Ray Bradbury/Robert Bloch Film Game

Four of us (Nick, Scott, my wife Vanessa and I) played a game based on the podcast Screen Drafts. This is a (in this case) top 16 list making game where players get four picks each and work towards making a best of list on a given topic. Each player (depending on their pick placement as decided by trivia) has a certain number of vetoes and veto overrides. Vetoes keep things off the list at the placement where they are vetoed, but once vetoed they can be overriden (by a player other than the one who played it) or potentially played higher. We had Nick's friend Jesse join us as an observer. She was lovely and may be utilized as a host should she join us again.

I suspect she influenced the game with her presence because leading up to the game I was told by the players this will be a copacetic game because most in contention films were on the same level, but once we started, the vetoes and overrides were thrown. Nick and Scott  left with overrides that carried over. V and I had a veto and an override carry over, but a fair amount where used, and maybe this was to keep the game exciting for the new audience or maybe it was just the excitement of the game mixed with booze. I wanted an excuse to watch a bunch of film written by Robert Bloch. He was an interest screenwriter. He wrote novels including Psycho, but did not script the adaptation. There was not enough films to make a game of it, so I added Ray Bradbury adaptations and scripts to the mix. 

There were only 23 eligible projects for this game including a book that featured short stories from both, a short and two television episodes written by Mr Bradbury. Bradbury projects are listed first. Much of this stuff is on Tubi or YouTube. Some I had to buy in order to make available. 

1. Bradbury and Bloch (book)

2. It Came from Outer space (1953)

3. Moby Dick (1956)

4. Twilight Zone season 3 ep 36 “I Sing the Body Electric” (1963)

5. Icarus Montgolfier Wright  (1962)

6. The Picasso Summer (1969)

7. The Illustrated Man  (1969)

8. Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

9. Ray Bradbury Theater (Season 2 ep 7 “punishment without crime” (1988)

10. The Halloween Tree (1993) 

11. The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998)

12. The Sound of Thunder (2005)

13. The Couch (1962)

14. The Cabinet of Caligari (1962)

15. The Nightwalker (1964)

16. Straight Jacket (1964)

17. The Psychopath (1966)

18. Torture Garden (1967)

19. The Deadly Bees (1968)

20. The House that Dripped Blood (1971)

21. Asylum (1972 )

22. The Return of Captain Nemo (1973)

23. The Cat Creature (1973)

16. Icarus Montgolfier Wright  (1962)

I had first pick and went with this animated short from Bradbury because although it is well done, it is unsubstantial and leaves a big question. Why can't the astronaut make a name for himself without needing the names of innovators from the past? Everyone seemed to agree with this placement.

15. Asylum (1972)

This was the first of three Amicus/ Robert Bloch collaborations played.  This was a good one and even had an adaptation of "Mannequins of Horror," one of the stories that showed up in the Bloch and Bradbury book that was eligible. We talked about the cuteness of that adaptation, what looked to be toy robots were used in a key scene that were not the monsters we imagined when reading the story. This could have been higher, but no one vetoed this, Vanessa's first pick of the game.

14. "I Sing the Body Electric" from Season 3 Twilight Zone (1963)

This Bradbury was Nick's pick. He and everyone else was taken with our last game (Season 1 of The Twilight Zone) but found this episode from season 3 a little too sentimental. He liked some of how it captured grief and liked the performances enough to play it here, and everyone agreed it should not go any higher. The robot was kind of creepy with the oldest girl.

13. Moby Dick (1956)

Moby Dick is great. It took a few vetoes to get it here, and maybe it could have been played higher. Scott first picked the Bradbury adaptation from Stuart Gordon The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit based on a Saturday Evening Post story. He admired the all Latino cast and thought it was great fun. Nick vetoed because of that horrible, unwashed Edward James Olmos character.  The other three of it were always afraid that the dirty covered bum character was going to put on the suit. It really was nightmare fuel for Nick. Vanessa and I objected to the film ending where a film feels like it should start. To make matters worse, I left Scott's DVD copy in a Lyft and had to pay twenty buck to get it back so I was happy to see it go. Scott then tried to play the adaptation of Bradbury's The Sound of Thunder. A few of us mentioned the bad special effects and Scott was convinced to self veto the pick! He then went with Moby Dick, which I might have vetoed but knew Vanessa was not crazy about it due to the rough animal violence. It stayed put.

12. Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

I first tried to play Picasso Summer. Nick liked it as I did. Vanessa was lukewarm on it, but Scott thought a harried ad executive trying to find Picasso in Paris was creepy and vetoed right away. I then played another Bradbury script that I just kind of liked. Pryce got good notices with the group, but the only thing that moved me about the film was Jason Robards and his fear of aging. Everyone else felt this could be higher but no veto was offered.

