What's In A Title? Horror Films Quiz

Answer: The Golem

The full title is actually "The Golem: How He Came into the World", but it's usually referred to as just "The Golem".

The golem is principally found in Jewish folklore, although he can be found in religious texts such as the Talmud. The golem must be made out of inanimate matter (rather than body parts, such as Frankenstein's monster) and can then be brought to life with a touch of wizardry.

Wegener had already made two "Golem" films by the time he and Boese made a kind of prequel to them to explain the background, i.e. "The Golem: How He Came into the World". It was apparently the one Wegener was most satisfied with, so it's fitting that it's the only one that has survived. Wegener played the golem himself, and although to modern audiences the golem is quite tame as monsters go, his unsteady gait and unblinking eyes can be seen in many a brought-to-life monster since.

The special effects in the sorcery scenes are particularly impressive, and I love the Expressionist sets of the Prague Jewish ghetto which include wonky houses, odd-shaped doorways, and weird spiral staircases.

About the red herrings (all 1920): "Outside the Law" was directed by Tod Browning who went on to direct "Dracula", "The Scarecrow" is a Buster Keaton comedy, and "Way Down East" was directed by D. W. Griffith.

Answer: Freaks

In my book, "Freaks" is one of the most remarkable films of all time, and the first time you see it you have to keep asking yourself if what you are seeing is actually happening. Many of the characters are played by real-life carnival sideshow artistes, and although there is blatantly an element of exploitation about the film, it's also a very moving story about people who very few filmmakers have bothered to show.

In his fascinating essay on "Freaks" called "The Monstrous Body/Politic of Freaks", Bernd Herzogenrath has this to say: "From its original conception as a horror movie exceeding all expectations, something more disturbing than anything seen so far, via Dwain Esper's exploitation of it under dubious and misleading titles such as "Forbidden Love", "Monster Show" and "Nature's Mistakes", to its revival as an avant-garde movie in the tradition of Buñuel and Robbe-Grillet, "Freaks" has covered the range of horror, art-house and documentary."

"Freaks" hardly took the world by storm at the time, was generally disparaged, and to a great extent cost Browning his career. It was cut drastically and many of the scenes have never been found. In the UK where censorship laws are somewhat draconian, "Freaks" was banned for years.

About the red herrings (all 1932): "They Just Had to Get Married" is a light comedy, "Scarface" is a hugely successful Howard Hawks gangster film, and "Grand Hotel" was a hugely successful film of 1932 with an star-studded cast including Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford and Lionel Barrymore.

Answer: I Walked with A Zombie

The title comes from Betsy's voiceover that opens the film in which she states "I walked with a zombie". Jessica's mother-in-law flirts with voodoo despite being a trained doctor, at first as a way of interacting with the locals, but then she seems to slip into belief in the supernatural. The brilliance of "I Walked with a Zombie" is that it never fully takes sides on the supernatural/logic dilemma, a dilemma which is at the crux of the appreciation of horror films.

The parallels with Jayne Eyre aren't coincidental: the screenwriters were encouraged to bear the plot of Charlotte Brontë's classic novel in mind. One of those screenwriters was Curt Siodmak whose brother Robert Siodmak was a brilliant director, best-known for thrillers and film noir.

About the red herrings (all 1943): "The Leopard Man" was also directed by Tourneur, "Jane Eyre" was directed by Robert Stevenson and starred Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine, and "Above Suspicion" starred Joan Crawford.

Answer: A Bucket of Blood

The title no doubt comes from the buckets used by a sculptor to mix plaster in.

Corman's "A Bucket Of Blood" gets the mix of social satire and gruesome comedy just right and the film has stood the test of time remarkably well. Corman went on to make a cycle of horror films roughly based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe which thrived on the kind of hysterical ghastly horror he was already toying with in "A Bucket of Blood".

About the red herrings (all 1959): "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is an Ed Wood classic, "Ben-Hur" is an epic directed by William Wyler, and "Anatomy of a Murder" is a crime classic directed by Otto Preminger.

Answer: Dementia 13

The title apparently refers to the axe murderer, but it could be argued that they are all nuts, including the family doctor (played by Patrick Magee) who is determined to work out what's going on. The film has everything you could want from a 1960's horror flick, from the deep sense of guilt that drives people insane to the what-would-become-customary scantily-clad woman scene about 30 minutes into the picture. There's also an overbearing mother, overacting and offbeat comedy.

The look of the film is superb, most of the scenes taking place at night and the use of black is overwhelming. It was filmed in Ireland, so maybe it's partly homage to the stout? It was produced by horror maestro Roger Corman, but apparently he wasn't completely happy with Coppola's efforts and added some scenes directed by somebody else, which really jar with the overall aesthetic.

