The Last Drive-In season four: how it’s going so far
By Carla Davis
Shudder series The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs started out its fourth season with some unusual choices. That’s really saying something for a series like this one, which features everything from newer unknown films such as One Cut of the Dead and Scare Package to well-known classics like Phantasm and Black Christmas.
During the first three seasons, host Joe Bob Briggs brought us critically acclaimed horror (such as 1980’s The Changeling), the never-before-seen Hogzilla, and a couple of films so bad that he and Darcy basically had to give awards to those who could prove they had watched the entirety of both. For the record, those two cringe-inducing flicks were Sledgehammer and Things.
Prior to the season four premiere, Joe Bob’s co-host Darcy the Mail Girl tweeted a question for fans: Would we be interested if older films – maybe even in black and white – were featured on the show? It seems like the answer must have been yes.
The season premiere of The Last Drive-In brought us the 1968 black and white classic Night of the Living Dead, which is required viewing for all horror fans. The second film was 1980’s Italian cannibal gore-fest Antropophagus, and the guests were top notch: horror television host Svengoolie and Honey the Mail Girl, who worked with Joe Bob on TNT’s MonsterVision in the 1990s.
Episode two featured another black and white classic, 1960’s Black Sunday, followed by 1990’s Def by Temptation. It seemed like an odd mix, but, as promised, both films were about witches and love.
The third episode of The Last Drive-In featured two films about shut-ins.
First up was the 1976 film The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. It’s somewhat of a little known film, and features an amazingly mature performance by the then-13-year-old Jodie Foster, and an amazingly creepy performance by Martin Sheen.
Next up was the New Zealand horror comedy Housebound, which Gerard Johnstone supposedly wrote after being inspired by the Ghosthunters paranormal series, The Changeling and The Legend of Hell House. It was a first watch for me, and I enjoyed it.
Joe Bob has already tweeted clues for the next TLDI episode, referring to it as one of their “strangest episodes.” “The first movie is an anniversary tribute celebration and our second movie is our tribute to someone else’s tribute.”
The Last Drive in with Joe Bob Briggs can only be seen on Shudder, so if you don’t already have a subscription, go to their website and sign up!
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Fellow mutants, what do you think of The Last Drive-In season four so far? Let us know in the comments section.