Horror Movies at the Oscars Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Silence of the Lambs

Based on the novel by Thomas Harris, "The Silence of the Lambs" was one of the earliest horror films to get Oscar recognition, and when it did it swept five major categories (the one not listed in the question being Best Adapted Screenplay). Jodie Foster won the Oscar for her role as Clarice Starling while Anthony Hopkins portrayed famous cannibal Hannibal Lecter.

He would return to the role in "Hannibal" and "Red Dragon" in later years. The movie grossed more than $270,000,000 in the box office; Hopkins' role as Hannibal has since made the character a horror icon.

Answer: Misery

Set almost entirely in a Colorado mountain house, the film followed writer Paul Sheldon who, fresh off completing what was to be his final novel, got into a car crash and was saved by his alleged 'number one fan', Annie Wilkes. Bedridden, it turned out that he was powerless to escape and, despite being his fan, Annie was intent on making him finish the story the way she had always wanted. Bates won Best Actress and, despite "The Green Mile" being nominated several times over in a later year, it was the only win for a Stephen King nomination in the twentieth century.

Answer: The Exorcist

"The Exorcist", based on William Peter Blatty's novel, has been known by many as one of the scariest films ever made, particularly because director William Friedkin's approach to young Regan's possession was particularly terrifying. The movie, following Ellen Burstyn's attempts to have her child exorcised of a Hellish demon, ended up earning over $440,000,000 in the box office and becoming one of the top-grossing films of the 1970s.

It won the Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing though it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (for Burstyn), Best Supporting Actress (for Linda Blair), and others.

Answer: Rosemary's Baby

Based on a novel by Ira Levin, "Rosemary's Baby" starred Mia Farrow as the titular mother who, after a series of odd occurrences during her pregnancy, discovered that she was being pursued by Satanists. "Rosemary's Baby" was one of Polanski's earliest English-language psychological thrillers and was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.

In 2014, it was added to the U.S.' National Film Registry and, in the same year, was remade as a TV mini-series starring Zoe Saldana.

Answer: Aliens

"Aliens", the follow-up to Ridley Scott's space-horror film "Alien", was directed by James Cameron and shot the series into further fame; a franchise was born. After the events of the first "Alien" movie, Ripley, the only survivor from the Nostromo (not counting Jonesy the cat) decided to head back to the alien planet to investigate a lack of response from a human settlement.

There were, of course, more aliens. Despite the strong attention paid to the action genre, there were still many horror elements to be found in "Aliens".

The movie also starred Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, and Bill Paxton. "Aliens" was Weaver's first Oscar nomination; she was nominated again for "Gorilla's in the Mist" and "Working Girl", both two years later (albeit in different categories).

Answer: The Omen

Directed by Richard Donner and starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, "The Omen" involved a couple who unknowingly adopted a child who was expected to grow into his role as the Anti-Christ. With four movies in the series, you could guess that the ascension went along. "The Omen" was quite popular upon its release and, like many other films from the time, was remade at the turn of the century.

It was also nominated for Best Original Song, though it lost out to Barbra Streisand's "Evergreen".

Answer: Poltergeist

"Poltergeist", created by "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" director Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg, was extremely successful in the box office, taking in over $120,000,000. Receiving three nominations at the Oscars (Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Score), the film didn't end up winning.

It did, however, become a horror staple about a family forced to face off against beings from another plane who, using their strength, managed to pull the youngest daughter into their realm. Two sequels were made in subsequent years, the first of which was also nominated for Best Visual Effects.

Answer: Psycho

While Hitchcock's "Rebecca" won Best Picture in 1940, he never ended up winning best Director, even for the 1960 film "Psycho", one of the movies for which he was best-known. "Psycho", about the (obviously) psychotic motel owner Norman Bates and the unveiling of his eerie relationship with his mother, was nominated for four Oscars that year, winning none.

Other than Best Director it also saw nominations for Best Cinematography (Black-and White), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Black-and-White), and Best Supporting Actress for Janet Leigh.

She did win the Golden Globe for her role though.

Answer: Jaws

"Jaws" didn't only win for Best Original Dramatic Score (for John Williams), but also Best Film Editing and Best Sound. Its fourth nomination was for Best Picture, but it lost out to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". The movie, a blockbuster, was also the highest-grossing film to date, earning over $470,000,000 in theaters.

The film, about a seaside town terrorized by the appearance of a hungry shark, starred Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss. It also resulted in a number of sequels through the 1970s and 1980s.

Answer: Carrie

"Carrie", based on Stephen King's first-ever novel, featured Spacek as Carrie White, a bullied girl with telepathic powers who, in the days leading up to prom, finds herself tormented to the brink by both her schoolmates and her hyper-religious mother.

The film, released in 1976, became famous overnight, especially when both Spacek and Laurie garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. The movie was directed by Brian de Palma and has been known for several iconic scenes and motifs-- especially that of a blood-drenched girl standing in front of her high school prom.