If your April needs a shot of Halloween spirit, Joe Bob Briggs isn’t going anywhere. Even though The Last Drive-In has said its goodbyes, Shudder has lined up four new specials for 2026—kicking things off tonight, April 24th, with Joe Bob’s Wicked Witchy Wingding, a Walpurgisnacht tribute to his favorite holiday.
Airing tonight at 9 PM ET on the Shudder TV and AMC+ livestream, this double feature promises plenty of occult vibes, offbeat commentary, and all the drive-in charm fans expect, as Joe Bob once again makes the case for Walpurgisnacht to become a national holiday.
I’ll be updating this post later tonight with the two films featured in the double feature, so check back once the madness begins.
The special will be available to stream live in the U.S. and Canada, with an on-demand release arriving April 26th.
And this is just the beginning—Shudder has a full slate of Joe Bob specials on the way this year, including a summer event, a Halloween special, and a Christmas special, featuring a film he’s been trying to bring to air for over 30 years.
UPDATE: Kicking off Joe Bob’s Wicked Witchy Wingding (2026) is Rawhead Rex (1986)—a stone-age penis monster unleashed to tear through the modern world:
VHS cover:
DVD cover:
Blu-ray cover:
UPDATE #2: Second up on Joe Bob’s Wicked Witchy Wingding (2026): Oddity (2024) — where the uncanny turns lethal and nothing is quite what it seems:
A KICKSTARTER campaign has been started the help fund the making of Behind the Mask II: The Return of Leslie Vernon! The long awaited sequel to the cult classic meta-slasher Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.... COMING IN 2027!
Though they reached their goal of $20,000 in the first 9 minutes they are still accepting donations to improve the film even further. Click the link to check out the campaign and perks or donate at:
Hello, Vernonites!
Scott Glosserman and the creative team, here.
We just want to say (in the immortal words of cameraman Doug Johnson)...
“This is really happening.”
After two decades of wishing and waiting… of teasing, false starts, and far too many variations of “we hope someday”, we’ve reached the moment that once felt impossible:
BEHIND THE MASK II: THE RETURN OF LESLIE VERNON is moving into production!
We’ve ALL been waiting — and that wait is finally over.
Leslie’s return won’t be lost in the churn of the studio system. The creative-friendly, fan-focused indie genre powerhouse PAPER STREET PICTURES, lead by veteran horror producer AARON B. KOONTZ are at the helm of production, and committed to helping us tell this story our way, without corporate influence.
This sequel is happening the only way that feels true to the original film: with the participation of fans who kept it alive, shared it, quoted it, and passed it along like a secret handshake within the slasher community for twenty years and counting.
Because of you, Leslie Vernon has never faded. Because of you, he is poised to rise higher.
If you’ve spent years wondering what happened next…
If you’ve carried this film forward through word of mouth and midnight rewatches…
If you’ve been waiting, patiently or otherwise, to see The Boy return…
This is the moment.
Join us, and spread the word! Because when that mask goes back on, Leslie wants us all behind him.
THE ORIGINAL FILM
Who is Leslie Vernon, you ask?
A not uncommon question. The story began back in the olden times of 2006, when a quirky independent horror-comedy quietly premiered at SXSW and began building something very rare: a devoted cult following.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon flipped the slasher genre on its head by asking a simple question: what if the terrifying killers we all know and love were real… and one young, unknown slasher—aspiring to join the ranks of his idols—willingly let a documentary crew follow him as he prepared for his debut night of terror?
Blending razor-sharp satire with genuine suspense, the film introduced audiences to Leslie Vernon: charming, methodical, and disturbingly thoughtful… an aspiring legend determined to earn his spot on slasherdom's Mt. Rushmore.
Full disclosure, Behind the Mask’s theatrical release didn’t exactly make much of a splash. Barely a ripple, in fact. But somehow, despite being relegated to the discount DVD bin, something remarkable happened: horror fans found it. Unprompted, seemingly at random. Over and over again.
And when they did, they didn't stay quiet about it.
BTM started getting mentioned in articles, blogs, and YouTube videos with titles like “Horror Movies You Missed,” “Hidden Gems,” and “Horror Films That Deserve a Sequel.” Leslie Vernon's legend started growing at a grass-roots level, becoming something much bigger than anyone expected.
Over the years, the film has continued to be discovered, shared, screened at private showings, and passed from fan to fan like an obscure band your friend insists you absolutely have to hear. This happened with no paid advertising or media push.
And through it all, critics were echoing similar sentiments as the growing fan base:
Now, twenty years in, Behind the Mask is still being discovered by new fans who come to realize what longtime "Vernonites" already know: Leslie Vernon isn’t just another slasher villain. He is already a legend.
