Joe Bob Briggs is celebrating a terrifying and impressive milestone.
The iconic cult film host set the 200th episode of his shuddering series, The Last Drive-In. The celebration will air on Horror Streamer on October 24th, with a special appearance in rocker Gwar wearing an outrageous costume.
According to the official logline, “Halloween will be messy this year! Joe Bob and Darcy have joined the legend of interdimensional rock in Gwaal for the splatter.
The special is part of Shudder’s “Season of Screams.” This is Streamer’s biggest programming event of the year, and according to a press release, “featuring a monster lineup of new series, movies and live watch parties from September 1st to December 31st.”
For beginners, Briggs had a long career as a host of cable horror films, running on the film channel from 1986 to 1996 and aired on TNT from 1996 to 2000.
Briggs’ Next Act was accompanied by the launch of “The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs” at Shudder, which began in 2018. It was released in a one-off marathon, including classics such as the 1979 Tourist Trap, the 1985 Re-Animater, and the 1987 Hellraiser. Following another successful marathon pair that year, “The Last Drive-In” was officially born.
Looking back at the milestones of the 200 film “The Last Drive-In,” Briggs says he was surprised by the pouring of love from fans who grew up watching “Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theatre” and “Monster Vision.”
“We obviously didn’t think about building a community like this that supports the show and film critique and the goofy way to present films,” Briggs tells Variety.
“The Last Drive-In” welcomed many horror celebrities to the trailer park set, including director Troma Ross, Lloyd Kaufman, Blumhouse founder Jason Blum, and director David Gordon Green. But outside of the show’s biggest star – Briggs herself, Darcy the Mail Girl, promoted during the series.
“In the beginning, Darcy knew she had some horror websites, and she knew that she had knowledge of horror. She was the guy in this cosplay in the horror world and went to the convention for years, but she didn’t realize how much of a fear she was interested in,” says Briggs. “She’s probably seen ten times as much fear as I have, because she led me in many directions I wouldn’t have left if I hadn’t. Also, she was from another generation and when I first started terrifying it was definitely a male fanbase. As a vocalist, I’m happy that Darcy could handle them.”
Despite being an old soul who loves to talk about the gold age of cult movies, Briggs says that some of his favorite episodes break molds and play with form.
“The strangest thing probably came when we celebrated the 100th anniversary of “Nosferatu,” he says. “We made a silent version from 1922 and did a 1979 German remake (“Nosferatu the Vampyre”). We ran a campaign against Florence Stoker, wife of Bram Stoker, who tried to destroy the 1922 version. And people had a good time and still told me about the episode. ”
“Joe Bob’s Splatterween” is set to be another episode to remember that Matt Manjourides, co-creator and executive producer of “Last Drive-In” remembers variety.
“Our special Halloween episode happened to be the 200th title we did and we all wanted to go outside,” he says. “We set up the entire live concert during the show, filmed it in Atlanta’s “The Walking Dead” studio and brought the stage. We brought in lucky fans and basically held the entire Gwar concert. That’s pretty amazing. ”
For the rest of Season 7, Briggs promises some unique films and episodes, including ones he’s particularly looking forward to.
“What we’re trying to do is that I’m really excited about. Horror fanatics are always in the fight and there are certain things they fight,” he says. “There’s one genre that inspires the battle in particular. It’s Gialo. The four world authorities of Gialo will be on the show. We fight. We’ll get messy.
But even the special episodes of the show are the best features of the series: Briggs’s quirky personality and a mix of folk-like monologues and jokes that burn his segments.
“Nearly 40 years later, he was able to maintain the same down-home feeling he had when he started. “I think that’s what fans really appreciate. Through the different creatives, different types of shows and sets, cameras, and more, the shows feel the same way they grew up watching Joe Bob.”
Check out the “Last Drive-In” Season 7 artwork below.
Courtesy of Shudder
