Altered States Trivia Quiz

Answer: Frankenstein

"Frankenstein" was a Universal horror classic that had many series. The first film was produced in 1931 and starred Colin Clive as the obsessed Dr. Henry Frankenstein who tried to recreate a human with dead bodies he dug up from cemeteries. The creature was played by Boris Karloff.

In the movie, Dr. Frankenstein and his assistant, Fritz, piece together a body in a laboratory from cemetery remains. Fritz accidentally damages a healthy brain in the process of stealing it from a laboratory. He gives the corrupted brain to Dr. Frankenstein to use for the creature. Dr. Frankenstein uses electricity from a lightning storm to give his creature life.

The creature has a childlike intellect. He is afraid of fire and does not understand his surroundings. Fritz torments him with the flame as a joke. The monster breaks out of the tower and runs away.

The monster does not understand how to react to other humans and accidentally drowns a girl. The villagers set him on fire in a windmill. Dr. Frankenstein survives the fire and is brought back to his castle, not knowing if his creature survived.

Answer: Tarantula

In the movie "Tarantula", Dr. Gerald Deemer experiments on animals of all kinds at his isolated mansion in Arizona. Dr. Deemer injects chemicals into rabbits, white rats, hamsters, and tarantulas, causing some to become as large as dogs.

Dr. Deemer starts carrying his experiments out on his assistants and one dies. The body is found in a nearby town. When questioned about the death, Deemer says accidents are part of the job. His other assistant, who is also deformed by Deemer's experiments, becomes enraged. He stabs Deemer with one of the injections. He sets the lab on fire and smashes a glass cage, setting one of the tarantulas free. The assistant dies in the fire, but Deemer survives.

Deemer lies to his new assistant and the townspeople about the cause of the accident. The tarantula continues to grow to the size of a house and begins to attack the town. Deemer still insists that his tarantula is not dangerous.

Finally, when Deemer is near death from his injections, Deemer confesses. His assistant returns to tell the sheriff all he knows. The Air Force kills the spider, which at the final point is larger than a mansion.

"Tarantula" was released in 1955. It was produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold.

The movies main stars included Leo G. Carroll as Professor Gerald Deemer, Raymond Bailey as Dr. Townsend, John Agar as Dr. Matt Hastings, Mara Corday as Stephanie Clayton, and Ross Elliott as Joe Burch. The main actors who played the police included Nestor Paiva as Sheriff Jack Andrews and
Edwin Rand as Lt. John Nolan.

Answer: The Invisible Man

Claude Rains portrayed Dr. Jack Griffin, a chemist who discovered the secret to being invisible. Through a series of science experiments, the doctor accidentally made himself invisible and could not reverse it. To make himself "visible" he covered himself with bandages and removed them to go back to his invisible self.

The doctor soon discovers he can use his invisibility for crime. He forces his assistants Dr. Cranley and Dr. Kemp to go along with his murdering spree against their wishes. Dr. Kemp tries to save Dr. Cranley's daughter who is in love with Dr. Griffin. When Dr. Griffin finds out that he has been betrayed he threatens to kill Kemp. He derails a train killing hundreds of innocent lives, prompting the police to search for him.

The police convince Kemp to risk his own life to draw the Invisible man out. Dr. Griffin kills Kemp in rage and flees. The police find his footprints in the snow and shoot him. He confesses, while he is dying, that he discovered something that was meant to be left alone. After he dies his body becomes visible.

"The Invisible Man" was released in 1933. The original cast included Claude Rains as Dr. Jack Griffin, Gloria Stuart as Flora Cranley, William Harrigan as Dr. Arthur Kemp, Henry Travers as Dr. Cranley, and Una O'Connor as Jenny Hall. The film was directed by Directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle. Jr.

Answer: The Wolf Man

Larry Talbot attempts to rescue a girl from a wolf attack, only to find out later he was bitten by a werewolf. A fortune teller informs Larry that he will become a werewolf since he was a victim of a bite. The only thing that can kill a werewolf is silver.

At night, Larry turns into a werewolf and proceeds to kill people. He has no memory of his actions the following morning. When his memory returns he is horrified and begs his father to stop him. Eventually, his father kills him with a silver cane.

"The Wolf Man" premiered for the first time in 1941. It was written by Curt Siodmak, who worked with Universal on "the Invisible Man Returns" in 1940. "The Wolf Man" was produced and directed by George Waggner. Lon Chaney Jr. starred as the werewolf.

"Wolf Man" was Universal's second attempt at a werewolf movie. The first one, "Werewolf in London", did not stir audiences or gather much attention. "Wolf Man" was so successful, Universal made four sequels. The film became one of Universal's classic horror movies.

Answer: The Leech Woman

Malla finds an African potion that will give eternal youth. The potion requires the pineal gland of male brains and pollen.

An unhappy couple witness the ceremony. Paul is married to June, a woman ten years older than him. When June finds out that Paul doesn't love her, she volunteers him to be sacrificed so she can be beautiful. She goes on a killing spree to maintain her beauty, but the potion doesn't last long. Each time it wears off, she becomes older than before.

She changes her identity and falls in love with a lawyer. Jealous of another woman she kills her and tries to steal her pineal gland for her own beauty. She finds out it only works for males. Before she can be arrested by the police, she commits suicide. Her body shrivels beyond recognition.

"The Leech Woman" was released in 1960. Coleen Gray starred as June Talbot, the woman who transformed into the Leech creature. Other stars included Grant Williams as Neil Foster, Phillip Terry as Dr. Paul Talbot, and Gloria Talbott as Sally Howards. The film was produced by Joseph Gershenon and directed by Edward Dein.

