BySean Hutchinson|Mar 13, 2023, 3:28 PM EDT
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1. John Candy wasn’t the first choice to star.
Danny DeVito was originally considered for the role of Uncle Buck.
2. Candy appeared in more movies written or directed by John Hughes than any other actor.
Including Uncle Buck, Candy appeared in National Lampoon’s Vacation; Planes, Trains & Automobiles; The Great Outdoors; She’s Having a Baby; Home Alone; and Career Opportunities.
3. A scene in Uncle Buck inspired Home Alone.
Uncle Buck is only the third theatrically released film starring Macaulay Culkin, who shot to stardom a year later thanks to his role in Home Alone—which, like Uncle Buck, was also written and produced John Hughes. The idea for Home Alone first came to Hughes while Culkin was shooting the scene in Uncle Buck where he interrogates Chanice through the mail slot. (Candy also appears in Home Alone, but he and Culkin don’t have any scenes together.)
4. Amy Madigan and Gaby Hoffmann were family in a previous movie.
Madigan, who plays Chanice, and Hoffmann, who plays Maizy, appeared as mother and daughter in the film Field of Dreams, which was released the same year as Uncle Buck.
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5. It was shot and released in the same year.
Uncle Buck began filming, was released in theaters, and was released on home video all within 1989.
6. The film was originally supposed to take place in St. Louis.
It was changed to the Chicago area because unusually warm weather in Missouri that year forced the production to move to a more wintry climate.
7. You can visit the Russells’ house—and Buck’s apartment.
The exteriors of the Russells’ house were shot on location at 2602 Lincoln Street in Evanston, Illinois. Buck’s apartment, across the street from Wrigley Field, is located at 3708 N. Sheffield Avenue in Chicago.
8. You might recognize the high school from other John Hughes films.
The high school scenes were shot at New Trier West High School in Winnetka, Illinois, which wasn’t a functioning school at the time of filming. The location was also used in other Hughes films like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Sixteen Candles. The elementary school scenes were shot at Romona Elementary School in Wilmette, Illinois.
9. If you look closely, you’ll spot a familiar face.
The classmate sitting next to Maizy in her school scene is actress Anna Chlumsky, who would later star in My Girl with Macaulay Culkin, and who can be currently seen on HBO’s Veep.
10. Buck’s car is a 1977 Mercury Marquis Brougham.
He calls it “The Beast.” Filmmakers used a combination of a gunshot and a firecracker to create its backfiring noise.
11. Pooter-the-Clown is played by character actor Mike Starr.
Among his more recognizable roles are Frankie from Miller’s Crossing, Frenchy from Goodfellas, and Mental from Dumb & Dumber.
12. Uncle Buck’s theme might sound familiar.
It’s a beat from rapper Tone Lōc’s “Wild Thing.”
13. The film spawned two short-lived TV shows of the same name.
The first ran from 1990-1991 and was created without the input of John Hughes or any of the film’s cast. In fact, Hughes didn’t even know the show existed until its producers asked to use exterior footage the director shot for the movie. James Lesure starred in a 2016 version, which was canceled after one season.
14. There was an Indian Uncle Buck remake.
Uncle Bun was released in 1991.
15. You can make Buck’s huge pancakes.
But you’ll need a pretty big mixing bowl. A chef estimated that you’d need 300g of plain flour, 200g of caster sugar, 450ml of milk, 9 medium free range eggs, 100g of melted unsalted butter, and 15g of vegetable oil to make the stack of gigantic pancakes that Buck makes Miles for his birthday.
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Quiz: Can You Name the ’90s Horror Movie From Its Final Girl?
Put that ‘90s movie knowledge to the test this Halloween.
ByAlexandria Ingham|Oct 27, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT
You know the villains, but can you remember the last survivors? The Final Girl is one of the most iconic tropes from horror movies, and the ‘90s had some of the best. Let’s see if you can match the Final Girl to the horror movie.
How did you do? If you got all eight right, we’re impressed, and you’re definitely a horror movie buff. If you didn’t, well, it’s the perfect excuse to have a horror movie binge-watch for Halloween!
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Most Iconic Final Girls of the ‘90s
The 1990s was a transformative decade when it came to horror. After decades of watching the women scream and make silly choices, the women of the ‘90s became more self-aware. In fact, they were able to poke fun at their earlier counterparts, even when they were forced into making the same mistakes. The evolution of the Final Girl delivered fierce and proactive heroines we could root for.
Sidney Prescott is one of the most memorable. Neve Campbell brought this teenager to life in Scream, kicking off a new style of slasher movies. It wasn’t afraid to poke fun at its own genre, while bringing a leading woman who was layered with trauma and heartache. Even when Sidney was forced to run up the stairs instead of out the front door, she continued to make quick decisions and made it clear she deserved to survive.
While Gale Weathers was technically a co-Final Girl, it was Sidney we rooted for the most.
Just a year later, Jennifer Love Hewitt became the Final Girl, Julie James, in I Know What You Did Last Summer. Her character had one of the most iconic pop-culture moments, as she looked at the sky and screamed, “What are you waiting for?” and she didn’t let us down when she returned for the sequels. It would have been great to see her survive with Helen Shivers, but unlike Scream, there can usually only be one Final Girl.https://www.youtube.com/embed/IE1ZeXC4vtg?feature=oembed
Before the teens, there was one Final Girl of the ‘90s who will always stand out as the queen. It’s all about Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. The FBI trainee proved that women could remain grounded and quick-thinking, even when faced with the horror of a killer coming after her. It’s rare that a horror movie lands any Academy Award nominations, let alone wins, but Foster proved it’s possible.
