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Joe R. Lansdale
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The Complete Drive-In Paperback – April 27, 2010

by Joe R. Lansdale (Author), Don Coscarelli (Introduction)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 31 ratings
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Friday night at the Orbit Drive-in: a circus of noise, sex, teenage hormones, B-movie blood, and popcorn. On a cool, crisp summer night, with the Texas stars shining down like rattlesnake eyes, movie-goers for the All-Night Horror Show are trapped in the drive-in by a demonic-looking comet. Then the fun begins. If the movie-goers try to leave, their bodies dissolve into goo. Cowboys are reduced to tears. Lovers quarrel. Bikini-clad women let their stomachs’ sag, having lost the ambition to hold them in. The world outside the six monstrous screens fades to black while the movie-goers spiral into base humanity, resorting to fighting, murdering, crucifying, and cannibalizing to survive. Part dark comedy part horror show, Lansdale's cult Drive-In books are as shocking and entertaining today as they were 20 years ago.
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  1. Print length
    464 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Underland Press
  4. Publication date
    April 27, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.25 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    098022604X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0980226041
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Underland Press; 1st edition (April 27, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 098022604X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0980226041
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.25 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 31 ratings

About the author

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Joe R. Lansdale

Joe R. Lansdale

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Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over thirty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in eighteen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies.

Lansdale has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others.

A major motion picture based on Lansdale's crime thriller Cold in July was released in May 2014, starring Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Sam Shepard (Black Hawk Down), and Don Johnson (Miami Vice). His novella Bubba Hotep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror." He is currently co-producing a TV series, "Hap and Leonard" for the Sundance Channel and films including The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero.

Lansdale is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
31 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Josh Mauthe
5.0 out of 5 stars Cannibalism, gore, and the Popcorn King - another night at the picture show
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2010
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A collection of three cult novels that form one larger story arc, The Complete Drive-In is an absolute must read for horror fans, particularly those with tastes that lean towards the grindhouse. A night at the local drive-in movie theater (on horror marathon night) is interrupted by a most unusual comet, and afterwards the night never seems to end. Tensions start to rise, people start to die, bodies start getting eaten, and then the Popcorn King comes along...and we're not even through the first of the three books. Lansdale has made a spectacularly wonderful little work that's equal parts pitch-black comedy, gruesome horror tale, fascinating adventure, and incredible display of imagination, all while juggling some seriously low-class roots and a taste for the gross-out. It's an absolute blast, and while the end is a little bit of a letdown, it's definitely not enough to ruin the book; it just doesn't quite live up to what's come before. But I really can't recommend this enough if you've got the taste for it (heh) - it's manages to both embrace the genre and have some fun with it, and it's a joy to read.
11 people found this helpful
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Lawrence A. Strid
5.0 out of 5 stars Way Out There Trip To The Drive-in
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2015
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A sci-fi/horror homage to the drive-in experience, apocalypse included. I am not going to give anything away, but if you want to read one of the most imaginative works of fantasy fiction ever committed to paper then this would be it. Lansdale's sense of humor and gift for characterizations makes the mayhem seem less horrific. Mr. Lansdale has definitely become my favorite writer of fiction.
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Modern Fossil
5.0 out of 5 stars Holy S...
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2016
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Great horror story, genuinely original, and with all the delicious cultural satire you can scarf. And... if you were a teen or young adult in the days of the B-movie drive-ins, you're heart is in for a nostalgic tweak. This novel is jut plain classic fun even after all these years. Please, somebody, make this into a move. Series?
One person found this helpful
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J. Steller
3.0 out of 5 stars Just OK
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2010
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Great imagination as you would expect from Joe, but in the end I thought it was just OK. Had a great beginning and a fantastic last paragraph, but the in between just seemed to float around.

Could make an interesting movie. And every time I go to the drive in with my wife, I'm instantly reminded of the Popcorn King and Cannibalism.
3 people found this helpful
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Youri
5.0 out of 5 stars A throat and gut grabber
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2013
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Quite frankly, you're in for a somewhat uneven experience, with the first book, blowing your mind right out the gate, a bit of a lull with the second one, though it has its moments and innovations, and then it all gets wrapped up in the belly of the beast.

A highly worthwhile read. Vicious, imaginative, hilarious...

