The Funhouse (1981)

I'd have to say that for me this is definitely a good slasher but not exactly a brilliant one, it's pretty slow going, it doesn't have any impressive gore effects to display at all, and the cast is a fairly generic and unlikeable bunch whom I struggle to care when they begin to get bumped off in unspectacular ways.. Very unspectacular and bland ways, how this was ever considered a Video Nasty is beyond me, those idiots were truly outta their friggin minds! I've never been proper blown away by this movie but it does have its strong points,, it has a good spooky atmosphere that makes terrific use of the natural weirdness of its grubby, tacky travelling carnival setting, and it does get a little freaky in more ways than one! That's what the movie does best in my opinion, capitalises on the carny atmosphere, those kinds of places always lend themselves well to a sinister horror scenario, and I'm considerably more disturbed by all of the cackling low rent animatronic decorations than the horrible depraved albino freak! And I don't think the monster works as well as he probably should. It is a very well done and impressively grotesque design, looking oddly like a pig combined with two faces trying to come together, quite bizarre. He's definitely scary, but I can honestly say that for me he was more unsettling with the oversize Frankenstein mask on, they really should have saved his big face reveal for right at the end because you do see just a little too much. I wouldn't even say that the movie needed Gunther all that much, I liked it better before he appears, just the cheap carnival atmosphere and sly looking carnies are enough to make it creepy and give it a strong dark tone, they should have had Kevin Conroy be the main killer, he was scarier anyway! I suppose one good thing is that it showed Tobe Hooper's understanding of the genre and that he was capable of putting something together that was entertaining and had good suspense to it after his one and only truly great classic. There are better 80s slashers to enjoy but this has its place and is not the best but it's certainly not a bad example, and some might find it amazing and some underwhelming, but I like it just enough as a fun grungy nightmare ride through trashy funhouse terror! Very worth your while watching and a good surprise to check out if you've never seen it. X

I used to love those types of Funhouses or Haunted Houses when I was a kid. There was some type of element of nostalgia when watching them in the movies but they don't have them anymore. At least not at the carnivals in my area.I loved this movie. It had the right amount of graininess (if that's a word) and realism that it really got me feeling this could happen. I know some might not share my enthusiasm but I watch Funhouse at least once a year.

"The Funhouse" is a film which everyone has spoken something about, even thought it's not even a classic of the genre. As the movie began, I felt like I was about to see the most bizarre and horrifying thing of my life, when, in fact, it was just the most bizarre. It is like this because, despite Tobi Hooper being a horror master, this project doesn't seem to be made to be (exclusively) creepy; the funny aspects of the story are what, in fact, bring some charm to it. Honestly, I thank god that it wasn't creepy; if director wanted it to be, he would SURELY be able to. All in all, if you've enjoyed 2007's "Dead Silence" and you want to see a corny and hilarious version of that, "The Funhouse" is probably a good choice for you.

Tobe Hooper made this film after the success of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). After an aborted project (Eaten Alive, 1977) and a telefilm (Salem's Lot, 1981). The film shows a sure directorial skill that would fade little by little after his Lifeforce (1985). The film revolves around a group of teenagers who decides to spend the night inside a dark ride (The Funhouse) and witness a murder between two members of the circus. After this they are hunted by the by the deformed killer and his father and... well, the rest is the usual nerve wrecking scenes. This film had a huge mark on me when I watched it in television in my infancy, I remembered it for long time and unfortunately it was rare to show on TV and since I didn't had a VCR I couldn't watch it anywhere, when I got older I imported it on DVD, which is the copy I own. After a gap of some 15 years, the film still has the sinister mood of my recollection. It is sad that Hooper career followed a downward spiral, none of his films has the force of TTCM, though he came close in Funhouse and with Poltergeist (1982).