Can You Score 20/20? Ultimate Suspense Movie Trivia Quiz – Test Your Knowledge!

Answers Below – No Peeking!

Delve into the tense world of suspense cinema with this ultimate trivia quiz! From Alfred Hitchcock’s masterful thrillers to modern psychological edge-of-your-seaters, these 20 questions range from easy warm-ups to fiendishly difficult challenges. Grab a notebook, no googling, and see if you can ace it!

20 Trivia Questions on Suspense Movies

Question 1: In Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954), what is the profession of James Stewart’s character, L.B. ‘Jeff’ Jefferies?

A. Wheelchair-bound salesman
B. Magazine photographer
C. Private detective
D. Voyeuristic neighbour

Question 2: Who directed the iconic 1960 suspense film Psycho?

A. Stanley Kubrick
B. Alfred Hitchcock
C. Brian De Palma
D. Roman Polanski

Question 3: In Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958), what is the name of the detective played by James Stewart who suffers from acrophobia?

A. John Ferguson
B. Scottie Ferguson
C. Frank Ferguson
D. Mike Ferguson

Question 4: In North by Northwest (1959), what attacks Cary Grant’s character Roger Thornhill in the famous crop-duster scene?

A. A cloud of toxic gas
B. Machine-gun fire from the plane
C. A hail of corn cobs
D. Swarming locusts

Question 5: Who plays FBI Academy trainee Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)?

A. Julianne Moore
B. Jodie Foster
C. Meg Ryan
D. Michelle Pfeiffer

Question 6: In The Sixth Sense (1999), what is the major twist regarding Bruce Willis’s character, Dr. Malcolm Crowe?

A. He is the boy’s imaginary friend
B. He has been dead the entire film
C. He is the real killer
D. He is Cole’s father

Question 7: What is the first rule of Fight Club in David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999)?

A. You must always wear gloves
B. You do not talk about Fight Club
C. Only two guys to a fight
D. No biting or eye gouging

Question 8: Who directed the 1995 suspense thriller Se7en starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman?

A. Ridley Scott
B. David Fincher
C. Michael Mann
D. Quentin Tarantino

Question 9: What condition afflicts the protagonist Leonard Shelby, played by Guy Pearce, in Memento (2000)?

A. Short-term amnesia
B. Total blindness
C. Paranoia
D. Selective mutism

Question 10: Who plays the enigmatic Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects (1995)?

A. Kevin Pollak
B. Kevin Spacey
C. Gabriel Byrne
D. Stephen Baldwin

Question 11: What is the name of the psychiatric facility in Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island (2010)?

A. Shutter Asylum
B. Ashecliffe Hospital
C. Wardhaven Institute
D. Fenway Sanitarium

Question 12: In Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (1954), who plays the jewellery heiress Margot Wendice, the intended murder victim?

A. Ingrid Bergman
B. Grace Kelly
C. Janet Leigh
D. Tippi Hedren

Question 13: What is the name of the woman stabbed to death in the shower scene of Psycho (1960)?

A. Mary Crane
B. Lila Crane
C. Marion Crane
D. Norma Crane

Question 14: For which Stephen King adaptation did Kathy Bates win the Academy Award for Best Actress?

A. Carrie
B. The Shining
C. Misery
D. Gertrude

Question 15: In Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975), who utters the line ‘You’re gonna need a bigger boat’?

A. Matt Hooper
B. Quint
C. Chief Martin Brody
D. Mayor Larry Vaughn

Question 16: Who directed the suspense classic Rosemary’s Baby (1968)?

A. Stanley Kubrick
B. Roman Polanski
C. William Friedkin
D. Ira Levin

Question 17: In Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), what is the core premise of the two men’s exchange on the train?

A. Sharing alibis
B. Swapping murders
C. Trading wives
D. Exchanging luggage

Question 18: What is the name of the sinister housekeeper played by Judith Anderson in Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940)?

A. Mrs. Bates
B. Mrs. Danvers
C. Mrs. Grose
D. Mrs. Appleby

Question 19: Who plays the dual role of Aaron Stampler and Roy in the suspense film Primal Fear (1996)?

A. Christian Slater
B. Edward Norton
C. Matthew McConaughey
D. Brad Pitt

Question 20: In The Prestige (2006), who directed the tale of rival magicians Robert Angier and Alfred Borden?

A. David Fincher
B. Christopher Nolan
C. Darren Aronofsky
D. Guillermo del Toro

Answers

  1. B. Magazine photographer – Jeff is a professional photographer laid up with a broken leg, using his rear window view to spy; he’s not a detective or salesman.
  2. B. Alfred Hitchcock – Hitchcock directed Psycho, revolutionising horror-suspense with its shocking twists; the others made later homages or different genres.
  3. B. Scottie Ferguson – Full name is John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson; the phobia stems from a rooftop chase; other names are from noir detectives.
  4. B. Machine-gun fire from the plane – The biplane strafes Thornhill in an empty field as a ruse; no gas, corn, or locusts are involved.
  5. B. Jodie Foster – Foster won an Oscar for Clarice; Moore played her in Hannibal, others are unrelated thriller actresses.
  6. B. He has been dead the entire film – Crowe was shot early and ignored by the living; he’s not the killer or related to Cole.
  7. B. You do not talk about Fight Club – Stated explicitly twice; other rules follow but this is first.
  8. B. David Fincher – Fincher helmed Se7en with its grim serial killer plot; others directed different 90s thrillers.
  9. A. Short-term amnesia – Specifically anterograde amnesia from a head injury; narrative runs backwards to reflect it.
  10. B. Kevin Spacey – Spacey earned an Oscar nom for Verbal/Keyser Söze; others play different suspects.
  11. B. Ashecliffe Hospital – Located on Shutter Island; the twist reveals patient Daniels’ role there.
  12. B. Grace Kelly – Kelly stars as Margot in this tense 3D thriller; others in different Hitchcock films.
  13. C. Marion Crane – Marion steals money and checks into Bates Motel; her sister is Lila.
  14. C. Misery – Bates won Best Actress as obsessive fan Annie Wilkes; others are King adaptations without her Oscar win.
  15. C. Chief Martin Brody – Brody says it after first shark encounter; iconic line from Roy Scheider.
  16. B. Roman Polanski – Polanski directed this satanic pregnancy thriller; Levin wrote the novel.
  17. B. Swapping murders – Bruno proposes ‘criss-cross’ perfect crimes; Guy is a tennis pro.
  18. B. Mrs. Danvers – Danvers manipulates the new Mrs. de Winter; other housekeepers from different stories.
  19. B. Edward Norton – Norton’s breakout role with the altar boy twist; others in legal thrillers but not this.
  20. B. Christopher Nolan – Nolan directs the Victorian magicians’ feud; others made magic-themed films later.

How did you score? Drop your results in the comments below and challenge friends to top your tally – true suspense fans only!