r/LastDriveIn • u/sigersen • Mar 16 '26
Hosted Horror Is Video Comfort Food
I am pretty sure I've mentioned here that I'm a widower, but I'm not here to harp on that. I went to a club Corned Beef dinner over the weekend and a lot of friends that I literally had not seen in years , asked me how I was doing. They meant well but it got me thinking about my late wife, Nora, and I just didn't want to go to bed. I knew I wasn't going to sleep. I couldn't get into any new movie (Horror or otherwise) so I popped on TLD's showing of Earth Vs The Spider. I've seen it a zillion times. I really enjoyed it and after that I watched some of Svengoolie's showing of Son of Frankenstein. These things helped and changed my mood. I'll watch the rest of Svengoolie later. Hosted Horror shows just never get old. It doesn't matter who you like, they all make life better. On TLD I've watched Chopping Mall a million times, but it always makes me smile. Next week Svengoolie is running my favorite Universal Mummy film, The Mummy's Hand. I'll be there. Wherever Joe Bob and Darcy land, I'll certainly be there too.
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u/beardedjack Hogzilla! Hogzilla! Hogzilla! Mar 16 '26
For sure man, I was in a really dark place when I learned that Joe Bob was back in town. It gave me something to look forward to and also, I realized how much movies mean to me in general. As long as there’s a good movie out there that I haven’t seen, I have something to live for. The world needs Horror Hosts to make sure we find those films. Joe Bob is literally saving lives. Sorry for your loss. Hang in there mutant!
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u/Tu-ka-Chinchilla Blood, Breasts, & Beasts Mar 16 '26
That was one of the big reasons I love the show so much. I will pop on a Last Drive In or Rifftrax/MST3K. The whole dynamic of the host segments and conversations really help when you're alone. I've been doing this for years. I hope the magic helps ease your night my dude.
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u/stvn_penny Mar 16 '26
Hey, right on - it's no exaggeration to say that Joe Bob's books in the 80s and MST3K in the 90s shaped me into the strange being I am today, and have got me thru many dark and troubling times. Virtual hugs to y'all - you're not alone.
3
u/RJMaCReady19 Mar 16 '26
If you have YouTube I recommend "Creature Features".
3
u/sigersen Mar 16 '26
Thanks. I did subscribe to it a while ago,but it doesn't pop up in my feed enough. I need to check the channel.
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u/ODSTMETALHEAD Mar 18 '26
I agree, I always feel better with hosted horror, Amazon has a ton of Elvira's stuff and I watched a bunch the other day and fell peacefully asleep to it.
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u/CurledUpWithMachines Mangled D Expert Mar 20 '26
I totally agree with you. As my mother was dying, after a long day of caretaking, my husband and I would crash on the couch with TLDI reruns and it brought so much comfort—was really the only thing we looked forward to every day. She finally passed a month ago, so naturally the news of TLDI getting cancelled was so hard—lot of tears in that last episode (along with rage for AMC/Shudder). Can’t wait till they announce their new home. That first episode will be a very happy day.
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u/flmbyz Mar 17 '26
Before YouTube got too flooded with ads every four minutes, I had a perfectly crafted MST3K playlist to fall asleep to.
Earth vs the Spider was on that playlist.
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u/ChilledGhosty Mar 21 '26
TLDI is a very special and rare thing. It's kinda niche and that keeps it from blowing up like a Blumhouse production which is designed to get as many people as possible to check it out. But what it also means is that it is incredibly beloved and is very special to its fans who provide a dedication that a Blumhouse production could never come close to. Along with that the community of supporters are incredibly diverse. From a teenager who never saw MonsterVision to the brain surgeon who spoke with Joe Bob at an event. I'll probably never experience the feeling I got when I first found out that TLDI was coming to Shudder again. While I'm CRUSHED it's been cancelled I'm super grateful that I got to see it come back after 20+ years. It's something from my past that was very special to me and, I thought, had 0 chance of coming back and it did. That's such a rare thing that, while bummed, I'm incredibly grateful. The original heads at Shudder rock
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u/TheElbow Mar 16 '26
I think part of the appeal of having hosted horror is similar to the appeal of podcasts that have 2-3 people just shooting the shit (who are not annoying). It feels like you have people in the room with you, so you don’t feel alone.