Every horror fan knows that the best service for genre content is Shudder, as the platform’s expansive collection of titles in its library, as well as its many exclusive titles, surpass the more limited offerings of other platforms. Shudder makes it feel like it’s Halloween all year long, but that doesn’t mean it’s not pulling out all the stops as we head towards October 31st, as this week will see the debut of Joe Bob’s Beelzebub Bash, hosted by Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mail Girl. Like previous holiday-themed events, Beelzebub Bash will deliver a double feature of surprise titles that celebrate All Hallow’s Eve. The show is produced by Not the Funeral Home, who also produced Castle Freak (2020) and this year’s Street Trash, Hell Hole, and Black Eyed Susan. Joe Bob’s Beelzebub Bash will premiere live on Shudder TV at 9 p.m. ET on October 25th and be available On Demand on October 27th.
Briggs has been a staple of the genre scene for decades, first with his Drive-In Theater and then with MonsterVision. Both of these series saw Briggs hosting a variety of genre titles, interjecting each movie with his wit and wisdom about those experiences. One drawback to both of those series, however, is that the movies themselves were edited for content and also had to compensate for commercial breaks.
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After nearly two decades out of the spotlight, Briggs returned for what was meant to be his send-off special in The Last Drive-In on Shudder in 2018. The 24-hour marathon featured all the insight Briggs had become known for, yet didn’t have to deal with commercial breaks or censoring the more gruesome content. Thanks to the popularity of Briggs, the marathon was a massive success, to the point that the streamer suffered a number of errors due to the overwhelming amount of viewers who tuned in.
Rather than serving as the sendoff to the host, The Last Drive-In brought Briggs back from the dead, as he would return to Shudder for various holiday-themed specials. The chemistry between Joe Bob and Darcy couldn’t be contained to holiday-centric specials, with the pair getting a weekly series that delivered fans mystery double features.
While witnessing movies and TV series in the streaming age means there are thousands of titles available to audiences at the push of a button, this has caused a bit of isolation when it comes to fandoms. In a former era, highly anticipated Halloween events would debut at specific times and on certain networks, so even if a fan was watching it solo, there was a sense of community in knowing how many people around the country were watching the same thing at the same time. Beelzebub Bash will be bringing back that sense of community, as not only will fans all be engaging with the titles on social media together as they see what titles will be airing, but Darcy will also be engaging with fans online.
In a culture where people are growing more and more divided based on their perspectives of both immensely important and incredibly trivial topics, Joe Bob’s Beelzebub Bash marks the rare occasion in which fans can all come together to celebrate their love of horror and Halloween together.
Joe Bob’s Beelzebub Bash airs live on Friday, October 25th at 9 p.m. ET on Shudder TV and will be available On Demand on October 27th.
Will you be tuning in to the event? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
