Zombies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Shaun of the Dead

'Shaun of the Dead' is part of the 'Cornetto Trilogy', a series of films made by Pegg and co-writer Edgar Wright that also includes 'Hot Fuzz', a buddy cop movie set in a sleepy village, and 'The World's End', which features an alien invasion. 'Shaun of the Dead' is a homage to George A. Romero's 'Dead' films and stars Pegg as Shaun, an electronics salesman from London, and Frost as his mate Ed. A zombie apocalypse breaks out in London and Shaun and Ed find themselves battling zombies, before being forced to hide in a pub. Ed later becomes a zombie himself, and Shaun keeps him in a shed and sometimes plays video games with him.

The film also features several British comedy actors: Tamsin Grieg and Dylan Moran ('Black Books'), Matt Lucas ('Little Britain'), Reece Shearsmith ('The League of Gentlemen'), Lucy Davis and Martin Freeman ('The Office'), and Peter Serafinowicz ('Spaced').

Answer: Highschool of the Dead

'Highschool of the Dead', or 'Apocalyptic Academy: Highschool of the Dead' to give it its full title, is heavy on violence, gore and fanservice, and is set in present-day Japan, where a pandemic known simply as the 'Outbreak' is turning humans into zombies.

The students of Fujimi High School, led by Takashi Komuro, are forced to fight for survival and escape into town. Joining Takashi are love interest Rei, sword fighter Saeko, genius student Saya, nerdy gun nut Kohta (named after 'Hellsing' mangaka Kohta Hirano), and nurse Shizuka.

The manga was serialised between 2006 and 2013, but left unfinished after Daisuke Satou's death. An anime was released in 2010.

Answer: 2005

The 'Marvel Zombies' series was born when Mark Millar came up with the idea of an alternate Earth populated by zombies in the 'Crossover' arc of the 'Ultimate Fantastic Four' series. Marvel liked the idea and pitched a miniseries featuring Marvel superheroes as zombies, hiring Robert Kirkman - a huge fan of zombies - as the main writer. Kirkman wanted the cast to retain their powers and essential personalities, rather than have them all shuffling around like stereotypical zombies.

The plot kicks off with Earth-2149, an alternate Earth where the Avengers, the X-Men and many other familiar faces are infected with 'the Hunger', which gives them a craving for human flesh and turns them into zombies. The uninfected Magneto, Silver Surfer and Galactus all end up becoming Zombie food, and Galactus' consciousness infects the zombies who ate him. There were five official comics in the series, the first being released in December 2005, along with various spin-offs and crossovers with 'The Evil Dead' and 'Marvel Apes'. There's even a Christmas special based on 'A Christmas Carol'!

Answer: Thorpe Park

Thorpe Park is an amusement park located in the village of Thorpe in Surrey, England, divided into a set of 'islands'. 'The Walking Dead: The Ride', formerly known as 'X', is located in the Dock Yard section and consists of an indoor rollercoaster. When visitors enter the ride, they are informed that a zombie breach has occurred and are directed to the Loading Zone, through corridors with bloodstained walls and flashing red lights, before boarding the coaster. On some occasions, actors dressed as zombies will chase riders down the corridor to the door marked 'DONT OPEN DEAD INSIDE', and may even board the coaster themselves if seats are empty.

Answer: Lollipop Chainsaw

In 'Lollipop Chainsaw', Swan, a teenage goth, causes a zombie apocalypse by summoning zombies from the Rotten World. Our heroine, Juliet Starling, is a cheerleader from a family of zombie hunters, whose boyfriend Nick is bitten by a zombie, and she has to decapitate him to stop him turning into one.

However, she uses a ritual to keep his severed head alive and attaches it to her belt, and he acts as a useful aid in getting zombies out of the way when his head is attached to their bodies. Juliet uses a chainsaw as her weapon of choice, and tops up her health by collecting lollipops. 'Lollipop Chainsaw' is notable for having zombies explode in a shower of glitter, rather than gore (at least in the original Japanese release).

