What's in a Title? Horror Films Volume III Quiz

Answer: Häxan

"Häxan", which means witch in Danish, is a very unusual film. First of all, it's really a kind of educational film which contains sketches to illustrate its point. Secondly, some of the special effects are so technically brilliant that in the context of such an outlandish film one would be forgiven for wondering if this silent film from 1922 were a much more recently-made hoax, which it quite certainly isn't.

The highlights of the film are director Benjamin Christensen as a very convincing devil, and the incredible scene of witches flying. However, even the less spectacular instructive scenes (complete with pointing stick) are a joy to watch. Apparently, many of the gruesome torture devices were actually built by the props man Richard Louw. In the latter part of the film, we are shown that in modern times most of this apparent sorcery could be explained by medical science.

Benjamin Christensen also had a very serious point to make, which is how badly the weak and the poor, in particular women, have been treated by zealots. Unfortunately, although he was talking mostly about medieval times, the practice of abuse, torture and murder based on religious verve hasn't died out.

Answer: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The title comes from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 short novel "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". It's about a young doctor, Dr Jekyll, and his quest to control man's two sides; good and evil.

"Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" has been adapted for the silver screen many times, but Rouben Mamoulian's version is one of the most celebrated. It was made in Pre-Code Hollywood, so it's pretty racy. Hyde's brutality isn't tempered either. Fredric March is genuinely scary as Hyde, and the special effects of his transformation are astounding. Is it me or does Dr Jekyll have a posh English accent and Mr Hyde an American one?

About the red herrings: both Tod Browning's "Dracula" and James Whale's "Frankenstein" came out in 1931, "The Gay Desperado" was a 1936 comedy directed by Rouben Mamoulian.

Answer: The Brain Eaters

The bug-like creatures are parasites which attach themselves to the spines of their hosts and burrow through to the victim's mind.

Bruno VeSota's career is intrinsically entwined with that of Roger Corman since VeSota had bit-parts in numerous Corman flicks. Indeed, Corman is said to have backed "The Brain Eaters" financially and helped with distribution. The film starred Ed Nelson, another of Corman's regulars.

The film itself is a thoroughly entertaining 1950s sci-fi/horror B-movie fuelled by communist paranoia and small-town America conservatism. Add to that a healthy dose of really dreadful special effects, contrived dialogue, and wooden acting, and you have got a winner. Fabulous.

Answer: The City of the Dead

Although the "city" part of the title is an exaggeration, the "of the dead" part is disturbingly accurate.

"City of the Dead" is a no-nonsense, unapologetic horror film, and credit to it for that. Whitewood is swamped by dry-ice, everything is laden with cobwebs, and Christopher Lee is in charge. Furthermore, it's not an intellectual reassessment of witchcraft; the witches really are witches who worship Lucifer. Top-notch fun.

Director John Llewellyn Moxey was more prolific in television than in film, but he did make the entertaining thriller "Circus of Fear" (1966) for the silver screen. Christopher Lee was in that too.

Lee had already starred as horror regulars Count Dracula, and Kharis the mummy when he did "City of the Dead". He later went on to play Dr. Fu Manchu, both Mycroft Holmes and Sherlock Holmes (in different films), and Rasputin amongst others, as well as popping up as Count Dracula umpteen more times.

Answer: Carnival of Souls

Apparently, the pavilion had last been used to house a carnival and it seems that although it's closed to the general public, if you are special in a ghoulish way you still get to go. The strange man (played by director Herk Harvey) is probably just trying to invite Mary.

Not much really happens in "Carnival of Souls" but the atmosphere is so creepy that it's scary as heck. There are some strange camera shots, odd performances, and the sense of decay permeates everything.

On a more cerebral level, at one point Mary verges on existential crisis when she explains to a doctor, "I don't belong in the world. Something separates me from other people." If you read the film prosaically, there is a very simple reason why; she's dead. However, a hint at the director's more subversive message is given at the scene of Mary's disappearance when a doctor (science), a cop (justice, law and order) and a priest (spirituality) are all left scratching their heads when looking at her footprints which simply end. The cop explains, "The car's still over there, her footprints lead up to here, and then nothing."

Answer: The Devils

Aldous Huxley wrote "The Devils of Loudon" (1952) about events which really did take place in 1634 in France. John Whiting turned the book into a play called "The Devils" in the early 1960s, and Ken Russell wrote the screenplay for the film which he went on to direct.

If Russell is to be believed, he didn't purposefully seek the wrath of the censors, but it was inevitable due to the abundance of nudity in the film, especially given the religious context. Russell always claimed it was a political film, which it clearly is.

