Rating: 
Summary: HE SHOULD BE PAYING YOU...
Review: ...to read this VERY boring book. Joe Bob used to be an original, creative writer. His early work, with his witty observations and total lack of Political Correctness, always left me in awe of his talent. This one however, is just lame. For starters, this selection of movies have been discussed and written about so many times now that if the reader doesn't know their history and significance by now he should just quit watching anything other than the standard Hollywood drivel. It's amazing how he has managed to take movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS and make them sound so dry and bland. I actually had to fight off sleep while reading much of this book. Is this the Joe Bob we all knew and loved? It makes one wonder if maybe he was getting paid by the word. Much of it comes across as some wanna-be writer trying hard to impress you with just how smart and intelligent he can be (like the kid in class no one liked except the teacher - and that was a pity thing). So what's up Joe Bob? Did the wife get fat and crabby or something? Where is the fun? It sure ain't here...
Rating: 
Summary: Very thorough!
Review: I kind of expected this to be in the style of Joe Bob's Drive-In books, but it's in a more serious vein. Joe Bob writes about the technical aspects of each film and the cultural atmosphere surrounding each release. It's actually rather scholarly, or at least as scholarly as a book written about films like ILSA, SHE-WOLF OF THE SS can be. Good job!
Rating: 
Summary: Finally!
Review: I'm so glad Joe Bob Briggs didn't write (yet) another tired and predictable book about [...] beer. I was pleasantly surprised to see more John Bloom in this novel. If you're a diehard movie fan, you'll appreciate it. If you're a beer guzzling redneck who's expecting[body part counts], sorry. You might want to use a dictionary for this one. Wait. Rednecks don't read. Nevermind.
Rating:
Summary: Profoundly Tedious
Review: Joe Bob Briggs becomes what he rails against - a bore! Too many goldurn words in very teeny tiny print that drone on and on about the significance of this and the importance of that. Thank God I was given the book and didn't have to buy it. Joe Bob knows better than anyone the curse of overanalyzing the obvious -shame on him for being such a hypocrite. The worst offense committed by Mr. Briggs, is that after getting into his essays and being so turned off by his tedious workovers, I am also uninterested in watching the movies themselves. In his weird, condescending way Joe Bob assumes that exploitation movies need literary validation. Avoid this book, and watch the flicks - if you are into that sort of thing. I too am profoundly disappointed in this effort. Joe Bob Briggs, beloved Drive-In Reviewer of Grapevine, Texas - should hang up the speaker and limp off to teach a film appreciation course to people who would rather intellectualize a movie than see one or make one.
Rating:
Summary: The Layman's Guide to Film and American Culture
Review: Joe Bob Briggs gives us much more than popcorn to chew on here. Profoundly Disturbing deftly bridges the no-man's-land between what critics have opined and what the spectators--or more accurately participants in the event of viewing--have experienced in the wake of these films. In a society where popular icons weave themselves tightly into the fabric of our culture, this is an enlightening look at how these selected films have changed the society we have come to live in. With the typical Briggsian style, his comfortable and at times delightful prose makes tackling the epic and archetypal subjects in these films manageable for anyone. Especially intriguing is the full scope of information in which Briggs submerges us to see not only the final product of each film, but also the genesis and ramifications of each. I haven't viewed several of the films highlighted in the book, but after Briggs' astute exploration of what I had considered some of the most taboo of movies, I feel compelled to further my education by renting many of them. If you were delighted by James Burke's Connections, then this is a film book you'll love, just as I do.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun...but not Profound