Answer: She's Not There

The Zombies formed in St Albans in the early 1960s when singer/keyboardist Rod Argent, guitarist Paul Atkinson and drummer Hugh Grundy started jamming together. Singer Colin Blunstone and bassist Paul Arnold, who came up with the name of 'the Zombies' - the band were originally called the Mustangs - completed the line-up. Arnold left the band to become a doctor and was replaced by Chris White in 1962. 'She's Not There' charted at Number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and Number 2 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100, making them famous on both sides of the Atlantic, although it was their only UK Top 40 hit. 'She's Not There' was on the list of songs banned from US radio stations following the 11th September terrorist attacks.

(Of the wrong answers, 'The Joker', 'Spoon' and 'House of the Rising Sun' are by the Steve Miller Band, Can and the Animals respectively.)

Answer: Reg Shoe

Reg Shoe originally appears in 'Jingo' and is the first zombie member of the Watch. When Samuel Vimes and the serial killer Carcer Dun are both transported back in time in 'Night Watch', Shoe is still alive, and is a member of the Glorious People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road (as a parody of Enjolras; the book is a partial homage to 'Les Miserables'). He is killed after being shot with arrows, but comes back as a zombie because his brain effectively refuses to accept that he is dead. As a zombie, he campaigns for equal rights for the undead and tends his own grave in the Small Gods' Cemetery.

(Salacia 'Sally' von Humpeding is a vampire, Detritus is a troll, and Nobby is human, although many citizens believe otherwise, to the point where he has to carry a statement confirming that he is actually human.)

Answer: Ghoulia Yelps

Ghoulia Yelps is one of the first generation dolls, and is the school genius, despite only speaking in groans (which the other ghouls understand); in the 2022 reboot of the animated series, she speaks normally. She has glasses, blue hair and grey skin, although her skin was changed to pale green for her third generation appearance. Her pet owl, Sir Hoots-a-Lot, acts as an interpreter. She was named after Julia Phelps, a Mattel worker who was on the original 'Monster High' team.

Lady Gaga was also zombiefied in doll form; her sister, Natali Germanotta, designed a limited edition doll called Zomby Gaga, wearing the outfit from the 'Born This Way' video, as part of a collaboration with the Born This Way Foundation.

Answer: Nightmare

'Nightmare' is part of the 'Atmosfear' series of video board games, an interactive board game to be played accompanied by a video cassette. It was released in 1991. Baron Samedi is named after the Voudou loa, or spirit, from the Gede family, who represent death and fertility. The other player characters are vampire Elisabeth Báthory (named after the notorious Hungarian serial killer), poltergeist Hellin, werewolf Gevaudan, witch Anne de Chantraine, and mummy Khufu. The players must collect a number of keys within a certain period and get to the centre of the game board in order to escape into the real world, while the Gatekeeper - who appears on the video at certain points - tries to stop them.

A sequel, 'Nightmare II', was released in 1992, with Baron Samedi as the host.

Answer: Bones

Zombie Boy, aka Rick Genest, was a one-time Guinness World Record holder for the most tattoos of human bones, of which he had 139. He also held a world record for the largest number of tattoos of insects (176), although this was later beaten by Joshua Thornton in 2018, and then Michael Amoia in 2021. His tattoos covered over 90% of his body, and his distinctive look got him work with freak shows. He was scouted for Thierry Mugler by Nicola Formichetti, the label's creative director and long-time collaborator with Lady Gaga; Zombie Boy subsequently featured in her video for 'Born This Way'.

Zombie Boy was L'Oréal's first male spokesperson and also promoted Dermablend make-up, with its concealer being used to cover his tattoos, and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Wear label. The Tonner Doll Company made a limited edition Zombie Boy doll in 2012, which was marketed at San Diego Comic Con with a certificate of authenticity signed by the man himself. Zombie Boy died in 2018 after accidentally falling off a balcony.