A Deep Dive into Weirdo Cinema Quiz

Answer: Foodfight!

While one might believe that, for an animated film, this would have all the makings of a solid or, at the very least, passable movie, even for background noise for children, but "Foodfight!" manages to get a lot wrong.

Originally envisioned to be a clever film for both kids and adults, the hard drives containing the movie were stolen in 2002 (though some believe they were purposely lost). All lines, still recorded, carried over to a new computer-animated version of the movie and it was quietly released on DVD, but not before losing $65,000,000 USD of investor cash.

The film, about the goings on of different brands and animals (yeah, animals) in a closed grocery store attempting to solve a mystery, quickly fell to IMDb's Bottom 100 films. It might have been because the movie featured tactless product placement with very few actual brands; it might have been the well-past-its-time animation; it might have been the inappropriate jokes throughout. Either way, it was something.

Answer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze" was released in 1991, only a year after the debut of the series that found Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael facing off against Shredder and the Foot Clan in the sewers beneath New York City. The sequel picks up from the end of the previous film with Shredder coming back to New York to use the radioactive ooze (the same one that empowered the turtles) to make new lackeys. A third film in the series, which sent the turtles back in time, was released in 1993 before it went on hiatus for more than a decade.

Of particular note, "The Secret of the Ooze" featured "The Ninja Rap", an original song made by Vanilla Ice performed-- with the turtles no less-- in a scene in the film. Though budget was given to update the puppets, producers pushed that money to the soundtrack and, fortunately, they made quite a bit of that money back on it.

Answer: Killbots

Originally titled "Killbots", this mid-'80s, sci-fi slasher featured every part of the decade that needed to be seen-- Malls. Shopping. Lasers. Killer robots.-- and it put a handful of people in a highly-secure mall after dark to face off against some dangerous shenanigans. What followed was something that could only happen in the 1980s; the trio of security robots, turned rogue by a lightning strike to a rooftop antenna, set out to kill all late guests/workers with lasers, electrical weapons, clampy arms, and saws.

An unlikely blend of exploitation director Jim Wynorski's schlocky choices, Julie Corman's production behind the scenes, and Roger Corman's blessing, "Chopping Mall" became a cult classic for its possibly unintentional hilarity, evolving to become an exemplary midnight movie. It's not a bad fate for a movie that was, allegedly, written in under a day.

Answer: Competitive gaming

The debut feature film of Joseph Procopio, "eHero" was one of the early instances where competitive video gaming made it to the big screen (after a couple of decades of video games only really coming through as adaptations). Featuring "Lord of the Rings'" Sean Astin in a supporting role as the team manager, Richard Brixton, the film put itself out as a base-level underdog story, not unlike a general sports movie, in which a team of unconventional athletes battled for esports supremacy.

Is it a good movie? Not particularly-- it's actually kind of silly, all said. In an industry where top games are played by millions, the film's original video game put forth a basic, unknown element that would fall flat for any gamer or esports enthusiast and keep outsiders uninterested. For a more interesting take (and a documentary), you might consider "Free to Play" (2014) or the "True Sight" series.

Answer: Daredevil

Before "Daredevil" emerged in the MCU and in a well-regarded Netflix series, "Daredevil" came out as a film even before "Iron Man", hitting theatres five years earlier with Ben Affleck in the lead role as blind lawyer Matt Murdock. While movies like "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" led superheroes into the 2000s, "Daredevil" was the rare miss, at least critically, following Daredevil from his origin story to his battle against Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) and Bullseye (Colin Farrell). It still made enough money to get a sequel, "Elektra" (starring Jennifer Garner), which didn't feature Affleck. Affleck wouldn't return to superhero work until 2016 with DC's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", possibly because he received the Razzie for Worst Actor for this, "Gigli", and "Paycheck".

What "Daredevil" did manage to bring was an immense popularity to Evanescence's debut single "Bring Me to Life" which gained more traction for the band in their first album, making their pop/nu-metal stylings part of the radio landscape in the mid-2000s.