5 stars because insanity deserves its audience.
One person found this helpful
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Rich Veramontes
5.0 out of 5 stars Trippy fun
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2013
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I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this book, but wow..this book was amazing..I wish that a movie version of this would get made just so I could see just how in the heck they would bring the Popcorn King to life.
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J.E.P.
4.0 out of 5 stars Utterly wierd!
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2010
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The Hap and Leonard stories have been a favorite of mine for some time. I did not know what to expect from Lansdale's Drive-In stories but thought I should try them out. Good grief! These are the most bazzare stories I've read in along time. I wondered if he was channling H.P. Lovecraft! What was this Texas boy thinking? Once I got into the spirit of the stories I enjoyed the trip. Just don't read them at night.
2 people found this helpful
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Travis Spangle
2.0 out of 5 stars Keeps getting worse
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2012
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I picked up an issue of the comic book version of the first Drive-In book. I was so fascinated by the story I wanted to know how it ended. If I had stopped reading after the first book this would be a 5 star review. Joe is a talented writer. That kept me motivated to read through the second book, which has a shallow plot and nonsense. I read the last book for closure on the story, which just left a bitter taste. I don't read much horror anymore so maybe this is standard for the genre. The first book is the best part and don't bother with anything else.
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Top reviews from other countries

Smash Diasaku
5.0 out of 5 stars "Hallowed be thy name, oh Lord -- and shotgun do your stuff"
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2012
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What to say about the Drive in trilogy by Lansdale; they're insane, blasphemous, filthy, violent masterpieces of blacker than black comedy.
If you're not a prude and open to the surreal then these books are amazing, and they've finally been collected together. Not only do you get the three parts of the Drive in trilogy you get a bunch of extras to boot; including early sketches of the doomed movie version. Which to be honest would never have been as good as the book because of Hollywood's squeamishness when it comes to nudity and violence.
I rarely say this but, this is the best book I've read this year. It's seriously twisted. You give up trying to guess where the bizarre story is going and just sit back and enjoy the ride. I'll admit that part three is a little disappointing, and I'm glad he stopped there, but that's a minor gripe because part three is still very good compared to most other books. It's just that when put next to it's siblings it pales a little, next to their inspired dark genius

It's not a horror, its not science fiction, its not a comedy it's simply The Drive In.

All Hail the Popcorn King
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Ian Williams
4.0 out of 5 stars Deeply weird
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2010
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This omnibus edition of Lansdale's Drive-in trilogy is a good-looking package being a reasonably priced large format paperback with an attractive readable typeface, new introductions by the author, and some illustrations which don't really add anything, plus a list of all his published books (graphic novels excluded).

It's a very surreal mix of horror, science fiction, pop culture with over the top gore and some of the vilest acts imaginable spewed up for your edification. Basically, in the first novel a comet with teeth seals off a large drive-in and its inhabitants proceed to rapidly degenerate into cannibalistic maniacs. That's for starters. The second and third novels follow the adventures of our hero once he escapes and if you think the first book is weird, you aint seen nothing yet.

This is a deeply strange and disturbing trilogy suitable only for those with the strongest of stomachs and the sickest of minds. And if that sounds like a recommendation to you, it most certainly is. While I can't say that I loved this omnibus it sure was a lot of very sick fun.
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inkysquid
3.0 out of 5 stars dumbest ending, so dissapointed.................
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2012
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Dont buy this edition, just get the first book and leave the story hanging there if its available on its own!, you might as well, youll just want the wasted hours of your life back at the end of this trilogy. Read the first book in my teens and it had a profound impact on me so nearly in my forties decided to put this one to bed, i loved the scenario the characters the nightmare that is the drive in, so i was intrigued to find out what happend to the characters and just what was playing with them! Ordered this on my kindle and was stuck to it like glue for a week, only to get to the end of the last book and boy what a load of tosh,its like he just couldnt be bothered doing justice to this off the wall story and felt the pressure his editor was heaping on him to get the book finished!! and just decided to turn his brain off and just turned it into a retirement fund, felt a bit robbed if im honest, well thats my opinion for better or worse, first book is great but leave it there, let you own "Theatre of the mind" fill in the blanks for youself, youll do better job.
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