Joe Bob Briggs’ Guide to the American Drive-In

In the last few months the world has been turned upside down. When countries began to close public places, the first impacted was movie theater industry. With theaters everywhere shutting their doors, studios shifting release dates and canceling premieres fans were left without a place to enjoy new films. Until exhausted parents, film lovers and cinephiles alike began to find their way back to the drive-in. An institution that was thought to be on the way out.

However, Shudder’s resident expert on drive-in culture, Joe Bob Briggs, has long been an advocate for the American drive-in. “My parents would pack the kids into the back seat in our pajamas and haul us off to the drive-in,” says Briggs in an interview with EW. “We would try to stay awake for the second movie because the second movie would be the so-called ‘adult’ film. Of course, we never made it. We always fell asleep before the second movie. And so we never got to see the adult film.”

Since Joe Bob’s 1987 show, Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater, he has been sharing stories of the American drive-in. So below he shared his tips for understanding the true drive-in experience.

TURN OFF YOUR CAR LIGHTS

“For people who really haven’t been to a drive-in in 40 years, and they’re just going out because of the coronavirus and indoor theaters are not open, automobiles today, it’s difficult to turn off their lights,” says Joe Bob Briggs. “The lights come on automatically, they stay on. Most people don’t even know where the switch is to turn off the lights. You can always tell somebody who’s at a drive-in for the first time because they barrel into the place with their lights on, spoiling the movie for everybody else by shining the light on the screen.”

“I would say that’s the number one thing that’s probably going to be happening all the time now, just because the last time people were at a drive-in many had a different sort of car. Nothing’s more annoying to the people already watching the screen than to have bright lights up on it.”

NOT ALWAYS SO FAMILY FRIENDLY

“Drive-ins are wonderful, democratic institutions, similar to the Greek theaters,” says Briggs. “You can come with your family and be in the car or you can socialize with people around the concession stand — you can be as public as you want to be or as private as you want to be. Which, of course, is the reason why drive-ins are still open, because you can do the social-distancing, you don’t have to be close to anybody if you don’t want to be close to anybody.”

“The drive-in owners always portray them as ‘family entertainment centers,’ but the press has always portrayed them as ‘passion pits.’ As soon as a teenager gets a car, it’s the one place he or she can be alone with their significant other where there are no prying eyes. So, all sorts of things go on inside cars on the back row of drive-ins. This has been true since the beginning of drive-ins. Intimate things happen inside drive-ins. So, if you’re not interested in that, don’t get on the back row.”

YOU MAY SEE UNUSUAL MOVIES

“Traditionally, drive-ins were despised by Hollywood and so they could only show independent films, because the studios wouldn’t give them the big-budget films,” says Briggs. “That’s why drive-ins got the reputation for being the home of the horror film, the cheap sci-fi film, the softcore sex film — actually, in the ‘70s, the hardcore sex film, the naughty films that your mother didn’t want you to see. That has changed a little bit in recent years.

“But they basically got one prime viewing slot and so they can’t handle a contract that says you have to show this movie for four weeks. They have to change the movie every week, because the same people come to the same drive-in every week. Therefore, it’s a place for indie films. Three weeks ago, the number one box office film in the nation was an IFC film called Swallow, a psychological thriller — a very good film by the way. The reason it was number one was it was the only theater in the country reporting first-run box office was the Ocala Drive-In, in Ocala, Fl.”

“All the indoor theaters were closed, many of the drive-ins were closed, and the drive-ins that remained were playing older movies. They were the only reporting theater in the country. So, they showed Swallow and for the second feature they showed Resistance, about the mime who saved the orphans from the Nazis. It’s a true story. I would say those are both in the vein of art films, but they’re also horror films, so they fit the historic role of drive-ins.”

USE YOUR HORN IF NECESSARY

“The great thing about the drive-in is when the sound goes down on the picture, or something is wrong with the picture itself, there’s nothing more terrifying than a thousand car horns all going off at once,” says Briggs. “And the only place you can hear that is at the drive-in. It’s the last place in America where the people can make more noise than the bureaucracy. And so, problems do not last long at the drive-in and that’s why — you’ve got that car horn. When something goes wrong at the drive-in, it gets taken care of pretty damn quick.”

These days, Joe Bob Briggs is still hosting and honoring the drive-in with his show The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs on the streaming service Shudder. Every Friday night horror fans stream the show live and join in the fun on Twitter. “It does make me very happy,” says Briggs of the show’s success. “I enjoy it a lot. Even though it’s a streaming service, people like to show up for the actual live feed. It’s a party every Friday night.”

You can catch The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs, which is currently in it’s second season, every Friday on Shudder. Be sure to follow ScaryNerd for more of all things horror!

You can find the full interview with EW here.

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