Screen Drafts (Home Edition 14) Friday the 13th films and all The Crow films
It was my turn to pick a topic for the newest game. We had four players (I and my wife Vanessa, Scott and Nick). I usually pick games based on what I want to watch, and lately I have been wanting to watch The Crow franchise. I had at the time only seen the first and second of the films; there are five!! I bought them and used that as inspiration to pick them for my game. But five films is not enough; four players require at least 16 films in play because it's not worth getting out of bed if you have less than four picks. And if 16 are in play, no one really has pick number one because it's decided at number two. So I needed at least 17 films. I noticed the Friday the 13th franchise had 12 (if we include the remake and vs Freddy), so two franchises about revenge and resurrection. I did not want a ton of vetoes or overrides in the game. I thought since every title is in play (unlike the last game High School Horror where there were hundreds of possible picks), limit it to two vetoes and one override (the vetoes only work on the spot the veto happens) and have the order be one player after the other. I provided trivia to determine who had what pick. V ended up with (2,6,10 and 14) Scott ended up with (3,7,11 and 15) I ended up with (4,8,12,16) and Nick had (5,9,13 and 17). There are advantages and disadvantages to every pick. If there is an obvious worst for all (I had 2 one star films and one half star film) then 17 does not do a load of good but 16 might be a place for a hot take. If you have two but the number one is obvious to all then having that spot is not great either. There was for sure some strategy in this game. I do not know if it went off the rails; some good and some bad placements came from it and we all had things to say and generally had a good time. We all said we’d never veto at 17, but vetoes are dropped at the start of the game.
Nick first tried to veto The Crow (2024). It became clear to him that Scott and I both very much liked that film. It was vetoed by Scott. Nick ultimately ended up taking mercy on us (despite his general apathy towards reboots and remakes and Bill Skarsgard) and did not try his luck playing 2024 again until much later in the game. He then tried to play part 7 of Friday, and I had that in my top four Friday films, so I had to veto. He went with Freddy vs Jason which no one loved. It has aged poorly and was much more a Freddy movie than a Jason movie. He hated the stalemate aspect of the ending. He found the final girl annoying. Freddy needing to die by fire and Jason needing to die by water were weird ideas that contradicted previous films. Nick just thought that not enough happened.
17. Freddy vs Jason (2003)
16. The Crow: Salvation (2000)
Scott was upset that The Crow: Wicked Prayer had no been played before this so he played it at 15. V was in agreement. Nick and I found the movie fun with a good death sequence. The coolest character name in any of these is Jimmy Cuervo and Dennis Hopper had some fantastic lines. But the key objections included confusion about location, poor performances, the mix up between crows and ravens. It should have been above the Friday remake at least.
15. The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005)
Vanessa was not moved by Jason X. She liked the costumes and not much else. We all talked about the uber mask and the nipple clamps and the face smash kill. The final girl was weak, and it had SYFY Channel energy.
14. Jason X (2001)
Nick had some issues with the housing in Friday part 7, how they all have a dock and a private area but all seem to be a few feet away from each other. Maybe if Jason had killed the architects he might have gone easy on this one. He found that the characters had no chemistry together; the deaths were too toned down and was annoyed that Jason kept pulling out various weapons. We all enjoyed Terry Kiser. For my part, I loved this version of Carrie (Tina), I loved Melissa and I loved mask-less Jason. We all agreed the ending was among the worst of the franchise.
13. Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood (1988)
I had the remake at 16. I only liked the characters that died in the beginning. I hated whiny Jared Padalecki. We all debated if Jason was a pot farmer. Nick found it too horny and quipy. He liked the screwdriver kill and the roasting kill. He thought this was mid-tier but did like Whitney and this version of Jason. Others were not high on it and no veto was offered.
12. Friday the 13th (2009)
Scott tried to play Friday part 2, calling it The Town that Dreaded Sundown and was vetoed by Nick. He then took it out on Jason takes Manhattan. Everyone hated the advertising for the film, Scott hated the, in his words, ham-fisted score. He did not like how misted Jason looked throughout. I loved Uncle Charles (Reverend Snow from Three's Company). I liked the final girl's ability to overcome heroin. Most of the players, however, were iffy on the final girl. I thought the New York scenes were among the best in the franchise. I loved the sea captain dad. I had this in the top five.
11. Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Vanessa played Jason Goes to Hell. It was vetoed by Scott who had it at number two!! Nick overrode the veto. V had major problems with the mythos that did not exist before this movie. She hated the beating heart, the way that Steven is treated and the American Case Files reporter. She did not have a good time. We all were happy to tolerant about Creighton Duke’s character . Nick thought Jason having a sister made the issues with Jason and his mom weird. Scott loved the worm beyond all measure; it was surprising.
10. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
Nick played Friday the 13th: The Final Friday at nine. He had issues with the kills (how Nick asked does one get stabbed through a raft and then float on same raft). He had issues with the characters; the twins were brought up here. Teddy got a mention for being a creeper about the stag films. Nick loved the Jarvis family but no one else. We all loved that family. But I did not understand why Tommy shaving his head was worthy of the end of a franchise (Jason was a sucker for being fooled by both his mom and his son). Nick pointed out that the houses come with acres but are so close together. Land is second only to gaslighting with Nick. Scott loved the dance number. And he found the film exciting. V loved Tommy as a character but no veto was offered. She had a plan that she never deviated from.
09. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
I finally got to play a film that I had in my bottom four even if I was lucky enough to see it with 3-D glasses on. I did like the stoner couple, and I liked seeing Fangoria. I hated Shelly. I hated the idea that Jason sexually abused someone; that came out of nowhere. I also really hated the look of Jason in the window. V thought the final girl was bad ass. Nick and Scott agreed (though he mostly had this one confused with Part 5). V felt the 3D ruined the performances at times. He also highlighted the music. Nick was again focused on home design in this draft and admired the home in the film with its spiral staircase.
Scott tried to play The Crow (1994). Vanessa vetoed this pick. He was reminded that City of Angels had not been played. I think we all kind of forgot. Still he played Friday the 13th Part II. He said potato sack Jason is not Jason. He was disappointed that Alice was killed right away. The three of us that did not play this liked fumbling Jason. We also loved Ginny and felt she might be the ultimate final girl because of her interest in Child Psychology. Mark got high marks as did Vicki.
07. Friday the 13th Part II (1981)
As I said, I think we all forgot about City of Angels, The Crow part 2. V felt Perez was without charisma and the change in character with Sarah was too much for her. Nick agreed strongly with the change in Sara. I thought Perez was quite good. I liked the villains more in this film, kinky versus the low energy in the first film's villain. Scott liked that it was the death of a son versus the death of a girlfriend. It had a big impact for that reason for him.
06. The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
The shorthand for this film is Scott and I had it at five and four. We really liked the drug haze romance in this film between Eric and Shelly. It just hit harder than the romance in the original. The lead performances were very moving and the purgatory scenes worked well on Scott and I. I also liked Danny Huston a great deal and the concept that when people need help you have to try harder. You cannot falter in love. Scott loved that Eric in this film had to became a warrior versus being indestructible throughout. Nick and Vanessa were far less moved by these things. For Vanessa, the souls of the first film are connected versus souls being traded so it was less than a love story. It would have worked better for Nick if it was not connected as a remake. Twigs has a great line about people building a shrine around their characters that references Hot Topic and the original The Crow that made me laugh.
05. The Crow (2024)
My least favorite final girl is Megan in Jason Lives. I did not understand her attraction to Tommy. It was like a PG-13 movie and went for humor too often. I hated the Frankenstein aspect. I did like the camp kids but that was about it. This was Nick's favorite and he did veto but it was overrode by Scott. Nick was so mad he threatened to hit me with a heavy Frank Lloyd Wright biography. He found Megan and her anti-authority streak relatable. All but me found this an enjoyable change of pace with fun kills.
04. Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives (1986)
Scott again tried to play The Crow (1994). He was vetoed. I could have overrode it, but I did not. The Crow (1994) was tied for me with the remake at three/four. My wife helped me out in the Wes Craven draft, so I was happy to help her meet her goal on this one. Scott then tried to play the original Friday the 13th (1980) and I vetoed that. Part 5 was played next. Everyone loved the trauma horror in this. Everyone loved Demon and Pamela. Nick and I loved Ethel and Junior. I wish Junior had been the killer. This was also sleazy fun with the most attractive couple in any of the films. Nobody bought Ray; that was a weak part. I once did a podcast about hobos and covered this film because it has a hobo in it. It was by far my most listened to episode. Nick loved the look of non-Jason Jason. This was a gem for us all.
03. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
02. Friday the 13th (1980)
01. The Crow (1994)
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