About the red herrings (all released 1963): "Contempt" was directed by Jean-Luc Godard and stars Brigitte Bardot. It was based on a novel by Alberto Moravia. "Cleopatra" is a blockbuster which stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, "Paranoiac" is a Hammer Film directed by Freddie Francis and stars Oliver Reed.

Answer: The Hills Have Eyes

"The Hills Have Eyes" refers to the feral family who live in the hills. They are watching the stranded family's every move. The film was filmed in the Apple Valley (California) area and the inhospitable scenery plays a major part in the film since the idea of a cannibalistic family dwelling in the surrounding hills adds to the foreboding atmosphere.

"The Hills Have Eyes" is classic 1970's horror with the white-bread, typical American family going off the main road and finding themselves in a brutal nightmare. The violence is graphic and brutal, and the humour offers little respite. It was only Craven's second film and was a small production but it swiftly became a favourite with horror fans.

About the red herrings (all released 1977): "Smokey and the Bandit" is a seminal comedy film starring Burt Reynolds , "The Devil Probably" was directed by French master Robert Bresson, and "Empire of the Ants" is based on the short story of the same name by H.G. Wells

Answer: The Burning

The title comes from the fact that the result of the prank, which involves putting a burning skull in the drunken caretaker's room whilst he's asleep, is that he accidentally gets set on fire when he wakes up.

"The Burning" is almost a text-book 1980's slasher horror film apart from the fact that the so-called final girl of feminist film theory is a final boy. He is, however, the weakling who gets picked on in the film, so there's room for another thesis there. It has all the expected nudity when randy kids go skinny dipping, and the unnecessarily long build up to the gore. The special effects and make-up were provided by Tom Savini, who had been the undisputed giant in that field since the early 1970s.

About the red herrings (all released in 1981): "Time Bandits" is a fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam, "Chariots of Fire" is a drama film based on the 1924 Olympics, and "Don't Go in the Woods" is a slasher directed by James Bryan.

Answer: Braindead

The title "Braindead" comes from the fact that those infected become zombies.

"Braindead" was Peter Jackson's third feature film after the very silly "Bad Taste" and rather daft "Meet The Feebles". Although it does carry on in a comedy horror vein, the production is much more professional, thus the gore scenes work in their own over-the-top way. Jackson later veered off into mainstream blockbuster trash, but not before making a remarkable effort at serious cinema with the overlooked treasure "Heavenly Creatures".

About the red herrings (all released in 1992): "Unforgiven" is a western starring and directed by Clint Eastwood, "Innocent Blood" is a vampire film directed by John Landis, and "Man Bites Dog" is a great Belgian mockumentary written, produced and directed by the threesome of Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel and Benoît Poelvoorde.

Answer: Let the Right One In

"Let the Right One In" is based on a novel by Swedish director Alfredson's fellow countryman, John Ajvide Lindqvist, the title of which actually comes from the unlikely source of the Morrissey song "Let the Right One Slip In". I very much doubt Morrissey was thinking about vampires when he wrote the lyrics, although he does sing "I'd say you were within your rights to bite, The right one and say, 'what kept you so long?'"

The title also refers to the legend that a vampire can't enter an abode without being invited, as a very distressing scene in the film demonstrates.

It has been said that the film betrays the vampire tradition since much of the film's power comes from the relationship between the two (apparently) young people, both of whom are somewhat shut-out, but I think that is overlooking much of what makes horror motifs such as the vampire so compelling, i.e. the portrayal of tragic outsiders.

About the red herrings (all released 2008): "Kung Fu Panda" is a kids' film, "Over Her Dead Body" is a romantic comedy, and "Bitten" is a low budget vampire film.

Answer: The Human Centipede

The title "The Human Centipede" refers to the outlandish experiment the loony doctor wants to carry out, i.e. stitch people together. I won't go into quite how.

"The Human Centipede" isn't one for the queasy. Despite not being that graphic, it's the thought that counts. It's by no means pure chance that the mad doctor is German since Tom Six has said part of the inspiration for the film comes from the horrors carried out in the name of scientific research by the Nazis. Having said that, seasoned horror fans see the funny side and the film is partly comedy, notwithstanding the mad German doctor who was played brilliantly by Dieter Laser.

About the red herrings (all released in 2010): "Caged" is a French horror film directed by Yann Gozlan, "The American" is an American thriller film directed by Anton Corbijn, and "Inception" is a science fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan.