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The Funhouse [1981]


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There are no jokes in this funhouse.
Review date: 2008-08-09 Rating: 6 out of 10

To begin, Tobe Hooper is one of my all-time favourite horror movie directors. From his raw debut shocker THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE to the Spielberg-friendly spookfest POLTERGEIST, Hooper has always managed to raise a fanboy warmth in my heart when one of his new movies is released. THE FUNHOUSE is a minor work in his canon, which benefits from great make-up effects from Craig Reardon/Rick Baker and Hoopers' own strong visual directorial style. The actual script is pretty lame, with four teenagers sneaking into a funhouse for an aftershow scare. They are quickly dispatched by a deformed creature in the most routinest of fashions.

The scares are handled well and the excellently spooky cinematography benefits the look and feel of the production. The movie itself echoes an older style of horror film that at that time (the early to mid 80s) seemed to be unfashionable as movie theatres were littered with the likes of FRIDAY THE 13th and the next splatter epic that could outdo the last (I'm not saying that was a bad thing in itself, as Hooper himself returned to gory horror with his own underrated TEXAS CHAINSAW sequel). The cast provide the usual teen-kill fodder, and the main villain (a strange but interesting make-up creation) is always good to look at in this atmospheric chiller that falls short of Hoopers' other work but in itself is an entertaining horror flick that delivers the spooky goods even if a chainsaw isn't involved...

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Reviews


Legitimate creep fest
Review date: 2008-03-06 Rating: 10 out of 10

Now I have seen just about all horror films going, and it is really REALLY hard to uncover a genuinely creepy film. I first watched this as a kid, and bought it again a couple of years ago. If your like me and find those pikey funfairs deeply disturbing, and whats more find clowns worthy of gassing, then this is right up your street, if your looking for something a little different.
I would not expect less from Tobe Hooper, but to be honest I did not expect to be quite so freaked out by the atmosphere created once the kids are inside the attraction. God damn it, this is good scary stuff. WATCH IT ALONE

All the Fun of the Fear
Review date: 2007-12-30 Rating: 8 out of 10

During the early 1980s, slasher films were very popular; there seemed to be at least one released at the cinema every week. One of the best from this time is Tobe Hooper's `The Funhouse', a highly visual piece that has, at long last, been released on DVD.

Amy (Elizabeth Berridge) is all set for her first date with Buzz (Cooper Huckabee). Along with friends, Liz (Largo Woodruff) and Richie (Miles Chapin), they visit a travelling carnival. A ride on the ghost train gives them more than they bargained for when they decide to spend the night there.

There is little in the way of character development for our four friends. Their dialogue consists of little more than banalities. However, Amy seems to be almost hypnotically aware of the barkers trying to drum up trade for their various exotic delights. Their one-note patter seems to be directed at her, "Alive, alive, alive," intones one in an eerie invitation to peruse his collection of animal freaks.

The film is populated by weird characters, for example, the scavenging bag lady who spouts hellfire and damnation, and the truck driver who invites Amy's yong brother, Joey (Shawn Carson), to take a ride with him before aiming a rifle at the boy. However, most of the tension is gathered from the carnival itself. There are a number of short, clipped scenes with Amy and company on various rides and amusements. For all its gaudy splendor, the carnival is presented in such a way that you feel its inherent malevolence is always about to surface. The sequences inside the funhouse are neatly handled. Its automated models, designed to scare the ghost train riders, become more spooky as they sit lifeless in the shadowy darkness, only to reanimate unexpectedly in front of our blundering foursome.

If you're a gorehound, be warned: for a slasher movie, there's not much on show here. Most of the violence happens off-screen. `The Funhouse' relies more on atmosphere for its chills and in this respect it achieves what it sets out to do. It does come a little unstuck with its lack of character development, and because we don't know enough about the characters' backgrounds, it's difficult to care overly about them on a personal level. Nevertheless, this is an effective piece of horror entertainment. It's a pity that the DVD includes no bonus material.


