Ode to a Boogeyman Trivia Quiz

Answer: His deceased wife

John's wife dies suddenly at the beginning of the movie, presumably from an unnamed illness. John and Helen are shown as a happy couple in brief flashback scenes, and her loss is devastating to John (Keanu Reeves). After the funeral service, John receives an adorable dog named Daisy and finds out in a letter that his wife had arranged for Daisy to be sent to him, so he won't be alone after her death. Subsequently, John takes care of Daisy and bonds with her, proving that he is a guy capable of caring and loving others. So far the story does not remotely resemble that of an action movie, but all that will change soon, because unfortunately for John Wick, his woes aren't over yet.

Answer: He tries to buy John's car.

Alfie Allen, who rose to fame for his portrayal of the infamous Theon Greyjoy in "Game of Thrones", plays the part of Iosef Tarasov in "John Wick". Iosef is the spoiled son of a Russian mobster who might just surpass Theon's levels of foolishness and greediness. During his initial meeting with John Wick, Iosef asks to buy his car, a beautiful old Mustang. John refuses to sell the car, and that sets off Iosef, who proceeds to make a string of incredibly bad decisions and then act on them.

After he breaks into John Wick's house with his friends, they beat up John, kill his dog and steal the car that he refused to sell.

As if that wasn't enough, the young thug takes the Mustang to a car shop, a decision that will eventually lead to the revelation of his identity to John Wick. And to think, all of this could have been avoided if Iosef had taken the hint when John replied to him in Russian. Never mess with a westerner that speaks Russian Iosef, because he just might be a former hitman for the Russian mafia.

Answer: A pencil

Viggo Tarasov, who is a seasoned mafia boss, upon finding out what his son Iosef did to John Wick, explains to him that John is a former associate of theirs. Viggo gives Iosef (and the viewers) a short version of John's background, in an effort to establish just how terrifying John Wick is.

He describes John as a man of "focus, commitment and sheer will" and mentions that once he witnessed John killing three men with just a pencil. Viggo also says that they used to call John 'Baba Yaga', which Iosef translates as the boogeyman.

While Baba Yaga is indeed a creature that appears in Slavic folklore, she is nearly always depicted as an old woman with witch powers, quite unlike Keanu Reeves' looks or gender. Finally, Viggo finishes with a grim prediction by saying to Iosef that "John will come for you... and you will do nothing, because you can do nothing". Tough love at its finest.

Answer: With special gold coins

Initially, Viggo calls John on the phone to try and negotiate for his son's life. When John rudely hangs up on him, Viggo decides to put together an elite team of roughly a dozen mercenaries and try to take out John Wick. Of course the boogeyman comes out victorious from the confrontation, but now his house is a mess. John calls a cleanup crew to tidy up the place and once they are done, he pays them with some gold coins that feature heavily throughout the movie.

The criminals in "John Wick" often pay with these gold coins, because why use legitimate currency when you can use your own?

Answer: Because Marcus and John are old friends.

Marcus's first appearance in the movie comes very early, when he drops by to check up on John after his wife's funeral. Viggo is aware that the two hitmen are old friends, so he decides to visit Marcus in person and offer him two million dollars if he kills John Wick. Marcus asks if the contract is exclusive, but even though it isn't, he accepts Viggo's offer anyway. Willem Dafoe, who plays Marcus, has moved on from his days as the villainous Green Goblin however, so Marcus ends up ignoring the contract and instead saves John's life on a couple of occasions.

It seems there are no true professionals left in this business.

Answer: To learn Iosef's location

John Wick would never ask for bodyguards or negotiate a truce of course, and he seems to have his own supply of weapons. What he needs from Winston (Ian McShane) is information on where to find Iosef Tarasov. Ian McShane, who used to play Al Swearengen on "Deadwood", plays in this movie the role of Winston, who owns a sketchy establishment much like Al Swearengen but appears to be more kind-hearted. Winston warns John of the consequences that coming out of retirement might have, but ultimately relents and tells him where to find Iosef. Obviously being a one-man killing machine isn't John Wick's only power, because people seem incredibly inclined to help him out of their own free will.

Answer: He is swimming in a pool.

Alas, Viggo's words did not have a lasting impression on his son. Iosef is in a private club swimming in a pool and relaxing with company, surrounded of course by a small army of his father's men. He declares that he is not afraid of the boogeyman, but that soon changes as John Wick mows down through Viggo's men faster than even Neo would be able to.

As he closes in on Iosef, John is repeatedly interrupted, and his target uses the opportunity to escape in panic. John sustains some injuries himself, and is eventually forced to retreat back to his hotel.

The night is still young for the boogeyman though...

Answer: A church

Soon after returning to his hotel room, John finds himself under attack by a female assassin named Perkins (Adrianne Palicki). He detains her, but rather than killing her, John gets Perkins to give up information on the Tarasovs. It is that information which leads John to a church known as 'Little Russia', which is a cover for the Tarasov mafia.

The church is used as a place to hide blackmail material that Viggo has in his possession, so when he finds out that John Wick invaded the church and burned all said material, Viggo is understandably quite angry. How ever is he going to blackmail people now?

Answer: "People don't change, you know that. Times, they do."

When John goes after Viggo, it takes no more than simply hitting him with a charging SUV to stop him. The mafia boss suddenly finds himself with the perfect opportunity to kill John and save himself and his son, but instead he waits for John to wake up so they can make small talk. Viggo finally orders his men to kill their prisoner, but John manages to escape with some timely assistance from Marcus. John manages to catch up to Viggo and forces him to give up Iosef's location.

The terror caused by the boogeyman is so overwhelming, it transcends even family bonds... especially if you're a mobster who rather dislikes his own son.

Answer: Viggo

After Viggo gives up his own son, Iosef is quickly and unceremoniously killed by John. By this point in the movie however, Viggo has emerged as the clear antagonist. The stage is set for a final confrontation between John and Viggo, where the boogeyman finally defeats the mafia boss and his last henchmen, utterly destroying the Tarasov organisation.

But before the credits roll, John Wick finds a new dog and perhaps some solace... until the sequel anyway.