The Drive-In Will Never Die!

The drive-in has always held a special place for me. No matter the weather, being in the car with an outside screen and FM radio frequency was cool.

One of the drive-ins I grew up with was the three-screen Gulf-Way off South Shaver in Houston. When my grandmother wouldn’t babysit me, my mom would have to take me on her dates. She was divorced and single at the time. She would set me down and explain to me that I had to pretend to be her little brother on the date, which is funny now. Usually, I was good at pretending. However, one time I was sleepy and called her “Mom,” which kind of busted up her date. She was so mad.

The films were a mix of studio releases with independent ones that were regionally distributed. The drive-ins would show double or sometimes triple features, either repeating the first film or adding another. I remember watching in awe as faces melted in Raiders of the Lost Ark from the backseat of a 1968 Pontiac LeMans and then turning to look out the back window to see nekkid people on another screen when I was 10. “Nekkid” is when people are nude and up to something…if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

Movies were different back then. An R-rating had nudity. I used to stay up late to catch glimpses of things on cable for that very reason, which brings me to the infamous Red Bluff Drive-In in Pasadena. It was an XXX venue surrounded by a really tall metal fence. I once visited a friend when I was like twelve or thirteen, and we climbed on the roof of his house to watch a film. Some trees obscured our view a little bit, but we still got an eyeful—nothing weird, just youthful curiosity.

As a teenager, the drive-in took on a new vibe. The I-45 Drive-In was my teenage hangout with ice chests of beer and triple features. It was a secret party place to sneak off to with my friends. We would pile into one car with some of us in the trunk and bring a small BBQ pit, smoke weed, and drink. I was a punk kid and a little wild back then. More importantly, I was a monster kid, always pushing us to go to the drive-in and see horror films. Under the stars and clouds, we would see every cool movie at the time, including films like Hellbound: Hellraiser II, The Fly 2, Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Phantasm II, Leviathan, Pumpkinhead, Child’s Play, Warlock, and even a rerelease of a Cheech & Chong double feature.

At times the pairing would be off, like the weird double features of Marked for Death/Graveyard Shift, Bad Dreams/Above the Law, and Poltergeist III/Funny Farm. Those were odd, but we’d still go for the atmosphere. Other times were perfect with inspired choices like The Terror Within/Deepstar Six, Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III/Brain Dead (the trippy Roger Corman one), and Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood/The Nest. Walking to the concession stand and hearing Ki-Ki Ma-Ma coming out of all the car stereos was creepy and awesome.

One of the coolest double features was The Stepfather II/Demons 2. Demons 2 had been out on an R-rated VHS, and it was a surprise to see a regional drive-in release. Only a few of us went that night, and it was a little chilly. The horror soundtrack and demonic roars came through the speakers, competing with the wind and threat of rain, and I loved it. I wasn’t sure if the print was uncut, but in the moment, it did not matter.

Not every horror film released would play at the drive-in. When one did, it was a blast. Some weeks nothing would come out, and we would go see a movie a second or third time. I never realized how rad it was until it ended.

Hurricane Alicia destroyed the Gulf-Way Drive-In in 1983, the concerned citizens of Pasadena put an end to the Red Bluff Drive-In in 1988, and the I-45 Drive-In closed its gates forever in 1992. I miss those times and cherish the memories. The drive-in is part of my adolescence and will always be a part of me.

Dean Cade