For the past year, Darcy (@kinky_horror), the esteemed Mail Girl of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs on Shudder has been running a Patreon dedicated to uploading the tape history of drive-in film critic Joe Bob Briggs. It’s no small task, and she’s done a tremendous job so far. You can find the result of her efforts at The Lost Drive-In and follow on twitter at @thelostdrivein. What follows is my extremely unbiased review (I pay my $35 plus tax out of my own pocket every month) as an admitted Joe Bob Briggs enthusiast.
The Stuff at The Lost Drive-In
For $5 a month you get access to the new (ok old) episodes of Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater every Wednesday and Monstervision every Saturday.
Previously, you could only find clips of these in lower quality on YouTube. Bless the people who kept these alive during the dark times. But now Darcy has access to Joe Bob’s archive, and Joe Bob has the rights to his segments. Darcy uploads the segments to Vimeo and they look good and play perfectly. If they don’t play perfectly, Darcy fixes it until it does.
Often, there are even timestamps available so you can switch between your copy of the flick and Joe Bob’s segments! Usually I just watch the segment intro, then watch the movie, then watch the rest of the segment. Having the ability to re-create the authentic experience is amazing, though, for when you’re not feeling lazy.
In addition to the segments, Joe Bob writes new articles and movie reviews. Usually those are free on Patreon, but why not throw the $5 their way and get access to everything?
Ascending to Sainthood
For $35 a month, you become a Patron Saint of the Drive-In. At this level, the rewards are exponential. $5 is more than fair for access to the stream of Monstervision and Drive-In Theater episodes available, but for the additional $30 you also get access to:
- Access to all the old posts. At the $5 level, Darcy has to remove older posts to make room. At the Patron Saint tier, you have access to the full library of posts and past episodes (249 and counting!). This part is important to me, because the posts are well organized and I feel comfortable just checking back through them for something I want to watch when I want to watch it. In a Roddy Piper mood? Often.
- Hilarious and/or poignant Ask Joe Bob videos and the ability to ask questions that might get featured. I love these and I watch them as soon as they come out. Here’s “Joe Bob, can you tell us about Larry Flynt?”
- Access to The Lost Drive-In Discord server. This place is hoppin’. Everyone is nice and cool and I’ve made a bunch of friends there. Members are more than willing to share recommendations, opinions, and are super welcoming to new horror fans as well. We’ve all got different tastes and opinions and we get along fine. Plus, the physical media addicts will always let you know when Kino Lorber, Arrow, Severin, Criterion, etc. have sales on. 😉
- MONTHLY WATCHALONGS. I cannot stress this enough, but Darcy and Joe Bob make time every month to hop on the Discord with us and watch a movie, even if they’re exhausted and traveling for a con, etc. It’s so much fun and I never miss one. I’m pretty sure what happens on the Discord stays on the Discord, but I will say we watched Showgirls one time. Incredible.
- Merch rewards from Patreon based on number of months subbed. These were VERY cool last year and based on what has been hinted at coming up for the next round of rewards, they sound cool as well. I got an exclusive t-shirt, poster, and mug that I use all the time. Longer-term Saints got a hoodie, too! Some people have had issues with Patreon sending their rewards, but that’s on their side, not Darcy’s, and Darcy tirelessly harasses Patreon to make sure we get our stuff.
The Verdict
Click as fast as you can to join the Patreon. You save 12% if you get an annual subscription, which I’ll probably convert to soon. Joe Bob and Darcy are coming back to Shudder on April 29, but for the long desert stretches of road in between the drive-in seasons and specials, The Lost Drive-In keeps you connected to your favorite film critic. Thanks for all your hard work all year long, Darcy & JBB! See you soon!