For nearly twenty years, one question has followed BTM's creative team everywhere they go: Why hasn't there been a sequel?
Vernonites have been asking for it at conventions, at screenings, online, and in comment sections across the internet.
And for just as long, our answer has mostly been some variation of “we hope someday.”
Hollywood, as it turns out, isn’t always the fastest place to revive a cult horror legend. But y'all never stopped asking… and more importantly, you never stopped watching. We owe you for that. We owe you big time.
So if Leslie's story is going to continue, it's going to happen the same way the first film survived in the first place: with the participation of people who believe in it.
This is not a “save the movie” campaign. The movie is happening. Kickstarter is how we make it our way.
But why now, you rightfully ask?
Because we've heard you. We have always heard you. And because the twenty year mile marker can't be ignored.
It's now or never.
And Kickstarter provides the best means for all of us to do it together.
REWARDS
Rewards Designed With Fans In Mind
Crafted so there's a tier for everyone, and all of them with our deepest gratitude for being a member of the Vernonite family!
$25 — Digital streaming link of Behind the Mask II: The Return of Leslie Vernon
$45 — Limited Edition BTM II Download + "Vernonites" Discord Room Access
$75 — Blu-ray (region free)/DVD, Limited Edition collectible backer-exclusive Movie Poster, "Paradise Lost? Funded It!" Campaign Sticker, & Behind the Scenes Experience
$150 — The "Vernonite" Full Merch Pack: Blu-ray/DVD, Limited Edition BTM II T-Shirt, movie poster, digital scripts, digital storyboard, digital soundtrack, & sticker
$250 — Special Thanks in End Credits + Vernonite Merch Pack
$1,250 — Associate Producer credit (in movie & on IMDb) + Vernonite Merch Pack
$2,500 — Co-Producer credit (in movie & on IMDb) + Vernonite Merch Pack
$5,600 — Executive Producer credit (in movie, on IMDb, & on Limited Edition poster) + Vernonite Merch Pack
ADD ONS - BEHIND THE SCENES - STRETCH GOALS
Check out the full campaign for EXCLUSIVE ADD ONS, BEHIND THE SCENES Access and STRETCH GOALS to make the film even bigger and better:
Twenty years ago, I made BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON knowing very little about filmmaking itself. What I did have was a crystal-clear vision of the story I wanted to tell, and the confidence to communicate that vision to the supremely skilled cast and crew who brought it to life. Directing begins with conviction rather than mastery, after all.
What followed was something I never could have predicted: audiences kept finding the film, sharing it, and welcoming Leslie into the extended canon of the genre that inspired him.
Over time, that relationship between the film and its audience gave Leslie a life beyond the screen. He became a character people returned to, debated, quoted, and carried forward. Revisiting him began to feel less like reopening a story and more like continuing one that had never really ended.
In the years since, I’ve learned a great deal more about filmmaking and about life. Like Leslie himself, though, I haven’t always kept pace with the evolving mores of horror. Returning to him now carries the feeling of stepping back into familiar territory that has changed while I was away.
BEHIND THE MASK 2: THE RETURN OF LESLIE VERNON grows out of that passage of time and offers a lens through which to understand both how horror has changed, and how we have changed with it.
Halloween III is an outlier in the Halloween franchise–it’s strange, surreal, and supremely underrated. Focusing more on spells and sci-fi adjacent ongoings, the film has steadily found its footing as a cult classic over the last few decades, and we’re stoked to keep the Silver Shamrock love alive with Juan’s newest poster in his Halloween series! Juan’s print for H3 is cinematic, spooky, and features the iconic trio of masks from the movie.
Juan’s print will be available on Tuesday (4/21) @ 12PM ET on the homepage of Bottleneckgallery.com!
I had the absolute honor of creating officially licensed artwork for Halloween III: Season of the Witch with @bottleneckgallery
This film has always stood in its own strange, hypnotic lane—no Michael Myers, just pure atmosphere, masks, and that unforgettable sense that something is very, very wrong.
I leaned into that feeling hard with this piece and paid my tribute to one of the boldest entries in the franchise.
Huge thanks to Bottleneck Gallery for trusting me with this one.
Let me know what you see in it 👁️
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🟠 Official release through Bottleneck Gallery
🟠 Limited edition
🟠 Details dropping / available 4/21 (while they last…which won’t be long.)
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If you’re into horror, cult classics, and art like this, stick around—I’ve got a lot more coming.
AVAILABLE NOW! 😮💨 Wazzzuppp! 🍿CAVITY COLORS new officially licensed GHOST FACE SPOOF collection is here! We know you’ve got the munchies… so take a bite outta these!