Answer: The Incredible Shrinking Man

In the movie "The Incredible Shrinking Man", Scott Carey is covered by a strange fog. As time progresses he discovers he is shrinking. He eventually shrinks beyond the point of a small atom.

Scott Carey lashes out in anger at his wife, feeling alone and helpless. His wife tries to support him, while the public views him as a spectacle. He encounters battles with the housecat when he is the height of a small bug. Later he kills a spider with a pin. He continues to shrink to subatomic size. Ultimately he accepts his fate that no matter how small he becomes, God is aware he exists.

"The Incredible Shrinking Man" was based on the novel "The Shrinking Man" by Richard Matheson. It was released in 1957, one year after Matheson published his book. Richard Matheson and Richard Alan Simmons wrote the Universal screenplay for the movie. The movie was produced by Albert Zugsmith and directed by Jack Arnold.

The film starred Grant Williams as Robert "Scott" Carey, Randy Stuart as Scott's wife, Louise Carey.

Answer: The Thing That Couldn't Die

An ancient box is discovered on a ranch while workers are digging for a well. Against the warnings of a psychic, the ranch owners open the box and discover a severed head from a sorcerer, executed for witchcraft hundreds of years earlier.

The head awakens and takes over the mind of a handyman. After the handyman murders a foreman, the head directs the handyman to conceal the handyman's corpse and look for the rest of the sorcerer's body. The head begins to take control of another woman on the ranch before the police arrive and shoot the handyman.

Once the head and his body are joined, the sorcerer can fully exercise his powers. The young woman is protected from the sorcerer's powers as long as she keeps a cross around her neck. When the cross is removed the sorcerer controls her. One of the workers realizes the power of the cross and catches the sorcerer off guard. He forces the sorcerer back into his coffin and drops the cross on top of him. The sorcerer's remains disintegrate.

"The Thing that Couldn't Die" was released in 1958. It was produced and directed by Will Cowan. Robin Hughes starred as Gideon Drew, the sorcerer and creature that wouldn't die. William Reynolds starred as Gordon Hawthorne, the archeologist and worker that killed Gideon. Other stars included Andra Martin as Linda Madison, Jeffrey Stone as Hank Huston, Carolyn Kearney as Jessica Burns, and Peggy Converse as Flavia McIntyre.

Answer: Creature from the Black Lagoon

A group of scientists finds a piscine amphibious humanoid skeleton, or a "fish man", in the Amazon. They believe it is the missing link between land and sea animals and lead an expedition to discover more.

When the creature notices the scientist and their camp, he becomes curious. He makes a sudden appearance which terrifies them. It enrages the creature and he kills some of the assistants. The scientists start referring to the creature as "The Gill Man". They track the creature down and kill it before returning home.

Producer William Alland first got the story idea from cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa's tale of a half-man, half-fish in the Amazon river at a dinner party. He wrote notes of a sea monster play similar to "Beauty and the Beast". Screenwriters Harry Essex and Arthur Ross rewrote Alland's idea into the "Black Lagoon". In 1954, Jack Arnold was hired to take their ideas and direct the Universal Horror movie "The Creature of the Black Lagoon".

The creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and by Ricou Browning underwater. Richard Carlson starred as Dr. David Reed, the leader of the scientific expedition. Julie Adams starred as Kay Lawrence, Dr. David Reed's girlfriend, that became captured by the creature. Richard Denning starred as Dr. Mark Williams, the scientist who insisted on seeing the creature killed.

Answer: Monster on the Campus

Dr. Donald Blake receives a delivery of a fossil to his science lab at the University. After giving a lecture on evolution, he scratches himself on the fossil. A student gives him a ride home and he passes out.

Dr. Blake wakes up to the police and finds out his student has been murdered. He doesn't remember anything. Her autopsy showed that she died of fright.

At the lab, Dr. Blake tries to kill a dragonfly. He notices that his hand has changed to something larger and hairy. He examines the fossil he scratched his hand on and discovers that it was preserved by gamma rays. The gamma rays are slowly changing him into a prehistoric caveman creature. He decides to go to a cabin to learn more about his condition.

Dr. Blake's fiancée comes to the woods to find him and sees him as the caveman creature. Blake tries to explain himself but she does not understand. Another one of Howard's friends comes to the cabin and Blake tells him about the accident that caused his condition. After no one will listen, Blake forces the police to shoot him in his prehistoric state. He turns back into human form after he dies.

"Monster on the Campus" was released in 1958. It was produced by Joseph Gershenson and directed by Jack Arnold. The cast included Arthur Franz as Dr. Donald Blake and Joanna Moore as Madeline Howard, Dr. Blake's fiancée.

Answer: The Bride of Frankenstein

After the townspeople try to kill the monster Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein goes to his mentor to find a solution. His mentor insists that he needs to create another monster to show his creation love.

While the doctor tries to find a solution, the monster attempts to befriend anyone he comes across. People are afraid of the monster's appearance and try to kill him. The monster loses his trust in humanity.

The doctor lures his monster back to the lab with a violin and song. His mentor helps him piece together another body, insisting that this is the right thing to do. When the lady comes to life, the monster asks her if she is his friend. She screams and rejects him. The monster tosses the doctor out and tells them she hates him like all the others. He destroys the lab and his "bride" to avoid any more pain.

"The Bride of Frankenstein" was released in 1935, four years after the original Universal "Frankenstein" film. It was the first sequel and began with a narrator posing as Mary Shelly (the author of the "Frankenstein" novel) to introduce the tale.

The film was directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. The cast included Boris Karloff as The Monster, Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein, Valerie Hobson as Elizabeth Frankenstein, Ernest Thesiger as Doctor Pretorius, and Elsa Lanchester as Mary Shelley and The Monster's Bride.