Popcorn Crunchers, Reel 94 Trivia Quiz

Answer: depictions of mutilation/degeneration of human bodies

Horror is, itself, a genre of motion pictures. "Body horror" is a subgenre within the broader, more general genre of horror films. In it, the destruction, degeneration, and/or transformation of the human body is graphically depicted. The term "body horror" was coined by Phillip Brophy in his article "Horrality: The Textuality of the Contemporary Horror Film" (1983). Body horror tropes predate this coinage by decades. Examples include "Frankenstein" (1931), "Island of Lost Souls" (1932), "The Wolf Man" (1941), "Cult of the Cobra" (1955), "The Quatermass Xperiment" (1955), "The Fly" (1958), "The Wasp Woman" (1959), "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), "The Thing with Two Heads" (1972), "The Incredible Melting Man" (1977), "The Howling" (1981), "RoboCop" (1987), "Akira" (1988), "Species" (1995), and "Mimic" (1997).

These films connect with the audience's fear of involuntary change to their own bodies. They "stand-in" psychologically for the actual risks of disease, accident, and mutilation.

Answer: Atomic Monster

In "Atom Man vs. Superman" (1950), Lex Luthor uses the alias Atom Man. In "The Atomic Kid" (1954), Mickey Rooney acquires radioactive superpowers. "The Atomic Submarine" (1959) is a fairly straight-forward science-fiction film until the crew finds an alien flying saucer under the sea. Atomic Monster Productions is a television and motion picture production company established in 2014. "Man-Made Monster" (1941) is a Lon Chaney Jr. film re-released under the names "Electric Man", "The Mysterious Dr. R.", and "The Atomic Monster", There was no theatrical motion picture called "Atomic Monster" made in the 1950s.

Answer: giant lizards and enormous bugs

The alien invaders have discovered how to alter the DNA of tarantulas, lizards, grasshoppers and beetles causing them to grow to gigantic size. They use the radiation from US atomic bomb tests to effect genetic modification. The Astorians' plan is to release hordes of these creatures to eat all the people on Earth.

They intend to then slaughter the monsters with their killer ray and allow their decomposing bodies to fertilize the Earth's soil.

Answer: Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee's acting career was broad and long. He distinguished himself in horror motion pictures made by Hammer Films. He played the monster in "The Curse of Frankenstein". The list of bad guys played by Christopher Lee is extensive: Dracula, the Mummy, Rasputin, and Doctor Fu Manchu.

Answer: a US hydrogen-bomb test at Bikini Atoll

In the opening of the film, two freighters and a fishing boat are all sunk near Odo Island. A surviving member of the fishing-boat crew, Masaji Sieji, reports, "A monster did it." On 1 March 1954, the United States detonated the world's first hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

The area was placed off limits but a Japanese fishing vessel named the Daigo Fukuryu Maru ("Lucky Dragon No. 5") decided to enter the closed waters to trawl for tuna without competition. Radioactive fallout contaminated the boat's catch, sickened the crew and prompted anti-nuclear demonstrations in Japan.

The boat's radioman died of radiation sickness a month after exposure. Japanese audiences connected Godzilla's destruction of a fishing vessel with the incident involving the Daigo Fukuryu Maru.

Answer: to make the 1958 film futuristic

Several titles were considered during the development of "Frankenstein 1970": "Frankenstein's Castle", "Frankenstein 1960" and "Frankenstein 2000". The use of an atomic reactor in the movie made it necessary to set the film in the future. Producers at first settled on "Frankenstein 1960" but amended that to "Frankenstein 1970" to make the atomic reactor more plausible.

Answer: only one: Steve Holloway, the pilot

When their bomber is shot out of the sky, the co-pilot is killed instantly. Pilot Steve Holloway deploys a raft. He and Benny the bombardier, Andy the navigator, and Ed the radio operator escape. Once on the uncharted island, they are attacked by Neanderthals and Ed is killed.

When the volcano erupts, Andy and Ed are killed. Steve makes it to the rubber life raft which brought them to the island and escapes the lava thereby.

Answer: acting

American actor Gregory Peck (1916-2003) was both an accomplished actor and political activist. He began acting on stage (including Broadway) but came eventually to work exclusively in motion pictures. He earned both Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards for his work.

His horror and science-fiction films included "On the Beach" (1959), "Marooned" (1969), "The Omen" (1976), and "The Boys from Brazil" (1978).

Answer: Willows Lake, East Los Angeles, California

There is an old house which burnt to the ground in "Bride of the Monster" (1955). According to the story in "Night of the Ghouls", this house was rebuilt ... although some scenes in the second film depict it as dilapidated rather than brand new. Inspector Robbins describes the scene which requires investigation to Detective Bradford as the "old house on Willows Lake", which is where Bradford investigated the crime in "Bride of the Monster" (1955).

The police precinct with jurisdiction over this location is the station in East Los Angeles.

Answer: War of the Colossal Beast (1958)

In "Teenage Zombies", Dr. Myra is working on a gas/drug that turns people into obedient slaves. In "Attack of the Puppet People", Mr. Franz, the owner of a doll manufacturing business, invents a machine which shrinks people and places them in suspended animation.

In "The Woman Eater" (1958), a mad scientist captures women and feeds them to a woman-eating tree. There is neither a crazy doctor nor some other mad scientist in "War of the Colossal Beast".