If you love to test your movie knowledge, check out the Mental Floss quiz page daily for more trivia challenges.
The countdown to Halloween is on, and we’re challenging our readers here at Mental Floss with our Trick or Trivia quiz giveaway. For 13 nights between October 19-31, we’re putting your knowledge of all things spooky to the test. Think you know Halloween? Take at least one quiz and enter to be in the running to win a $200 Barnes & Noble gift card.
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The Spookiest Star Signs, Ranked By Horror Movie Villains
It turns out some zodiac signs are far deadlier than others—at least on screen.
ByNitya Rao|Oct 27, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT
Have you ever watched a horror movie and realized its antagonist was suspiciously similar to the villain in your own story? Whether it’s the strategic Scorpio mind games or the infamous Gemini two-faced tendencies, some red flags feel like they were written in the stars. But can your birth chart actually predict your evil twin on the silver screen?
Doing the Monster Math
There are 12 zodiac signs: Aries (March 21 – April 19), Taurus (April 20 – May 20), Gemini (May 21 – June 20), Cancer (June 21 – July 22), Leo (July 23 – August 22), Virgo (August 23 – September 22), Libra (September 23 – October 22), Scorpio (October 23 – November 21), Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21), Capricorn (December 22 – January 19), Aquarius (January 20 – February 18), and Pisces (February 19 – March 20).
There are also countless horror characters who wear their signs on their sleeves—from the charmingly polite Libra facade of Norman Bates to the spotlight-stealing, Leo spectacles of Jack Torrance at the Overlook Hotel.
To find out which star signs shine brightest in the horror hall of fame, researchers at California Psychics analyzed 85 famous movie monsters to pinpoint their astrological alignments. Sourcing 23 canonical birthdays from official lore and 62 from fan wikis and Wikidata, the study also factored in character totals and movie appearances to produce a final spookiness score out of 100.
See the full list of the spookiest zodiac signs—from Gemini to Sagittarius—based on their overall score, villain count, and standout slasher icons below:
| Rank | Zodiac Sign | Spookiness Score | Villain Count | Notable Villains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gemini | 100.0 | 11 | Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th), Damien Thorn (The Omen) |
| 2 | Scorpio | 91.4 | 11 | Count Dracula (Dracula), Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) |
| 3 | Leo | 89.1 | 10 | Jack Torrance (The Shining), Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) |
| 4 | Aries | 79.6 | 9 | Kayako Saeki (The Grudge), Regan MacNeil (The Exorcist) |
| 5 | Libra | 71.5 | 8 | Michael Myers (Halloween), Norman Bates (Psycho) |
| 6 | Virgo | 61.7 | 7 | Carrie White (Carrie), Frankenstein’s Monster (Frankenstein) |
| 7 | Taurus | 54.5 | 6 | Chucky (Child’s Play), Pennywise (It), M3GAN (M3GAN) |
| 8 | Aquarius | 51.9 | 6 | Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs), Samara Morgan (The Ring) |
| 9 | Cancer | 48.6 | 5 | Billy Lenz (Black Christmas) |
| 10 | Sagittarius | 42.1 | 5 | Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Jigsaw (Saw) |
| 11 | Pisces | 39.5 | 4 | Angela Baker (Sleepaway Camp) |
| 12 | Capricorn | 25.9 | 3 | Candyman (Candyman); Clarice Starling (The Silence of the Lambs) |
The Horror Horoscope
The stereotype of twin sign Geminis being two-faced might be an actual archetype, with the hockey-masked Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th confirmed to be one. From The Omen‘s sinister antichrist Damien Thorn, born June 6, to Saw’s cold, calculating detective Mark Hoffman, Gemini tops the list with 11 horror villains, 35 movie appearances, and an eerily perfect spookiness score of 100.0.
Also making up one in eight characters analyzed is the second-spookiest zodiac sign, Scorpio, with a 91.4 score. Scorpio’s ranks include American Psycho‘s Patrick Bateman and Halloween-born slashers Victor Crowley (Hatchet) and Ethan Landry (Scream VI). Fire signs Leo and Aries have 10 and nine characters respectively, with the latter including The Exorcist‘s Regan MacNeil, whose embodiment of an Aries sun shines through from her playful, energetic pre-possession self to her explosive emotionality when pushed to the brink.
On the less sinister side of the spectrum is Capricorn as the least spooky zodiac sign with a spookiness score of 25.9 out of 100, known for its logical, no-nonsense attitude. Capricorns, like the sharp, determined Clarice Starling of The Silence of the Lambs, prioritize practicality over paranormal activity, cementing the sign’s spot far from the superstitiousness of it all. Watery Pisces also lands near the bottom overall with just four characters, followed by Sagittarius, which Freddy Krueger and Jigsaw share as a sun sign.
Grounded earth signs like Virgo and Taurus sit near the middle of the rankings with around 7% to 8% of horror characters each. While they can produce tragic monsters like Carrie White as well as chaotic characters like Chucky and Pennywise, they leave the highest body counts to air and fire signs.
Who’s Your Spooky Star Sign Soulmate?
Do you share a birth chart with an iconic horror villain, or does your zodiac sign land among the least deadly?
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