Very disappointing...

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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

This movie seems like it's going to be a slasher, yet much like Eaten Alive, it exudes a level of real fear, sleaze and menace that few films reach. Yet it has a heart and joy to it that makes me love it. It's also one of Becca's favorite childhood films!We open on Amy (Elizabeth Berridge, Amadeus) as she showers, but the killer isn't a killer. It's her little brother Joey, which is troubling on a few levels. He's a horror film fan who loves practical jokes. And he goes along with Amy and her boyfriend Buzz, Liz and Richie to a traveling carnival.They don't follow any of the rules as they go to the event. Of course, they smoke weed. And then look at naked women. And heckle Madame Zena (played by Sylvia Miles, who was the original Sally on The Dick Van Dyke Show and earned Oscar nominations for Midnight Cowboy and Farewell, My Lovely before becoming close pals with Paul Morrissey and Warhol). And then sneak in and spend all night inside the Funhouse.They decide to ride into the funhouse when they watch a man in a Frankenstein mask have sex with Zena. He comes too fast and then tries to get out of paying, at which point Zena makes fun of him. He goes crazy and murders her as the teens are trapped. And Richie is dumb enough to steal money from the carnival after all of that!It turns out that the man in the mask is really Gunther, the son of the owner Conrad Straker. He's hideously deformed, with long fangs and white hair. He's played by The monster was played by Wayne Doba, a professional tap dancer and former mime who was also the otherworldly Octavio the Clown in Scarface.His father riles him up and he kills Richie and goes after the rest of the kids. Liz is killed with an industrial fan. Buzz kills Conrad, but Gunther offs him. Finally, Amy is able to kill the monster with two gears. She barely escapes with her life as the robotic fat lady laughs at her. After all, it ain't over until the fat lady sings.There's a book version of the film by Owen West (Dean Koontz) which adds plenty of back story. As the film was delayed in post-production, it came out a long time before the movie.My favorite scene here is the reveal of Gunther. And I almost forgot that William Finley from The Phantom of the Paradise shows up as a magician! This is a near-forgotten piece of horror film that is worth you finding and watching for yourself.

This film goes to show how stringent the English film board was back in the eighties as this got an X certificate on release and then ended up banned... and now in its UNCUT version, it rates a 15 certificate.To be truthful though, after watching - and still viewing - the video nasties list I cannot understand why or how this film achieved a banned status. In Tobe Hooper's other banned film Eaten Alive there are scene's of torture and animal cruelty, whereas in Funhouse there's nothing along these lines. In fact, this is pretty standard fayre in the slasher mould.You have a deformed man who is unable to find love due to his looks and personality buying sexual favours from the carnival's fortune teller. Unfortunately, for her, he finishes prematurely and when she demands money for services rendered he gets upset... and she gets dead. This interlude is viewed by four teenagers who thought it would be fun to hide out in the ghost train. Of course, one of them makes a noise and draws the attention of the deformed killer who must dispatch them to keep his secret safe.Though the concept is good its development onto film is strained. As most of the action takes place in a limited area Tobe Hooper should have tried to develop a tension of claustrophobia as our witnesses find it increasingly difficult to escape the funhouse. However, the carny ride appears massive and unending - could it be a Gallifreyan Time Machine(?) For me, there wasn't enough tension or excitement and at times I found my attention drifting.The actors are above average and cope well with building their characters and making them realistic, though none of them stands out above the others. It would have been nice to have been introduced to some of the major characters back stories and more personal insights so the viewers could relate to them a little more. This would make their murders more emotionally stronger and bring the viewer into the story more.There is one brilliant thing about this film and the writer, Lawrence Block, and the director should have tried to work it into the story more as it would have added more depth, mystery, and paranormal atmospheres if done correctly. At each of the carnival's rides and shows, there's a barker shouting the attractions merits to entice the people in. Though the barkers are constantly at their positions and could not be the same person, each one is played by Kevin Conway. This is a subtle thing that when spotted adds a mysterious element to the story, which is then completely ignored. It's like somebody had an idea but couldn't come up with a suitable resolution to it.This is not a bad film, by any means, it's just average; one of those films you'd watch if you'd not seen it before and there was nothing else on. Worth watching at least once. Not Tobe Hoopers best film and not his worst.

I first saw "The Funhouse" a few years ago and was impressed since it's a semi-obscure horror film from 1981, although the movie poster has gotten some mileage. I guess I was expecting something low-budget and lame, but that's not the case. This is a top-rate quasi-slasher flick from that era, taking place at a carnival, which is a great location for a horror movie. The plot revolves around two high school couples (Elizabeth Berridge & Cooper Huckabee and Miles Chapin & Largo Woodruff) who spend their double date at the local carnival and foolishly decide to spend the night at the Funhouse where they inadvertently witness a murder. Horror ensues as the masked murderer turns out to be a hideous freak.I discovered why this is such a well-done horror film from that era – it was made by Tobe Hooper who directed significant horror films like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974), "Salem's Lot" (1979), "Poltergeist" (1982) and "Crocodile" (2000). I realize a lot of people don't appreciate the last one, but I actually prefer it to the other three.The movie's effective because the protagonists represent the typical 17-18 year-old youths from that time period, or any time period really. The story takes its time to establish the characters on their carnival date before the horror goes into overdrive and the acting of the teens is convincing when it does. That's one of the things I like about this movie the most (beyond the carnival atmosphere, that is) – it's realistic tone. Don't get me wrong, there are things that happen that wouldn't likely happen in real life, like a prop at the Funhouse scaring the youths at precisely the right moment, but generally speaking the tone's very believable, plus there's no goofiness or indications that it's all a joke, as in "Crocodile." Both girls are a highlight, particularly Largo Woodruff as Liz. Sylvia Miles appears as the tarot card reader, Madame Zena; she still looked good for being in her late 50s.The freak is played by Wayne Doba who is passionate in his portrayal and extremely credible. Plus the make-up is hideous and memorable. I also liked the depiction of the monster's relationship with his dad, the Funhouse Barker played by Kevin Conway. All-around outstanding job on this front.Unfortunately, the pacing of the film is weak and there are numerous draggy sections, which causes one's mind to wander. This is the only reason I don't rate it higher. The movie would've been more effective if they cut 12-15 minutes of fat, which explains why the video version only runs 80 minutes; that's the version you want to see.The film runs 96 minutes and was shot in North Miami, Florida.GRADE: B