A DECENT ENTRY
Review date: 2007-10-26 Rating: 8 out of 10

Wanting to go out for the night, Amy Harper, (Elizabeth Berridge) her date Buzz Klemmet, (Cooper Huckabee) Liz Duncan, (Largo Woodruff) and Richie Atturbury, (Miles Chapin) decide to go on a double date to a Carnival that has just arrived in town. As they enjoy the night on the town, witnessing all the games and attractions, she doesn't realize her little brother Joey Harper, (Shawn Carson) has snuck inside to follow her. Deciding to stay there after it closes, they accidentally witness one of the carnival workers murder another worker, and are soon found out. Still trapped inside the carnival, they are soon slaughtered one-by-one by the killer. Trying to find a way out of the demented sideshow, they have to get past the killer and the rest of his family.

The Good News: This is an effectively underrated slasher entry. One of it's most impressive feats is that it gives us a nice carnival atmosphere with some interesting sights. The setting is the best thing about this, as great pains is taken to turn the early part into setup, and this does create a great atmosphere for later on in the film. By taking a trip through the garish freak-show, which includes on exhibit a two-headed cow and a deformed, bottled fetus, the mechanized fun-house creatures, the deformed inbred monster, the creepy surreal barkers and more, the groundwork is laid for some real fun. The attention to detail he gives the carnival at the beginning is amazing, even the stuff that is going on in the background. This is obviously thrilled by the colors, textures and shadows of the carnival and capably turns the place into a menacing and alien environment. Even the carnival workers themselves are weird and seedy. The fun-house itself is a great set. There are loads of evil-looking mannequins brandishing knives and spinning around on the spot. It's all very colorful and really adds to the freakiness factor of the setting and provides an ideal place for a series of stalk 'n' slash moments with it's dimly lit corridors, noises whirring in the background and dummies popping out to scare people. The film's main positive point, though, is the extremely great showdown at the end. There's rarely been a better one in the annals of the slasher genre, starting inside a hall of mirrors and wandering through the back-rooms, down into the bowels of carnival, finally ending up in the machinery room. It's quite impressive and really stands out in the field. The stalking inside the fun-house generates some great tension as well, including a couple crashing through doors and some real surprise pop-ups from the other carnival attractions. The film even includes a few stand-out scenes, where the killer takes off a mask and reveals a real inhuman visage, and a particularly harrowing image where the heroine is calling to her parents through a large, wildly-spinning exhaust fan, but they cannot hear her because she is too far away. With a surprisingly sleazy way of getting events started, this one has a lot to like and becomes a really underrated slasher.

The Bad News: There really isn't a whole lot wrong with this one. One of it's problems is the slow pace in the beginning. By using the opening as the setup for the walk-through of the carnival, this here takes a large amount of time to get started. There's around an hour of material before the killer is even getting started, and while it builds up atmosphere, this really could've been trimmed down a tad and replace most of the running around.. The sub plot involving Amy's Brother is one of those big reasons, also holds things up and ultimately never comes to anything, despite the build up it is given. It's quite hard to believe that the outcome is really all that deserving, and it in itself is just an awful plot-line that holds up even more time. The film's other big problem is the lack of gore in the kills. For such takes as an ax in the head, a sword in the back, a stabbing and being crushed by hydraulic equipment has so little gore in the film, and it really could've used more. Otherwise, this one here was quite nicely done.

The Final Verdict: With only a few nagging problems, this really is a quite underrated slasher film with a lot to like about it. It's creepy, frightening and full of intense action, leaving it a film full of entertainment and a full recommendation for the slasher fans in the crowd.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Elizabeth Berridge
Cooper Huckabee
Miles Chapin
Largo Woodruff
Sylvia Miles

Creators:
Elizabeth Berridge (Primary Contributor)
Cooper Huckabee (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Arrow Films
Manufacturer: Arrow Films
EAN: 5027035005065
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-10-29
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 91 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1981
Language: English (Unknown)

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