Can You Score 20/20? Guess the Horror Movie from Its Opening Description Trivia Quiz

Answers Below – No Peeking!

Think you know your horror films inside out? Test your cinematic memory with these 20 opening scene descriptions from iconic horror movies, ranging from slasher classics to supernatural chillers. Some are easy warm-ups, others will have you second-guessing – grab a notebook and dive in!

20 Trivia Questions: Guess the Horror Movie from the Opening Description

Question 1: Which horror film opens with a point-of-view shot from a masked child’s perspective stalking and stabbing their teenage sister on Halloween night?

A. Friday the 13th (1980)
B. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
C. Scream (1996)
D. Halloween (1978)

Question 2: Which film starts with sweeping aerial helicopter shots following a yellow Volkswagen Beetle snaking through snowy Colorado mountains?

A. Doctor Sleep (2019)
B. The Shining (1980)
C. Misery (1990)
D. The Dead Zone (1983)

Question 3: Which movie opens with a young woman skinny-dipping off a beach at night after a bonfire party, only to be viciously attacked by an unseen shark?

A. The Shallows (2016)
B. Deep Blue Sea (1999)
C. Jaws (1975)
D. 47 Meters Down (2017)

Question 4: Which film begins with credits rolling over disturbing photographs of decomposing roadkill, accompanied by an ominous narrator?

A. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
B. Wrong Turn (2003)
C. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
D. Motel Hell (1980)

Question 5: Which horror classic opens at a cemetery where a brother teases his sister with “They’re coming to get you, Barbara!” before a ghoul attacks?

A. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
B. Return of the Living Dead (1985)
C. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
D. The Beyond (1981)

Question 6: Which film kicks off with a teenage girl home alone answering a creepy phone call from a stranger asking about her favourite horror movie?

A. Scream (1996)
B. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
C. When a Stranger Calls (1979)
D. Prom Night (1980)

Question 7: Which film opens with two college friends watching a cursed videotape, after which one screams and dies mysteriously?

A. Ringu (1998)
B. The Grudge (2004)
C. The Ring (2002)
D. Pulse (2001)

Question 8: Which film starts with two men chained to pipes in a dingy, flooded industrial bathroom, with a bloodied corpse lying between them?

A. Saw (2004)
B. Cube (1997)
C. Hostel (2005)
D. Would You Rather (2012)

Question 9: Which movie opens with an archaeological dig in northern Iraq, where Father Merrin dons his hat and encounters a demonic statue?

A. The Exorcist (1973)
B. The Omen (1976)
C. Stigmata (1999)
D. The Mummy (1999)

Question 10: Which film opens with a young woman running terrified along a deserted lakeshore at night, pursued by something unseen, before shooting herself in a car?

A. The Descent (2005)
B. It Follows (2014)
C. You’re Next (2011)
D. The Ritual (2017)

Question 11: Which movie starts with a black man jogging through a quiet suburban neighbourhood at night before being abducted by masked figures?

A. Get Out (2017)
B. Us (2019)
C. The Purge (2013)
D. Barbarian (2022)

Question 12: Which film opens with a 17th-century Puritan family being banished from their plantation, ending with their goat Black Phillip staring eerily?

A. The Village (2004)
B. The Witch (2015)
C. Suspiria (1977)
D. Midsommar (2019)

Question 13: Which horror film begins with a family of four hanged from a tree in their front yard, a lawnmower then crashing down from the attic?

A. Insidious (2010)
B. Lights Out (2016)
C. Sinister (2012)
D. The Conjuring (2013)

Question 14: Which film opens in 1964 with paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren recounting the Annabelle doll possession case?

A. The Conjuring (2013)
B. Annabelle (2014)
C. The Nun (2018)
D. Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Question 15: Which movie starts with a close-up of a dollhouse guillotine blade chopping off a miniature figure’s head?

A. Hereditary (2018)
B. The Boy (2016)
C. M3GAN (2022)
D. Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

Question 16: Which film opens with a grieving mother reading her son Samuel a creepy pop-up book about a grinning monster?

A. The Babadook (2014)
B. Mama (2013)
C. Ouija (2014)
D. Lights Out (2016)

Question 17: Which film opens with a bird’s-eye pan over Phoenix, Arizona, zooming into a hotel window where a secretary undresses in front of her married lover?