When talking about the cuts that were made by the censors, actress Vanessa Redgrave, who plays the bonkers Sister Jeanne, made the very sensible point that "they don't chop bits of paintings off, why do they think it's all right to cut bits of films out?"

The priest, Urbain Grandier, is played by Oliver Reed. Reed had been working with Russell since 1965, and to my mind "The Devils" is his finest ever performance. The impressive sets were designed by film-maker-to-be Derek Jarman who really gave the film a look all of its own.

Answer: Theatre of Blood

Much of the action of "Theatre of Blood" takes place inside the fictional Burbage Theatre, which was actually the Putney Hippodrome. Lionheart, played by Vincent Price, had attempted suicide by jumping into the Thames but was dragged out of the mud by a bunch of meth-drinking tramps. The tramps make up his audience at the disused theatre, and also take part in some of the murders.

Although "Theatre of Blood" is jam-packed with puns and camp horror typical of Price, it's really grisly at times. Price clearly enjoys doing Shakespeare and the cast list is littered with top-notch British names of stage and silver screen (Diana Rigg, Michael Hordern, Arthur Lowe, Diana Dors, Ian Hendry, Jack Hawkins, Harry Andrews, Robert Morley, Eric Sykes, Joan Hickson).

Critics did not respond well to "Theatre of Blood".

Answer: Martin

The "not-yet-twenty" newcomer from Indianapolis is called Martin. Tateh Cuda is still very much into folklorist beliefs from "the old country" mingled with Lithuanian Catholicism, and he immediately gives Martin the moniker Nosferatu. Although he seems a bit zealous and his methods seem outdated, we (the audience) have actually already seen Martin on the train journey sedate a woman and drink her blood.

When talking about the film, director Romero states he thinks Martin is "a psychotic rather than a vampire in supernatural sense", whereas special effects man Tom Savini says, "it's not important, I think not knowing makes what happens to Martin a tragedy." Indeed, the power of "Martin" is in John Amplas's performance which renders Martin an incredibly sympathetic, fragile monster.

Despite the huge success of Romero's magnum opus "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), the production of "Martin" was very low-budget and lots of the parts were played by amateurs, often family and friends of the filmmakers. It was all shot on location in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Like many filmmakers looking back at early projects, Romero is very fond of "Martin" and laments the lack of spontaneity which accompanies the bigger-budget productions he was later involved in.

Answer: Q - The Winged Serpent

The Aztec god is Quetzalcoatl, whose name actually translates as plumed serpent rather than winged serpent. Larry Cohen has said that the original name of the script, which he wrote, was "Q".

Cohen was fired from the job as director of "I, the Jury" and jumped straight into "Q - The Winged Serpent" without really planning it out. He has said he likes working that way and feels that the spontaneity needed in the making rubs off on the film.

The focus of the film is on Michael Moriarty's character. Although Moriarty gave the the performance of a lifetime, the real star of the picture is New York City. Almost all of "Q" was shot on location, often without permission, and NYC has never looked better. The aerial shots taken from a helicopter are particularly impressive.

Fans of pre-CGI special effects are very fond of the monster, Quetzalcoatl. Cohen has described the beast as "funky" and prides himself on having adhered to the less-is-more philosophy of not really showing the whole marauding avian critter until near the end of the film.

Answer: Troll Hunter

Hans is employed by Norwegian Wildlife Board to keep the troll population in check and kill any trolls who break out of their reserves. When the fledgling film crew keeps following him, he eventually gives in and allows them to make a film about his activities. He bemoans the way he is treated by the NWB who don't pay him "night bonus. No overtime. No nuisance compensation. Maybe it's time for a change in troll management. So, if you could get this on TV..."

Hans the troll hunter is played by Norwegian comedian Otto Jespersen, and it's his performance that really makes the film. His matter-of-fact approach and world-weary demeanor make the rather ridiculous occupation of troll hunter seem no less daft than so many other more familiar jobs. He even has to fill in a Slayed Troll form for the Troll Security Service every time he kills a troll. Glenn Erland Tosterud plays the smug, ambitious documentary journalist in an appropriately annoying fashion. He had me hoping the troll would rip his head off.

Although horror purists might not deem "Troll Hunter" as a proper horror film, it not only mocks the trend in found-footage horror films but also enjoys the thrills the style offers. Furthermore, it fits snugly into the monster film sub-genre as well as revelling in the loner monster-hunter theme found in many classic horror films.