JOE BOB BRIGGS: A HISTORY OF THE REDNECK IN FILM

Sat 11/4 @ Coolidge Corner Theatre

Midnight / $15

In certain, somewhat depraved film circles, Joe Bob Briggs is a name that ranks alongside such film-crit royalty as Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael—and yet, strictly speaking, he isn’t a real person at all. Rather, he is the alter-ego of film critic John Bloom, created in the ‘80s to give voice to his less “respectable” tastes. Fashioned as the consummate Texas good ol’ boy, the “drive-in movie critic” revelled in low-budget no-brow fare (mostly in genres ending in “sploitation”), complete with tallies of their most outrageous and unsavory elements. But here’s the thing: Briggs’ knowledge and enthusiasm for his subjects were both real and infectious, and his reputation soon eclipsed Bloom’s. Briggs would go on to write several books, appear on countless DVD commentaries, and host horror movies on multiple cable channels over the years..

It is cause for excitement, then, that Joe Bob will be bringing his wit and formidable knowledge of schlock to the Coolidge for a live illustrated lecture. Titled A HISTORY OF THE REDNECK IN FILM, Joe Bob’s presentation will feature a dazzling array of clips, illustrating everything from the terrifying nature of the redneck horror villain to “the precise date the first redneck arrived in America.” For legal reasons, the list of films featured is being kept under wraps, and this presentation will never be available online in any capacity– which makes it all the more imperative to get yourself to the Coolidge. It may not be a drive-in, but it’ll do.

—Oscar Goff