Review: Joe Bob Briggs is almost as much fun on the printed page as he is on television, so I opened PROFOUNDLY DISTURBING with great anticipation and closed it with some disappointment. First of all Briggs' choice of profoundly disturbing movies, while hard to refute, is awfully short and awfully familiar. How many more essays on CALIGARI or DEEP THROAT or CHAINSAW MASSACRE do we really need? It would have been fascinating if Joe Bob had plucked less discussed movies out of the disturbing movie cesspool and given them some attention. For instance, instead of highlighting SHAFT for its role in blaxploitation, why not discuss the obscure black-cast horror flick GANJA AND HESS? Instead of DEEP THROAT, why not Gerard Damiano's second hit, and much greater and much more disturbing movie, DEVIL IN MISS JONES, or Radley Metzger's THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN, still considered by many the best porn flick ever made. Why not HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER instead of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE? Perhaps Briggs's editor, or Briggs himself, for that matter, just wanted to play it safe, as though commerical appeal might be compromised if he had chosen some really offbeat artifact from the movie netherworld. Not that I didn't learn something from the book. It abounds in interesting tidbits. For instance, I had no idea Gary Sinise's daddy was a crew member on Herschell Gordon Lewis's BLOOD FEAST. But there isn't enough arcania of that sort or enough original insights about the movies to make it anything outstanding. Usually Joe Bob summarizes the movie's plot, gives some background on its production, and makes mention of its impact then moves on. In his treatment of ILYSA, SHE WOLF OF THE SS, he forgets the movie altogether for several pages to give the reader a chronicle of the Ilse Koch, the real life paradigm for Ilysa. It gets tiresome after a while. And his consideration of Cronenberg's CRASH gets downright incoherent as he attempts to make some "profound" statement about the movie's content. Sorry, Joe Bob, but I didn't buy it for a minute. Still, this is a very attractive volume and easy to read for the most part and probably a must for any hardcore cult movie completist.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but riddled with errors
Review: Joe Bob Briggs is clearly a passionate guy who knows his stuff. He's very funny at times as well (see his critique of Linda Lovelace's post-DEEP THROAT career and why THE WILD BUNCH is a better film than BUTCH CASSIDY). However, there's a number of factual errors ( for example, Spalding Gray's name does not have a "u" in it, and this misspelling is used several times). Furthermore, Briggs never quite conveys why DRUNKEN MASTER would be considered shocking, even during its time, and I got the sense that he just wanted an outlet to plug the movie. Anyway, it's still a cool book, and worth checking out.
Rating:
Summary: Bloom's Day
Review: Joe Bob's drive-in books of the past were certainly funny and sometimes informative, but cult film lovers looking for more meat on the bone will enjoy "Profoundly Disturbing." Instead of the standard Joe Bob treatment (breast counts, number of car crashes and/or severed limbs), he gives us an extremely informative and genuinely affectionate collection of chapters on some of the most influential underground movies to ever offend delicate, G-rated sensibilities. Some of the flicks covered are even respectable (but no less offensive)-- the chapter on "Crash" is one of my favorites. Maybe fans who will accept absolutely NOTHING from John Bloom except his Joe Bob alter ego won't like it because of its lack of redneck element, but for fans (and cult film lovers) who appreciate the fact that behind Joe Bob there is a rather more intellectual and subtle mind, this is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, Educational AND Entertaining!
Review: Once again, Joe Bob Briggs has proved to the world that he truly knows his stuff. By taking an in-depth look at fifteen movies that changed the way we watch (and make) movies, he displays a gift for serious analysis that fits perfectly with his tongue-in-cheek humor. This book is highly recommended for film students, exploitation movie lovers, and--of course--fans of the man himself. Joe Bob doesn't disappoint with this book. He writes with true understanding of the exploitation genre, without talking down to his audience or making fun of the movies themselves. After reading this book, you'll never be able to watch these movies the same way again--or at least you'll be able to amaze and surprise your friends with all the new trivia you'll pick up. More than worth the cover price.
Rating:
Summary: And now I know
Review: Profoundly Disturbing was not exactly what I had expected, but I was far from disappointed. The amount of information in this book is nothing short of incredible. If this were the text book for a college course on Film Study, the class would be full for years. I've read other reviews on some of the films, but Briggs knowledge of the people who made them, who they were influenced by, who was later influenced by them, and the history of the public reactions to the films can be found nowhere else. It will make you view many filmmakers and films differently, and I highly recommended it for anyone even remotely interested in any aspect of film. It made me want to watch the ones I haven't, and rewatch the ones I have with a new perspective. Looking forward to a sequel!
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