Those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s remember it well- when the muti-screen cinemas (we didn't call them "cineplexes" then) came to town and suddenly our beloved drive-ins stopped showing all the first-run flicks. They resorted to showing the worst, most disgusting, depraved, violently gross (or grossly violent) low-budget horror movies ever dug out of the slop trough, and we kept going to the drive-in. Why? Because that miasma of gore and chaos was, 9 times out of 10, much easier to take than the horror show going on in our own homes. So we sat there, gorging ourselves on rancid hot dogs, popcorn, Jujubes and soda while we watched the mutant babies, bloodthirsty butchers and mama's murdering boys do their thing on the giant screen.
Years later, when it became possibly to actually rent a DVD player and a movie, did you reach for one of those flicks, as I did? (Mine was HG Lewis' "Wizard of Gore." What was yours?)
We thought we were alone, and weird-mutants ourselves, in fact-until we met "Joe Bob Briggs" the character created by the positively brilliant John Bloom, and we realized that, hey! Not only does he like these movies, he knows a boatload about them! AND, while watching "The Last Drive-In," we have found a gigantic community of other mutants and we are welcomed by them and they GET IT. They are just as able to enjoy a classic like "Nosferatu" as they are to enjoy a crazy mess like "HOGZILLA!"
The bonus of the show? The effervescent "Darcy the Mail Girl!" She interacts with fans, gives Joe Bob the what-for when required, cosplays, and has an eye-roll for the record books!
This show is not for everyone, and that's ok. Because in spite of the bullying and other tortures many TLDI fans endured when we were young, we always knew WE were special! 😉
