The Funhouse (1981)

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writer:

Lawrence Block (writer)

Release Date:

13 March 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Something is alive in the funhouse...something that, tonight, will turn the funhouse into a carnival of terror!

Plot:

Four teenage friends spent the night in a carnival funhouse and are stalked by a deformed man in a frankenstein mask.

Plot Keywords:

Funhouse | Night | Carnival | Murder | Double Date

Cast

Elizabeth Berridge	...	Amy Harper
Shawn Carson	...	Joey Harper
Jeanne Austin	...	Mrs. Harper
Jack McDermott	...	Mr. Harper
Cooper Huckabee	...	Buzz Dawson
Largo Woodruff	...	Liz
Miles Chapin	...	Richie
David Carson	...	Geek (as D. Lee Carson)
Sonia Zomina	...	Bag Lady
Ralph Morino	...	Truck Driver
Kevin Conway	...	Funhouse / Freakshow / Stripshow Barkers
Herb Robins	...	Carnival Manager
Mona Agar	...	Mona - a strip show dancer
Wayne Doba	...	The Monster
William Finley	...	Marco the Magnificent

Also Known As:

Carnival of Terror

Runtime:

96 min | Sweden:90 min (cut) | Belgium:80 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

West Germany:18 (cut) | UK:15 (re-rating) | Norway:15 (2009) (uncut) | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:(Banned) | France:-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | Norway:(Banned) (1981-2003) (cinema release) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

North Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Mace Neufeld Productions

Trivia:

The opening sequence is an homage to both Psycho (1960) and Halloween (1978).

Quotes:

Funhouse: ...I've been expecting you.
Amy Harper: Why are you doing this?
Funhouse: I'm just protecting my family.
Amy Harper: Your family? It's not even human.
Funhouse: The Lord works in mysterious ways, little lady... He ain't such a bad fella; he does get himself in all sorts of trouble, though, don't he? Anyway, blood is thicker than water; I'm sure he's gonna be a real comfort to me in my old age. Now, how many people know you're here?
Amy Harper: Lots. They all know.
Funhouse: Well, no matter. We'll be pullin' outta here tomorrow mornin'. There's plenty other carnivals.
Buzz Klemmet: What'd you do with Liz?
Funhouse: Oh, I expect by now he's just finishin' up with her. We'll just wait here till he gets back.
[Richie's corpse appears]
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The Jazz Singer (1927)

Blame it on the locals, yeah, that's a good idea...

Four kids go to a sleazy traveling carnival one night and one of them comes up with the bright idea to spend the night inside the fun-house. While there, they witness a murder and are then pursued by the killer, a deformed monster.

One of Tobe Hooper's better post-"Texas Chain Saw Massacre" efforts works mainly because of authenticity (the film-makers located an actual working carnival with 1940's and 1950's era rides and set it up in North Miami) and atmosphere. I don't usually enjoy agreeing with critics, but Maltin is right: it's the impressive visuals that help to sell this movie. It's a little more than just your standard slasher film, because it actually does a good job of trying to be scary. The acting is above average (Elizabeth Berridge is a heck of a good screamer, and if she had been so inclined back in the early 1980's, she might have been able to give Jamie Lee a run for her money. Veteran character actor Kevin Conway in particular stands out, playing three different carnival barkers, chief among them the fun-house barker who happens to be the father of the killer. I actually believed him in scenes where he alternately views his mutant son with utter contempt and then love & sympathy. Street mime Wayne Doba also manages to generate some sympathy for the monster, making him more than just one-dimensional. (The makeup, by the way, was by ace veteran Rick Baker.) Good music, too.

The film begins with something I suppose the film-makers feel was "clever": a scene that mimics two infamous movie sequences: "Halloween"'s opening scene and "Psycho"'s shower scene. Is this an homage or a ripoff? You be the judge.

Hooper's next film was the very mainstream "Poltergeist" and from what I hear his career became very hit-and-miss from then on (I haven't seen most of his later films but they haven't generated good word-of-mouth).

7/10