page71

Directed by Ernest Dickerson, 1995

EXT - A DESOLATE HIGHWAY - NIGHT

Cue music: Filter's Hey Man Nice Shot A "No Trespassing" sign is swaying in a gentle breeze. To the left is a winding stretch of road that's illuminated by a full moon and two other points of light. A car races forward, emerging from the darkness. As it draws closer, the camera pans up to reveal a lone figure with a look that expresses some undisclosed purpose. What line would you add to indicate that Frank Brayker (William Sadler) was being followed?

2. Fill in the blank: If Brayker remarked, "This can't be happening… it can't end like this," right before his car was hit, he would have been referring to __________ .

3. When Brayker noticed that his car was running out of gas, he jerked the wheel to the left and then stepped on the brake. What did he do after that?

4. True or False: The Collector's (Billy Zane) car was travelling at a speed of well over a hundred miles per hour when it slammed into Brayker's vehicle.

5. Neither car was recognizable after the collision. But the police were able to determine where they came from. One of the vehicles was stolen from New Jersey. The other car was traced to which of the following states?

A. Delaware
B. Maryland
C. Pennsylvania

6. What did the Collector say to Deputy Martel (Gary Farmer) and Sheriff Tupper (John Schuck) after he walked away from the crash without a scratch?

7. Complete the following quote: When the Sheriff asked the Collector what he was looking for, he answered, "A piece of antiquity. A relic…"

8. Irene (CCH Pounder) broke two of her own rules when Brayker offered to pay for a room. Do you remember what those rules were?

9. If we asked you why Danny (Ryan Sean O'Donohue) didn't take the money that Brayker tried to bribe him, you'd answer, "Because he only offered him a quarter," right? Was that the only reason?

10. Try this "What if?" question. Let's say your business partner has just returned from a cross-country vacation with a proposal that seems too good to be true. "You've always talked about opening up your own chain of video rental stores, right? Well, there's a few towns out west that are in desperate need of one. I think we should start in Wormwood, New Mexico." "Why there," you ask. "I overheard someone complaining about how they have to drive 30 miles every time they want to see a movie." What establishment would your partner be referring to if he added, "Have you ever considered something a little more unique, like a movie-themed restaurant? Something along the lines of a dinner theater with huge movie screens. The only diner in town looks like it should be condemned."

11. What was Brayker eating when Uncle Willy (Dick Miller) joked, "I was just thinking how much better that stuff looked when it was road kill"?

12. When Jeryline (Jada Pinkett) asked Brayker who he really was, he replied, "Just an old man running out of time." What alias did he use to get a room?

13. Irene probably thought about firing Jeryline on a number of occasions because she had to constantly keep after her. She also thought that Jeryline should have been a lot more appreciative because she gave her a place to stay when she got out of prison, and a job, which was something that no one else would do. Is any part of that statement incorrect?

14. Cordelia (Brenda Bakke) thought about giving Wally (Charles Fleischer) a "freebie" to cheer him up when she found out that he was fired from his job at the post office. Why was Irene opposed to the idea?

15. How did the police find Brayker at the Mission Hotel?

16. True or False: The hotel had to be rebuilt in the 1950s after a mysterious fire claimed the lives of seven people.

17. Where did the seven stars on the palm of Brayker's hand come from?

18. The background check that was run on Brayker proved that he wasn't who he said he was. It also revealed that he died over five years ago. What evidence convinced the others that the Collector was something more than human?

19. The viewer discovered that the Collector bled neon green blood when he sliced the palm of his hand open. Did the demons who were unleashed bleed the same color blood?

20. A demon could only be killed in one of two ways - either with the blood from the key or by destroying the creatures' eyes. Why did Brayker prefer the latter?

21. Who filled the key with the blood of Christ at the time of his crucifixion?

22. Fill in the blank: Brayker told the others they would survive if they made it through the night. But to do that, they'd have to __________ .

23. File this question under the category of What some people wouldn't do for a little pussy. What was the name of the cat that Jeryline risked her life to save?

24. What incident was Cordelia referring to when she remarked, "At least now I know who my true friends are"?

25. How did the Collector try to seduce each of the following individuals?

A. Cordelia
B. Irene
C. Jeryline
D. Uncle Willy

26. Who was the Collector talking to when he said, "Do me a favor, don't scream. Just hear what I've got to say, and then scream"?

27. Where did the blood-curdling screams that were heard after Brayker remarked, "Trust me, you're safer in this house than outside" come from?

