Classic Horror Movies – answers and explanations
Here are the answers to all 15 questions in the Classic Horror Movies quiz, each with a short explanation. From Universal monsters to modern scares — how well do you know horror cinema? Haven't played yet? Take the quiz first and compare your score.
Play the quiz · 15 questions1. Which actor played the Count in Universal's 1931 film 'Dracula'?
Answer: Bela Lugosi
Bela Lugosi starred as Count Dracula in Universal's 1931 Dracula, directed by Tod Browning. The Hungarian-born actor had already played the role hundreds of times on Broadway before the film made him a horror star.
2. In Hitchcock's 'Psycho', what is the name of Norman's roadside motel?
Answer: The Bates Motel
Norman Bates runs the Bates Motel, a secluded roadside stop a few miles from the fictional town of Fairvale, California, in Hitchcock's 1960 Psycho. Business dried up after the state highway was moved.
3. What weapon does Freddy Krueger use in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'?
Answer: A glove fitted with razor blades
Freddy Krueger kills with a leather glove fitted with blades on four fingers. Wes Craven got the idea partly from watching a cat's claws, and prop maker Jim Doyle built it using Case XX tomato knives.
4. In 'The Shining', what sentence does Jack type over and over on his pages?
Answer: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
In Kubrick's 1980 film The Shining, Wendy discovers Jack's manuscript filled with the 17th-century proverb 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' Kubrick even shot alternate pages with equivalent sayings for foreign-language releases.
5. Which 2017 horror hit was Jordan Peele's debut as a film director?
Answer: Get Out
Get Out, which premiered at Sundance in January 2017, was Jordan Peele's first film as director; he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for it, after previously being known for the sketch show Key & Peele.
6. Which actor played the Monster in Universal's 1931 film 'Frankenstein'?
Answer: Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff played the Monster in James Whale's Frankenstein, released by Universal in November 1931. He was listed only as '?' in the opening credits because the studio kept the Monster's look secret; Bela Lugosi had turned the role down.
7. Who directed the 1978 slasher classic 'Halloween'?
Answer: John Carpenter
John Carpenter directed and scored Halloween (1978), which he co-wrote with producer Debra Hill. Made for around $300,000, it launched Jamie Lee Curtis's film career and helped define the slasher genre.
8. In 'The Exorcist', what is the first name of the possessed young girl?
Answer: Regan
The possessed 12-year-old in The Exorcist (1973) is Regan MacNeil, played by Linda Blair, who won a Golden Globe for the role. Damien is from The Omen, Danny from The Shining, and Carrie from Brian De Palma's Carrie.
9. In 'Poltergeist', what does Carol Anne say to the static-filled TV?
Answer: They're here
In Poltergeist (1982), young Carol Anne Freeling, played by Heather O'Rourke, turns from the static-filled TV and says 'They're here.' The image of her kneeling before the screen became the film's famous poster.
10. What is the name of the shape-shifting clown in the 2017 film 'It'?
Answer: Pennywise
The shape-shifting entity in It (2017) appears mainly as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, played by Bill Skarsgard in Andy Muschietti's adaptation of Stephen King's 1986 novel. Tim Curry played the same character in the 1990 miniseries.
11. Which actor played cursed Larry Talbot in Universal's 1941 film 'The Wolf Man'?
Answer: Lon Chaney Jr.
Lon Chaney Jr. starred as Lawrence 'Larry' Talbot in Universal's The Wolf Man, released in December 1941 and written by Curt Siodmak. Bela Lugosi appeared in the same film, but as the gypsy werewolf Bela who bites Talbot.
12. In Hitchcock's 'The Birds', which California coastal town is attacked?
Answer: Bodega Bay
Alfred Hitchcock set his 1963 thriller The Birds in Bodega Bay, a small fishing village in Sonoma County about 50 miles north of San Francisco. Nearby Bodega provided the Potter Schoolhouse used in the famous crow-gathering scene.
13. At which summer camp does the original 'Friday the 13th' take place?
Answer: Camp Crystal Lake
The 1980 original Friday the 13th is set at Camp Crystal Lake, nicknamed 'Camp Blood,' where Jason Voorhees had drowned years earlier. It was filmed at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, a working Boy Scout camp near Blairstown, New Jersey.
14. In 'The Omen' (1976), what is the name of the sinister little boy?
Answer: Damien
The sinister child in The Omen (1976) is Damien Thorn, played by Harvey Spencer Stephens, the adopted son of U.S. ambassador Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) and secretly the Antichrist, marked by a 666 birthmark.
15. In which 2018 horror hit must a family stay silent to evade sound-hunting monsters?
Answer: A Quiet Place
A Quiet Place (2018), directed by and starring John Krasinski with Emily Blunt, follows the Abbott family living in near-total silence because blind creatures hunt by sound. Deaf actress Millicent Simmonds played daughter Regan.