Answer: Japan

Perhaps one of the more interesting horror films of the twentieth century, "Hausu" was commissioned by Toho Studios who, according to tales of the film's creation, wanted to make a scary film akin to "Jaws". This film has next to no other connection, instead following a group of Japanese schoolgirls as they head to a house occupied by one of the girls' aunts. As it's discovered, the aunt is long-dead, and eager to use their souls to restore her vitality. What unfolds is nothing short of insanity as the girls are dispatched in increasingly absurd ways-- one is eaten by a piano, if you needed convincing.

What "Hausu" managed to do was create a compelling and experimental tale that would confound for generations. (At one point, a man literally transforms into a pile of bananas apropos of next to nothing.) This said, some of the ideas implemented can be seen in films on an international scale for decades to come. Director Nobuhiko Obayashi created the film with the intent to show frights from the point of view of his young daughter. Dario Argento would do something similar in "Suspiria" in the same year, creating an almost fairy-tale reality in which his characters were diminished, experiencing the helplessness of children in the face of true evil.

Answer: A large, black orb

Set in a world in which people, caught in between their death and the afterlife, are forced by a large, black orb to face off against unique alien foes, "Gantz" is weird for the sake of weird, but it does have a unique space in the action-thriller manga world, being a best-seller in Japan during its run of releases. While the manga released across thirteen years from 2000 to 2013, the first film showed up towards the end of the story in 2010 (the second the year after).

Successful in the Japanese box office, "Gantz" never really retained a significant fanbase in the rest of the world, perhaps because its story is a bit too sprawling or its concepts is a bit too complex. Director Shinsuke Sato would go on to make the live-action adaptation of the popular manga "Bleach" in 2018.

And again, who can forget Gantz itself-- a sheer, black orb. How innocuous and menacing all at once.

Answer: Manhattan

Releasing in 1989, this eighth movie in the long-running "Friday the 13th" slasher horror franchise took the teens out of Camp Crystal Lake by cruise ship bound directly for...for some reason, New York City. Voorhees comes along for the ride when he's brought back to life by live electrical wires in Crystal Lake and he causes havoc on the cruise for most of the film's runtime. Eventually, he and the survivors make it to Manhattan (even Times Square!) and he meets his end via new means, eventually returning to Crystal Lake in "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday". Note: It was not the final Friday.

Whether or not this series jumped the shark for this iteration, or several before it, or at all, may be up for debate, but this film puts the 'camp' in Camp Crystal Lake, taking Jason to a new brink for no reason other than to spice things up. He would go to Hell in "IX" and space in "X". Watching Jason walk through New York for 5 minutes though? Nothing compares.

Answer: Weng Weng

A comedy-action film in the vein of a "James Bond" movie, both of these films starred Weng Weng, a little person actor who achieved the feat of being the shortest actor to play a leading role in a film to date. At a time when the Philippines didn't have significant stake in world cinema, these films managed to break the mold and achieve a reputable bit of cult status, if not for the premise, then the odd charisma of the leading man who, portrayed as a jack-of-all-trades secret agent capable of pretty much anything (especially wooing the ladies), could do virtually no wrong.

Let's just say that if you've never seen Weng Weng travelling around, four feet off the ground on a rocket-powered jetpack, you haven't experienced the peaks that cinema has to offer.

Answer: Enter the Void

An almost-seamless flow of narrative, "Enter the Void" is another medium-pushing film by "Irréversible" director Gaspar Noé who tells the story of a man who experiences a drug-fuelled night in Tokyo, only to get shot and experience his final moments (and the moments of those in his life) in an out-of-body segment that takes up the bulk of the movie. All of this culminates in a graphic portrayal of possible reincarnation, a topic discussed at points during the film.

Highly experimental, "Enter the Void" is both graphic and electrifying, portraying both nighttime Tokyo and lead character Oscar's experience as though through a cyberpunk, neon haze rife with overwhelming sounds. As is the case with experimental art films, it was highly polarizing, of course, and failed to recuperate its budget by approximately 99%.