We played Screen Drafts to determine the best John Carpenter films
Screen Drafts is a popular podcast. This is a version of the screen drafts game where 4 people chose the best (ideally) 18 films that fit into a draft topic with trivia, vetoes (which eliminate a pick at that spot) and veto overrides (which keep a vetoed pick at the spot it was vetoed) thrown in to keep the game interesting. My name is Dennis. My wife, Vanessa, played and our friends Scott and Nick played as well. Vanessa chose the topic, films directed by John Carpenter. We also included films where Carpenter was only the composer (John Carpenter Retrospective Live, the DGG trilogy, Firestarter), the screenwriter (Black Moon Rising, Eyes of Laura Mars) or even an actor (Studio 666). 31 films in all. We watched or had seen recently enough all of them. Below are the placements which are decided by trivia. A player who has not used one veto or one override in the previous game can add it to their next game. Nick came into this game with an extra veto. Everyone else had an extra veto and an override.
When everyone was prepared, our friend Rene was kind enough to do trivia. And he did a fine job. We all meet on a Monday holiday where a local theater was showing Infra-Man. He asked the trivia at that screening. Coincidentally, while prepping for this game, this same theater (The Loft) screened In the Mouth of Madness, and They Live. I came in first and chose option C. I figured this would be a divisive draft and having a total of four vetoes would help. The best Carpenter film in my mind is Dark Star. I figured I could play that without too much trouble at four; I figured the top 3 would be: Halloween, They Live and The Thing; we will see how that turned out. Scott came in second in trivia and chose option b. Vanessa got third and went with option a. This left Nick with option d.
We played at a the only video store/bar in town: Casa Video. It was just quiet enough and had enough beer and wine options to work out just fine.
Vanessa had 18 and chose a film she found to be great fun even if the budget hurt it a bit. We all liked this one and had no vetoes to offer.
18. Ghosts of Mars (2001)
At 17, Scott chose a film that he loves. We all knew he loved this film (composed by Carpenter) and were surprised he placed it this low.
17. Halloween III (1982)
Vanessa and Nick like this film and were fine because Scott argued it was a Tommy Lee Wallace film and not a Carpenter. I do not care for this film but did not want to veto and see it possibly go higher. Nick had pick 16 and chose another Halloween sequel, one that I like a great deal. Halloween II for him is a pale version of the first with JLC laid up and a lesser score where the theme was changed from piano to synth. I love Loomis in 2 and many of the deaths but I could live with it at 16 and so could everyone else.
16. Halloween II (1981)
At 15, I chose Someone's Watching Me. This is a very early film with a quirky female lead, a strong gay character and some cool old school tech. I felt that maybe this was a little low, but I wanted to make sure it made the list. Nick agreed it was a little low and vetoed it in the hopes of getting it higher. No override was offered. So for my next pick, I chose Escape From New York. It is fine. I like the gonzo production design. I like Kurt Russell fine and some of the support cast; mainly I did not want this to get too high. Everyone else agreed.
15. Escape From New York (1981)
At 14, Vanessa also picked a Kurt Russell film to keep it from getting higher. Big Trouble in Little China. I liked this film unabashedly. Scott did not care for the love interest. Nick had issues with the lameness of the villain and how easily he's dispatched. He offered a veto that was overridden by Scott so it would not get higher.
14. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Scott offered another film with dude bro energy at thirteen. Too much dude bro energy if ask me. But Scott enjoyed the vampire myth at play and James Woods' performance. I am talking about John Carpenter's Vampires. I vetoed the film because Daniel Baldwin beat up that lady for a bit too long for me, but Nick pointed out that nearly all these films have dude bro energy and and my veto was overridden by Nick.
13. Vampires (1998)
My wife and I attended a John Carpenter concert in 2016, Mesa AZ. We had a great time. My wife got into him because of the music and now has quite the Carpenter LP collection. I chose John Carpenter Retrospective Live at number 12. It is a concert film and could have been number one or any number; it is a master doing something that he loves. Nick and Scott would have never played it but offered no veto because they enjoyed it and the audience costumes and the music were both great.
12. John Carpenter Retrospective Live (2016)
At 11, Scott played a film that could have also been higher. Starman is atypical Carpenter, but we were all moved by the romance and the deer scene. No one offered a veto even as it would have been a fine top five.
11. Starman (1984)
At 10, Nick played a film he had previously vetoed to get higher. It has the theme of gas lighting that he loves and that is Someone's Watching Me. No vetoes were offered.
This is a shocker. Nick played Halloween at eight. He thought it might be too obvious a choice for anyone's top film and had a different plan at three. I hoped his plan was The Fog. Vanessa and I were considering a veto, but Scott agreed that this did not need to be higher and since he had an override, it had to stand.
Christine Scott contends is better than the book. He found the soundtrack to be a vibe and went into a two beer explanation of a trans narrative of the film that left us all bewildered, perhaps bewildered enough that we forgot we had vetoes and overrides.
For 6, Vanessa played a film that was my second favorite Carpenter. Assault on Precinct 13 is a fun film with sparkling chemistry and dialog. It is also a brutal film, the scene at the ice cream truck. We all talked about that and had no real problem with the placement.
This is where the vetoes happen. I tried to play Dark Star at four. Nick vetoed it. He had it as a one star film. We discussed everything that was enjoyable about it, plenty. But Scott hated it too and though Vanessa liked it, no override was offered. I used a book of fate to help me decide on every pick and alternative outside of this pick. But I was on my own now. I tried to replay my first number five, Black Moon Rising. Vanessa vetoed that one. I then went into his composer work since I didn't want to pick anything that would harm the top three of (Fog, Thing, and They Live). I chose Firestarter (2022) which I enjoyed well enough but Scott did not and vetoed me. Out of decent options, I chose Body Bags. The funny thing is that the strongest work in it is by Tobe Hopper. No one objected to this pick and hardly any vetoes were left anyhow.
For number 3, Nick played The Fog. We all really like this pick. In his filmography it was a great follow up to Halloween. Everyone was happy.
And then I was not happy because Scott tried to play In the Mouth of Madness at two. Turns out he hates The Thing and loves this tribute to Lovecraft. Apologies to Rene but I think this plays like bad David Lynch and was quick to veto. Scott countered with a composer work, Halloween Ends and I had to leave this game without a veto (And the next draft is Wes Craven!!) because outside of Scott none of us were happy with that one. Scott ended up on Halloween Kills. And the only things we have next game are an override for each of us and a veto for Vanessa.
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