and more intense than I remembered. It’s a film I actually saw in a theater as a young teen, so nostalgia may color my perception somewhat, but I highly recommend watching it as it was presented on the marathon.
The “Best Play on Words, Plus an Awesome Guest Star” award goes to Dinners of Death. This was The Last Drive-In’s Thanksgiving special, and it featured two classic films populated with cannibals, The Hills Have Eyes and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. You can’t really go wrong with either of those harrowing movies, but what made Dinners of Death even better was the appearance of Michael Berryman.
Fans of the 1977 version of The Hills Have Eyes remember Berryman as Pluto, the most distinctive looking of the cannibalistic family. Berryman has a rare condition resulting in no hair or sweat glands, but despite his imposing physical appearance, he advocates for preserving our environment, and even lived on a wolf sanctuary for a time.
His interview on Dinners of Death is nothing less than fascinating, and he gave fans exactly what they want out of personal appearances: behind the scenes stories. It was also pretty cool to see Darcy the Mail Girl meeting one of her horror idols, and that’s when I started to realize that she was the real deal.
The Best Callback to my Youth award goes to Maniac (Season 2) – As a very young horror geekling way back in 1981, I clearly remember picking up my Uncle Ronnie’s copy of Fangoria, and reading a story about a film called Maniac. The gory photos fascinated me, and that was my introduction to special effects makeup legend Tom Savini. I was a fan of his forever after that.
The movie itself was one I didn’t get to see back then. I lived in a small Florida town, and hardcore horror didn’t typically play in theaters close to home. So, this episode of The Last Drive-In was doubly special for me, because I not only got to finally watch Maniac (which did not disappoint), I also got to witness Tom Savini’s personal appearance.
Savini himself also did not disappoint, he was even more personable and fascinating than I had imagined. I followed up on his interview by watching Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini, which only made me love him even more.
Sometimes, things get emotional on The Last Drive-In, and our next two awards take us from tears to cheers.
The Tearjerker award goes to Joe Bob’s Red Christmas, Joe Bob’s December 2019 special, which was very special indeed. I may be a bit biased towards this one, because the original Black Christmas was the horror movie that made me love horror movies. I saw it when I was a sweet, impressionable 11-year-old girl, and it still blows me away every time I watch it.
It is sometimes referred to as the first slasher (although many people decry that claim), and it definitely inspired John Carpenter’s Halloween. Black Christmas is proof positive that a movie doesn’t have to be gory to be scary.
The other two films shown on this special are Jack Frost and Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, so you get some bloody, campy stories to balance out the very dark content in Black Christmas. But, what makes this one stand out are the cast interactions.
The shtick during this special is that Joe Bob was planning a big party for a bunch of popular horror hosts, and one by one, they cancelled. So, Joe Bob was down in the dumps, and told Darcy that they need to each follow the “holiday tradition” of telling a sad story.
These stories are very real, and very touching, and it feels like the two of them are sort of taking off their character masks for a bit. Joe Bob tells a story about being so broke that he couldn’t afford bus fare for a much-needed audition, and Diana/Darcy gives us the tale of how she got her first gig as an exotic dancer, which gave her much-needed money to support herself and her son after she left an abusive relationship. It was truly a special segment, and despite the fact that their stories were indeed very sad, it felt appropriate for the holiday season.
The Darcy Can Do Almost Anything award goes to Hogzilla (season two). Look, Darcy already deserves an award just for convincing Joe Bob that he is still relevant in the world of horror fandom. But, then she did something equally amazing; she tracked down Diane Jacques, director of a film called Hogzilla.
Many of us thought Hogzilla was a myth; it had been mentioned several times, due to the fact that Joe Bob Briggs played a significant role in the film, yet it had never been actually seen. But somehow, Darcy managed to locate it, and also to convince Jacques to finally let it have its world premiere on The Last Drive-In.
The film itself was made up of eye-rolling dialogue, low budget special effects and a mediocre storyline, but that didn’t even matter, because the gang made it a big event. There was a red carpet, formal attire, and, best of all, a recurring chant of “Hog-ZILLA! HOG-ZILLA!” from the crew.
Darcy herself announced the Drive-In Academy Award nominations, an honor usually reserved for the big man himself, and a good time was had by all.
The Best Joe Bob Speech award was a hard one to decide. It’s not easy determining which of Joe Bob’s speeches (AKA “rants”) deserves this award, but I settled on his presentation of One Cut of the Dead. (season two). If you haven’t watched this film yet, I cannot recommend it highly enough, and I will not give any spoilers.
One Cut of the Dead is a Japanese film about a crew filming a low budget zombie movie, and it takes a twist when actual zombies start terrorizing the cast and crew, who are being pushed along by their determined director. As the Shudder description reads, “If you think you know what happens next, think again.”
One Cut of the Dead is a delightful, clever film, that I watched with a huge smile on my face. And at the end of the episode, Joe Bob Briggs stepped downstage and gave a speech that made me want to stand up and cheer.
It’s a speech that recognizes the importance of independent film makers, of the dreamers and doers who struggle to turn their idea for a horror movie into an actual film. In this speech, Joe Bob encourages fans who think they have a great idea to actually go for it. It’s nothing less than inspiring, and it was the perfect epilogue for a film that was low-budget, yet amazing.
And, those are my Joe Bob Slayed It awards up to the end of the second season of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. Here’s hoping season three is chock-full of nominees for next time!
Which episodes of The Last Drive-In would you give awards to? Give us your nominees in the comments section.