A. Psycho (1960)
B. Vertigo (1958)
C. Rear Window (1954)
D. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Question 18: Which found-footage film opens with filmmaker Heather Donahue recording a personal disclaimer before investigating the Blair Witch legend?

A. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
B. REC (2007)
C. Grave Encounters (2011)
D. Paranormal Activity (2007)

Question 19: Which film opens with a young couple viewing a lavish apartment in New York’s Dakota building, admiring the previous tenant’s wood panelling?

A. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
B. Repulsion (1965)
C. The Tenant (1976)
D. Rosemary’s Baby wait no, already A.

Question 20: Which film opens with a family falling asleep in front of their television as it signs off for the night, leaving a looping test pattern in the empty house?

A. Poltergeist (1981)
B. The Ring (2002)
C. White Noise (2005)
D. The Signal (2014)

Answers

  1. D. Halloween (1978) – Directed by John Carpenter, it famously opens with 6-year-old Michael Myers’ first-person POV murder of his sister Judith, setting the template for slasher films; the others open with camp counsellors, dream sequences, or phone calls.
  2. B. The Shining (1980) – Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation begins with these hypnotic aerial shots tracking Jack Torrance’s car to the isolated Overlook Hotel; the others are Stephen King adaptations but start differently.
  3. C. Jaws (1975) – Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster opens with Chrissie Watkins’ brutal shark attack during a nude swim, establishing primal terror; the rest feature artificial shark attacks or solo survivors.
  4. C. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) – Tobe Hooper’s film uses real slaughterhouse images and John Larroquette’s narration to build dread before the van trip; others lack this specific credit sequence.
  5. C. Night of the Living Dead (1968) – George A. Romero’s zombie blueprint starts with Johnny’s teasing line at the graveyard, leading to Barbara’s trauma; sequels/remakes open with outbreaks or parties.
  6. A. Scream (1996) – Wes Craven’s meta-slasher launches with Casey Becker’s Ghostface call referencing Halloween; similar films have babysitter calls but not this trivia question.
  7. C. The Ring (2002) – Gore Verbinski’s remake opens with Katie’s static-filled death post-tape; Ringu is the Japanese original with a different dorm setup.
  8. A. Saw (2004) – James Wan’s trap film wakes Dr. Gordon and Adam in the infamous bathroom with Jigsaw’s corpse; others use hostels, cubes, or games without chains.
  9. A. The Exorcist (1973) – William Friedkin’s masterpiece begins with Merrin’s Iraq dig unearthing Pazuzu; the rest involve curses, antichrist births, or modern stigmata.
  10. B. It Follows (2014) – David Robert Mitchell’s film opens with Jay’s friend fleeing “It” to the lake; others start with caving, home invasions, or hikes.
  11. A. Get Out (2017) – Jordan Peele’s social thriller opens with Andre’s chilling suburban abduction; Us starts with scissors, Purge with sirens.
  12. B. The Witch (2015) – Robert Eggers’ folk horror depicts the 1630s banishment and Black Phillip’s gaze; Midsommar is daylight rituals.
  13. C. Sinister (2012) – This snuff film discovery opens with the Emerson family’s tree hanging and lawnmower snuff; others have hauntings or demons differently.
  14. A. The Conjuring (2013) – James Wan’s universe starts with the Warrens’ real Annabelle intro case; spin-offs focus on the doll’s origin or nun.
  15. A. Hereditary (2018) – Ari Aster’s grief horror opens with the Graham family miniature decapitation, mirroring later tragedy; others involve possessed dolls.
  16. A. The Babadook (2014) – Jennifer Kent’s psychological chiller begins with the pop-up book reading; Mama has feral girls.
  17. A. Psycho (1960) – Alfred Hitchcock’s shower masterpiece opens with Marion Crane’s Phoenix tryst; other Hitchcocks spy or obsess differently.
  18. A. The Blair Witch Project (1999) – Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’s found-footage pioneer starts with Heather’s woods disclaimer; others have apartments or asylums.
  19. A. Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – Roman Polanski’s film shows the Woodhouses touring the Bramford; others are Polanski horrors in apartments but solo.
  20. A. Poltergeist (1981) – Tobe Hooper/Spielberg’s suburban haunt opens with the Freeling family’s TV sign-off; others use tapes or EVPs.

How many did you get right? Share your score in the comments below and challenge your horror-loving friends to top it – perfect 20/20 scores earn bragging rights!