28. Let's say your significant other gets up to go to the bathroom during the chapter entitled The Mine Shaft. When that person gets back, they ask you, "How did the Collector get back into the hotel?" Well, if you're watching the movie on a DVD player, you could replay the scene. But you're with a group of friends, so you have to explain what happened. How would you word your answer?

29. What answer would you give us if we asked you how the key fell into Roach's (Thomas Hayden Church) hands?

30. Brayker told Roach that he'd either be killed, possessed or used to get to the others if tried to use the key to save his own life. But the question here isn't, which of the three happened? Rather, were the demons that were waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs signaled in some way after the Collector exclaimed, "I lied"?

31. The words, "They bring back the darkness," was the answer to a question that was asked by whom?

32. When the group entered the mineshaft that ran under the hotel, they followed Uncle Willy, not Brayker. Tell us why.

33. What triggered the explosion that destroyed the second floor of the hotel?

34. How did Danny save Brayker's life?

35. True or False: There was only enough blood in the key to cover one entranceway when Brayker reached the steeple.

36. Brayker either heard and/or saw something that could have saved his life right before he was ripped apart by the Danny demon. What was it?

37. What were Brayker's last words?

38. When Jeryline stabbed the Collector in the eye with the key, she discovered that the eyeball "shit" only worked on low-level demons. Did she discover anything else about him after that?

39. There was a reason why Jeryline didn't say a word to the Collector right before she killed him. Do you remember why she kept her silence?

40. There were two notable references to Tales From The Crypt in the story. What were they?

41. We're going to end this quiz with one of our "we'll give you the answer, you give us the question" questions - Because he asked for "final cut!"

Answers

1. His eyes shifting between the road ahead and the rear-view mirror…

2. The doors that wouldn't open

3. He picked up his shotgun and then fired on the car that was following him.

4. True

5. B

6. "Airbags, gotta love 'em!"

7. "In the shape of a key."

8. She wouldn't rent short-term, and she didn't rent to strangers.

9. No, it wasn't. The car that Brayker tried to steal belonged to Danny's father (Tim deZarn).

10. The Halfway House Cafe

11. A spoonful of ketchup and mustard

12. He told Irene that his name was Mr. Smith.

13. Yes, it was never said that the hotel job was her only opportunity.

14. The last thing she thought he needed was somebody else screwing him.

15. Irene called the police after Roach told her what Danny saw.

16. False, the hotel used to be a church that was decommissioned in the 50s due to a "lack of interest."

17. The stars were burned into his palm when he was given the key. Give yourself a couple of bonus points if you remembered the name of the soldier who gave it to him (Dickerson), and the date he was entrusted with it (August 23rd, 1917).

18. He put his fist through Sheriff Tupper's head when the police tried to take him back to the station to question him about the two stolen cars.

19. Yes

20. Because it freed their tortured souls. The key could only hold so much blood; he had to use it sparingly.

21. A thief named Sirach (Tony Salome)

22. Stay inside and stay together

23. Cleo

24. She would have been killed if it weren't for Wally when she tried to follow Roach out of the hotel because he wouldn't wait up for her.

25. A. He offered her unconditional love. As much as she could take. B. He told her she could have her severed arm back. C. He offered her a chance to see the world, and to remain beautiful, forever. D. He surrounded him with a bar full of topless women, and all the alcohol he could drink.

26. He said that to Jeryline.

27. Wally's face was torn off by the demon that possessed Cordelia.

28. Roach broke the seal that covered the entrance to the underground mine shaft when he shot Homer for "four years of minimum wage."

29. He lifted it from Brayker's pocket when he shook his hand.

30. No

31. Uncle Willy

32. Uncle Willy thought he remembered where some of the passageways led because he owned the mine at one time.

33. Irene blew herself up with the hand grenades she found in Wally's room to save the others.

34. He gouged Uncle Willy's eyes out on a pair of mounted antlers.

35. True

36. Jeryline's cat hissed right before the creature attacked Brayker, but he didn't recognize it as a warning.

37. He repeated the words, "watch your back."

38. Yes, he tried to tell her that he loved her but he couldn't pronounce the word, he could shoot flames from his crotch and she discovered what he really looked like when his body burst into flames.

39. Her mouth was full of the blood she spit in his face.

40. Danny's death, and what happened to Brayker and Jeryline in the steeple, was mirrored in the pages of the Tales From the Crypt comic book that Danny was reading. The other reference came at the end of the story. The Collector (Mark Kennerly) that tried to board the bus that Jeryline took out of town whistled the series' theme as he walked away.

41. Why was the Crypt Keeper (voiced by John Kassir) beheaded outside the Westwood Village Theater at the film's "big screamiere"?