11. The Nightwalker (1964)

This was the first of the two Bloch/William Castle films played. We all talked about Castle using older actresses in his horror films and how novel that seemed. Barbara Stanwyck was the lead in this one. We all found this fun to watch and saw no reason to veto Scott's pick.

10. The Cabinet of Caligari (1962)

At one point, this was Vanessa's number one pick, but she played it here. The weird sometimes incestuous family themes that pop up in Bloch are particularly interesting in this (not really) adaptation of Caligari. The film was fascinating and even those of us like Scott who did not like it much had to admit it was agreeably weird. It stayed here.

09. The Cat Creature (1973) 

Nick picked this Bloch scripted film because it had a great vibe. I mean it had a house cat that kills. It had the shopkeeper from Gremlins and John Carradine in a hotel with a little person. Nick particularly loved the twist. I really enjoyed this one as well as did Vanessa. Scott did not but any veto would have been overriden, so none was offered.

08. Torture Garden (1967)

Vanessa first went with The Couch. I really felt this was a strong film about a deranged man that calls the police telling them a murder will take place very shortly then kills a random person right before his psychiatrist appointments. This film has great ice pick kills and a twist no one would see coming. It was very high on my list so I vetoed. Vanessa then played a film she felt could have been higher if not for pacing problems, Torture Garden, the second Bloch Amicus film. It features an energetic performance from Burgess Meredith. It has a story where Edgar Allan Poe is a main character. There is a sinister piano. Nick liked this one a great deal and vetoed. I overrode because it was my least favorite adaptation.

07. The Deadly Bees (1967)

Nick then played my least favorite film in the game. And it should be mentioned a film that made Bloch "shudder every time it was shown." He had his reasons though. He liked the makeup. He liked the lead character, a rock star who ends up in a small area overrun by bees. He compared her to the lead character in Smile 2. We talked a lot about how 60's horror Incorporated mod-type rock bands into their plots and even let them perform a song or two. Vanessa thought the effects were laughable. Scott was incredulous but no vetoes.

06. Strait-Jacket (1964)

Scott played the second Bloch/Castle film. He talked about that scene with Crawford and his daughter's suitor and how it was hotter than anything in Babygirl. We talked about hagsplotation and how enjoyable (if obvious) the twists were here. Vanessa hates the crazy woman narrative in general but had fun here. No vetoes.

05. The Couch (1962)

Since it was vetoed by me earlier, I made sure this film ended up in the top five.

04. It Came From Outer Space (1953)

Vanessa picked this very early Bradbury adaption. She liked the alien's reasonable demeanor and found Barbara Rush extremely attractive. We all enjoyed this one. We discussed the terrible color version available online for free, wishing we had paid to rent the black and white. I mentioned that if the aliens did not look so funny, this would likely be more of a classic staple. No veto offered.

03. The Illustrated Man (1969)

Nick picked this, probably the most famous Bradbury adaptation. He heard about it and did not think it sounded good, but found it ultimately a well done anthology story; the future story featuring child death really got to him. I agreed it was a strong and memorable film with a great lead performance. Scott liked it for its weirdness. And Vanessa found the last story sad and the lead guy very grumpy in an entertaining way. No vetoes here.

02. Bradbury Bloch--paperback (1969)

Scott looks for themes in these games plus he found all the stories here to be bangers. To name a few of the ten: "The Shadow from the Steeple," "Fever Dream," "The Dead Man" and "The Grinning Ghoul." There is no greater pick for cohesion then this so I could not disagree even if I only really liked half the stories. Everyone agreed this was a sensible pick.

01. The House that Dripped Blood (1971)

I want to say this was my favorite Amicus anthology from Bloch. All the stories are good. Peter Cushing is touching as a lonely man. Everyone agreed this was a strong anthology. But the journey to this pick was a rough ride. I got vetoed three times! I wish this was a record, but I got vetoed possibly four in a found footage draft we played long ago. I first tried to play the episode of Ray Bradbury Theater featuring a great Donald Pleasence performance, some thoughtful questions and an 80's MTV vibe that was unlike anything else played. The vibe around the room seemed to be indifference. It was vetoed by Nick (who I tought loved Pleasence but perhaps not). I then returned to Picasso Summer because I  think it is a very bright film, the way Picasso shows up at the beach making sand drawings that the waves dispatch of and how the whole trip in the film was equally written in the wind as it were. Scott vetoed here. I then played a strange television film starring Jose Ferrer (who gives an amazing performance) and Burgess Meredith hamming it up Penguin style called The Return of Captain Nemo (1978) co-written by Bloch. The feeling on this one was that one was too high and Vanessa vetoed. Dripped Blood is a fine number one, and the films in competition were quite good here in retrospect.