We played a game of screen drafts to determine the best animal attack films

We (Nick, Scott, my wife Vanessa and I) played this game at Red Garter Saloon before going off to see Waxwork on the big screen. The drinks were plentiful. The jukebox was playing the back catalog of Eddie Murphy thanks to me. I never looked behind me but I am pretty sure the crowd was the to type party all the time. And we played a game based on the podcast Screen Drafts to determine the best animal attack films while also using vetoes and veto overrides when necessary. Pick placement and amount of vetoes and overrides is decided by trivia. This trivia was provided by our friend Rene who also joined us for the first time. The game probably went off the rails more than usual. But Nick left with a carryover veto, Scott left with a carry over override and V and I both left with one of each.

18. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)

Nick chose this one despite finding the characters awful. He liked the altar room and the sequence with the boat. He thought I might veto with it this low because I occasionally bring Sistine Stallone into conversations. I contend that I only do so when appropriate and was fine with this at the bottom of the list because The Family Stallone is her real contribution to entertainment. V thought this film was merely okay, but did not want to waste one of only a few vetoes to get rid of it. Scott had not seen the film.

17. Night of the Lepus (1972)

Scott picked this as he found it very entertaining but also had a hint of local pride (as we live in Tucson where it was filmed) when discussing it. Nick had seen it and enjoyed it. My wife and I had not but felt no need to veto.

16. Cocaine Bear (2023)

Vanessa picked this one. She found it to be a very fun, joyful film and Scott pointed out how good Mr Liotta was in his final role. I did not find joy in this film except for the title. It was fun asking people if they were going to see Cocaine Bear when it came out. But Night Bitch came out and that is a much funner title to bring up to co-workers and random people. I saw no point in a veto at that spot, worried if might have been played higher if I had vetoed.

15. Arachnophobia (1990)

For those that love this one, I am sorry. I felt it was too retro and not interesting enough. It had Spielberg vibes. Nick liked it a lot, partly for a couple of great shots. Scott liked it a lot. V liked Julian Sands. I remembered thinking Goodman was so cool when I saw this as a kid. Now, I realize he's kinda dumb. No vetoes were offered. I played it here so it would not go high. And it stayed.

14. Infested (2023)

Nick played Infested, much like my play, he did not want to see this get too high. The other three players liked the characters in this and the sense of community. Nick liked some of the kills but hated the characters. Somehow Green Room was brought up and Nick was  jokingly asked which characters he liked in that. But before things got too heated, Eddie Murphy's I Meant You No Harm blared out of the player and everything was calm again. No vetoed offered here.

13. Venom (1981)

Scott played Venom here because the scenes with the black mamba were scary. Nick pointed out that the snake only kills the bad guys. V and I liked the film. I felt it was more of a hostage film than an animal attack film but offered no veto.

12. Day of the Animals (1977)

First I played Jaws IV thinking that three Jaws films could make this list. I chose 4 because of Lorraine Gary and Michael Caine. Gary has such fun island chemistry with Caine. She seemed quite aged in Jaws 2 and was agreeably attractive in this silly revenge film. Vanessa though vetoed Jaws 4. She hated the revenge element and the fact that the shark growls. Nick seemed bemused by the pick and Scott was intimidated either but V's vitriol of the film or by the Jaws himself to offer an override. I then played Day of the Animals because it's the most animal attack movie one can find. Scott had an issue that it was more eco-horror than animal attack but that did not sway the other players, and he offered no veto himself.

11. Alligator (1980)

Scott pointed out how this film has an alligator eating its way through the economic system, ultimately ending up at a fancy wedding. It was an interesting take and we all liked the film. At the end of this, we lamented the sequel not making the list because it is just as good.

10. Crawl (2019)

Vanessa picked this one because it still held up for her from a DBox screening we attended in 2019. She liked the father-daughter relationship and some of the kills. No one offered any objections.

09. Cujo (1983)

Nick later felt that he played this too low. It is a scary crowd pleaser. We talked about the direction of the film and how certain shots had to be framed so the audience couldn't see the dog wagging his tail. No one offered a veto even as we all knew this was too low.

08. Sting (2024)

Vanessa first tried to play Boar (2017). She liked how a major character died in a surprising way. She liked the uncle character and how the old men had a love/hate kinda friendship. This was vetoed by Scott who had no seen the film but felt a better pick could be had. V then picked Sting, and it was my turn to not like any of the characters and veto, but Scott override my veto because he liked the film a lot.

07. Piranha 3D (2010)
This one got weird. Scott originally picked the Joe Dante classic. He talked about how one did not need Jaws if Piranha was on the list. He talked about Phil Tippet. He then started talking about Richard Dreyfuss in the 3D version and he and Nick were talking about the kills in the film. Scott then vetoed himself and played 3D! I vetoed and Nick overrode my veto.

06. The Birds (1963)

We all acknowledged this is a great classic. Nick had it a bit down on his list because Tippi does not make enough of an impact for the final act of the film.

05. Night Creature (1978)

See number four for comments.

04. Grizzly (1976)

I had picks four and five. And I learned in the past when you have back to back picks to play your riskiest pick at five so if it is vetoed you can try again at 4. Night Creature has the quirky nature of the best animal attack movies. It has fun characters. Donald Pleasence plays a former race car driver, author and philanthropist. He is a hunter and brings an animal to his private island to hunt causing chaos to his family. Vanessa is the only other player who had seen this. She did not care for it but did not want to waste a veto knowing I would just play it again at four.  Grizzly I got no complaints over. It was a template film and had many imitators, some of which we've already discussed.

03. Earth vs. The Spider (1958)

Vanessa almost chose Jaws here, but she went with her heart and chose this Bert I Gordon treasure. It has funny lines and some hilariously wonky effects. V and I were the only two that saw this one so we talked about how the lead heroine always put her boyfriend in harm's way and how posters of other Bert I Gordon films make their way into the film.

02. Shockma (1990)

As Eddie Murphy could be heard in collab with Michael Jackson singing "What's Up With You?" Scott played Shockma. He found it entertaining. He is a D and D  guy. He likes baboons. I hated this film. It is a bunch of mostly non-actors running from one room to the next trying to avoid a killer baboon named (in real life) Typhoon. We saw this as a mondo at the art theater. It was the worst mondo I have ever attended and the second worst cinema film I have seen, Cats being my number one.  I vetoed straight away, but Vanessa liked the film and the idea of me not liking it and overrode my veto. Nick for his part thought the film was fun to laugh at.

01. Backcountry (2014)

Nick picked this for number one. Vanessa was the only other player who saw this one and found it a unique pick because it is stark and truly violent. Nick spoke on those elements; it was a couple versus nature film with a few secondary characters but very bare bones. He found the film exciting and the effects work wonderful. Scott and I could live with this at number one, and we will both catch up with it at some point.