If you’re a horror fan and watched late-night TV in the 1990s, then you know who Joe Bob Briggs is. (And if you’re horror fan and you don’t know, you’re missing out.) Recently, Shudder resurrected “The Last Drive-In” following a couple of successful holiday marathons, and the streaming world is a better place for it.
So why does a double dose of dorky horror movies matter? Community.
The world has grown smaller with the advent of social media. If you love something, you can certainly find others who do as well. However, the likelihood of sharing that passion in a tangible way is unlikely unless you live near them.
Enter the resurrected “The Last Drive-In.”
Once a week (Fridays at 9EST/6PST), you can join Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mail Girl on Shudder and enjoy a double feature of horror movies. If you are active on Twitter, then the hashtag #TheLastDriveIn connects you with fellow mutants (horror fans who love the drive-in) and is moderated by Darcy (@kinkyhorror).
So who cares?
Horror fans across the country who can’t sit down with one another and enjoy a classic they’ve never seen before or re-watch a favorite for the hundredth time are treated to an online community of similarly interested horror fans. And in a digital world where social interaction is a metric, the horror community that tunes in each Friday and commiserates via the #TheLastDriveIn hashtag (or tweets to Darcy) feels like a group of friends enjoying the movie together even though they aren’t located in the same physical space.
Through the first four weeks, we’ve been treated to behind-the-scenes commentary from Joe Bob and classics like The Changeling and C.H.U.D, relatively unknown films like Wolf Guy and Q: The Winged Serpent, cringe-worthy films like Society and Castle Freak, classic slashers like Madman, and incredible New Zealand horror like Deathgasm.
Who knows he’ll screen next?
But if you’re not doing anything next Friday and you love horror movies, then join the rest of us mutants at “The Last Drive-In.”
Dan O'Brien | Author & Consultant 