A Bucket of Blood Trivia Quiz

Answer: Carrie

Directed by Brian De Palma in 1976, "Carrie" was the first of King's novels to be adapted for the screen (and also his first novel altogether). Interestingly, "Carrie" was one of the most critically-renowned films in the King canon though it was one of the lowest-grossing of De Palma's filmography.

The movie starred Sissy Spacek as the titular character, a girl with unspeakable psychic powers as she went through her final days at high school under the torment of the other students and her mother (played by Piper Laurie). During prom in one of the climactic scenes of the film, a bucket of pig's blood was dropped on her head as a prank. This set off a cataclysmic event in which Carrie killed most of those in attendance.

One bucket of blood is enough to feed a bucket hungry for blood, right?

Answer: Saw

The "Saw" series spanned several different iterations between 2004 and 2010 and became a major money-maker for Lionsgate, who earned a collective $850,000,000 in seven years! Originally conceived by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the first film in the series was praised by horror fans for being a "Se7en"-like thriller, but as the series continued it was clear that the quality of the films was waning. Many perceived it as a clear start to the torture porn genre.

In "Saw 5", two characters were literally asked to subject themselves to a particular saw in order to fill buckets with 10 pints of blood. Of course, they decided to go through with the task to save their lives.

Okay... so a couple of buckets of blood won't do it?

Answer: Hostel

Produced by Quentin Tarantino, "Hostel" shocked a great number of film-goers for its unabashed use of graphic horror and torture. The movie followed a couple of college friends as they backpacked in Europe and came across someone who recommended a particular hostel in Slovakia. Upon their arrival everything seemed great for the sake of their Eurotrip but soon they came to discover the horrible secret behind the disappearances of the hostel tenants; they were being used as victims in a sadistic torture service for rich customers.

This movie ended up earning over $80,000,000 in the box office and set the benchmark for the torture porn genre. A sequel, "Hostel: Part II", was released in 2007 and was also directed by Eli Roth.

Still not enough blood for the bucket? We'll have to try harder.

Answer: Hellraiser

"Hellraiser" was based off of Clive Barker's previous fictional piece, "The Hellbound Heart", written in 1986. While "Hellraiser" took a bit of a different approach to the story, both involved the arrival of the Cenobites after an unlucky soul opened Lemarchand's Box (also known as the Lament Configuration). When the Cenobites arrived, Hell would break loose and those in the area would be painfully tortured (with hooks, chains, and the like) until they were no more.

The original "Hellraiser" was a cult classic amongst horror fans in the 1980s although it only took in about $14,000,000 overall. It has since had a number of sequels. The main Cenobite of the film, nicknamed 'Pinhead', was played by Doug Bradley and has since become an iconic figure in the genre.

But the blood spilling from Hell isn't enough to sate the hungry bucket, is it?

Answer: Martyrs

"Martyrs" was certainly a controversial film. After making an appearance at Cannes in 2008 it was picked up by horror fans around the world due to its unflinching approach to graphic violence and sadistic torture. The film followed two girls pursued by a group of people responsible for torturing their subjects in order to allow them to become martyrs, humans who have access to knowledge about life after death. Bringing people to this point, however, resulted in fairly gory measures.

Pascal Laugier once worked for Christophe Gans, director of the first "Silent Hill" adaptation in 2006. "Martyrs" was his first horror film. In the film's native country, France, it received a very harsh rating due to its content and was nearly banned altogether.

But how graphic is the bucket willing to go? Should we cut in deeper?

Answer: Cabin Fever

"Cabin Fever" followed five friends heading to a cabin in the woods for a getaway and ended with dead bodies... and lots of blood. Found on a dying animal in the woods, the infection spread to a hermit before he, in turn, infected the waters of a nearby lake. As soon as the main characters drank the water, took a swim (or a bath), or came into contact with each other, they too would start to deteriorate. As soon as they contracted the disease it was only a matter of time before they started coughing up blood and tearing away.

A fairly shocking entry into the American film scene at the time (Japanese horror was just starting to emerge), Eli Roth's directorial debut was a box office success earning over $30,000,000. A member of the so-called 'Splatter Pack', Roth's works would later be produced by Quentin Tarantino. Despite a certain excess of gore, the movie was well-praised.

A cabin of blood doesn't seem to be enough for the bucket though - nope; we'll have to continue feeding it.

Answer: The Descent

Neil Marshall's "The Descent" was praised by many critics as one of the most frightening horror films of the 2000s for its approach to several different strains of fear, particularly claustrophobia, vertigo, and aquaphobia. It didn't end there though - six women on a cave exploration trip found themselves trapped in an unexplored system only to stumble upon subterranean creatures with a thirst for human flesh. At one point, a main character submerges herself entirely in a pool of blood; the image was also featured on the film's poster.

"The Descent" received great critical praise and earned over $50,000,000 in the box office. It has since appeared on critics' top ten lists and received a sequel. Director Marshall also created "Doomsday" in 2008.

But a bucket won't stop with a cave of blood. Onward with more... MORE!

Answer: Midnight Meat Train

Starring Bradley Cooper and Vinnie Jones, this particular movie was adapted from a short story in Clive Barker's "Books of Blood". In this one, a killer stalked his prey on a subway train, murdering the inhabitants of a particular car and hanging them on meat hooks. Fortunately, he was able to get away with it for a long time; no one would ever know that the bodies were to be food for an underground race of humanoid reptiles.

"Midnight Meat Train" never really found a major audience in theaters but its style was certainly characteristic of Barker's earlier productions. Around the same time, Barker's "Book of Blood" short story was adapted into its own film. The movie was directed by Japanese filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura.

A subway car full of blood? Will nothing fill this bucket?

Answer: Braindead

"Braindead", also known as "Dead Alive", was released in 1992 and became a cult classic (as many of Peter Jackson's pre-"LOTR" films did after their release) known for its over-the-top gore, endless zombies, and relatively absurd premise. In the film, a woman was bitten by none other than a Sumatran Rat-Monkey (go figure) turning her into a hungry zombie. Much of the rest of the movie involved her son's attempts to quell her hunger and prevent any more zombies from being created. Of course, many more zombies resulted and blood, limbs, and brains became the dominant motif of the film.

"Braindead" was a box office flop earning about half of its budget back in theaters. Jackson wouldn't skirt the edges of the horror genre again until the 1996 film "The Frighteners" starring Michael J. Fox.

But that's not enough either. The bucket wants more blood. MORE BLOOD!

Answer: The Shining

Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" was the product of intense labour and scrupulousness and after all that was created, the movie was disliked by Stephen King, the original author of the story (it was his third novel). Starring Jack Nicholson, "The Shining" involved a family's winter-long caretaking stay in Colorado's Overlook Hotel. Of course, Mr. Torrance's personal demons and the ghosts of the hotel didn't make it an easy stay.

Amongst the most memorable scenes of this film were an elevator full of blood, the visions of dead bodies in the corridors of the hotel, and the word 'REDRUM' written on a wall. "The Shining" has since been recognized as a classic horror film; it has also been remade (under the supervision and guidance of King) by Mick Garris as a miniseries in 1997.

Surely this must be the end of the bucket's yearning for blood!