just watch it!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Beautiful, moving film.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

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

Elizabeth Berridge, Elizabeth Berridge, where had I seen her before? It didn't come to me, as I was thinking of probably some other horror film. No, she was in 'Amadeus' as quite the frivolous and sympathetic girl who ended up marrying him (Amadeus). She's an exuberant appearance, even if, here, i didn't care much for her acting.The opening scene is titillating fun, but then things get quite boring quite fast. Two double dates (and separately, a kid brother) stroll around a carnival without much really exciting happening (highlight is William Finley as Marco the Magnificent and bloody tricks and tales); it's colorful, though, and if you like a good carnival... In the last half hour things are finally going wrong and some killing, screaming and running must be done. Hardly a slasher, though; no kills until the last half hour (only the mentioning of earlier murders) and no mystery about who are responsible, even if one of them is wearing a mask. Still, there there's a good effort made to give the story some substance, by giving the killers a background and not making all the carnies a murdering bunch.Still, there's not so much to enjoy; 5 out of 10. No, wait, 6 out of 10; an extra point for Berridge and a few very good, creepy scenes (one with Amy, the other with Liz, both in the ventilation system).

Tobe Hooper is a mystery to me. His debut film, Texas CHAINSAW, might be the greatest horror film in modern times, a benchmark in which to compare all horror movies since. So, why is it that he's never really been able to come close to the majesty of that movie? Yes, you can point to POLTERGEIST, but many in filmdom would argue that movie is more Spielberg than Hooper.I would put this movie in a similar category with EATEN ALIVE, his previous film, a movie which I seem to enjoy far more than most. Both movies carry a similar problem, though. They are gorgeously filmed, stylishly lit, artistic slashers with wooden characters, dull plots and poor pacing. Part of that blame lies in the screenwriters, to be sure, but it's as if Hooper spent far too much time worrying about how to shoot his films and not enough wondering if it was a worthwhile film to make in the first place.The movie starts off with an "homage" to HALLOWEEN, introducing us to the main heroine and her kid brother who will be pivotal to the plot. We could, also, argue here that there is a fine line between "paying homage" and "ripping off". Our final girl has a typical a*hole boyfriend who is taking her to a carnival against her father's wishes, with two stereotypical teens in tow. From here, the movie spends a little bit too much time with the teens exploring the carnival. It badly cries out for something similar to the Hitchhiker scene in TCM to establish a bit of tension that will carry the plot through this portion, something that portends the doom to follow, but it's essentially nothing more than 4 generic teens walking around a carnival. When I say generic, I mean it. There is no personality to here. Nothing to like or dislike. They exist only to die later. I do think Kevin Conway's multiple appearance as a carny barker are good here and help to set somewhat of a tone. There's something inherently creepy, to me, about that poor audio, cheap microphone sound that's used well. The fun starts when the teens decide to spend the evening in the funhouse. This is where Hooper really shines. He uses the spooky qualities of the old school carnival shocks to maximum effect, combined with his always excellent sense of lighting to create a genuinely unsettling funhouse atmosphere.The teens then witness something that will spell out their inevitable doom and our creature is unmasked in a reveal reminiscent of Chaney's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. The monster makeup is excellent and provides a unique slasher villain. From here, though, the movie just never goes anywhere you want it to go. Hooper sets up these amazing sets and excellent shots and you want so much for him to use this setting to the same max effect that he was able to use the old farmhouse in TCM, but it never gets there. The killings become paint by the numbers, formulaic slasher deaths, all leading up to the inevitability that our final girl will escape and the monster will meet its' demise.It's better than the majority of generic slashers that came out in the wake of HALLOWEEN and Friday THE 13th, but can't quite elevate itself to classic level.

Amy and her friends are going off to a local carnival with a sleazy reputation. It looks fun on the outside but beneath the cheery atmosphere is a very frightening world and the kids are about to find out what is so scary about the funhouse when they decide to be idiots and spend the night inside, encountering a deformed slasher-killer.This slasher film deserves better reviews, it is one my favorites. Although my all-time favorite movie s the 1981 slasher film My Bloody Valentine, this movie is thrilling, entertaining, funny and creepy all in one. I think my favorite character was the pretty minor magician who scared the pants off an audience when he pulled a prank on them. The acing overall wasn't that good but the soundtrack was memorable and the movie does manage to remain shocking. It also shows a side-story with Amy's little brother getting lost at the carnival while sneaking out after dark.This isn't a bad movie, it's worth watching and really fun to see with friends. If the whole point of slashers is to have fun watching them, the Funhouse delivers.