The Funhouse (1981)

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

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writer:

Lawrence J. Block (as Larry Block)

Stars:

Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, Jeanne Austin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elizabeth Berridge	...	Amy Harper
Shawn Carson	...	Joey Harper
Jeanne Austin	...	Mrs. Harper
Jack McDermott	...	Mr. Harper
Cooper Huckabee	...	Buzz Dawson
Largo Woodruff	...	Liz Duncan
Miles Chapin	...	Richie Atterbury
David Carson	...	Geek
Sonia Zomina	...	Bag Lady
Ralph Morino	...	Truck Driver (as Ralph Marino)
Kevin Conway	...	Freak Show Barker / Strip Show Barker / Funhouse Barker
Herb Robins	...	Carnival Manager
Mona Agar	...	Strip Show Dancer
Wayne Doba	...	The Monster
William Finley	...	Marco the Magnificent

Storyline

The teenager Amy Harper dates Buzz Dawson for the first time and they go to the carnival with their friends Richie and Liz. They smoke grass and have good-time visiting the attractions including a side show with freak animals. The silly Richie suggests the group to spend the night in the Funhouse for fun. During the night, they witness the murder of the fortune teller Madame Zena by a man wearing a mask of Frankenstein from an opening in the ceiling of a room. They decide to leave the fun house but they find all the exits locked. Meanwhile Richie sneaks in the room and steals the money of the manager of the place. The masked man returns with his father and owner of the fun house to show the corpse of Madame Zena; when the man realizes that he had been robbed, he presses his son that removes the mask and shows his horrible face. Richie startles and drops his lighter in the room. The owner asks his freak son to chase the thieves and eyewitnesses in a night of terror for the teenagers.

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Plot Keywords:

carnival | funhouse | character's point of view camera shot | reference to the wolfman | deranged | 

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Taglines:

Something is alive in the funhouse!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 March 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Funhouse

Filming Locations:

Dade County, Florida, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,765,456, 15 March 1981

Gross USA:

$7,886,857

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,886,857

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Mace Neufeld Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 90 min (cut) 80 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a interview on the DVD, director Tobe Hooper said that the mask worn by one of the creatures was a Frankenstein mask. Hooper said that this was selected because the Universal Studios owned the image copyright for it from their Frankenstein (1931) horror film classic.

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Goofs

Near the beginning of the film, after Joey scared Amy and she chased him into the bedroom, she told him she wasn't going to take him to the funfair on the weekend because of it. Nearer the end, the Funhouse Barker says that the funfair is packing up in the morning and moving on.

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Quotes

Liz Duncan: I hate people who preach. Especially in bathrooms.

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Alternate Versions

Although the 1987 UK CIC video release was uncut in terms of violence it ran around 3 minutes shorter than the cinema version, and the differences appeared to be some dialogue and narrative edits. It contained the scenes of reefer smoking which were missing from some later Film Four showings.

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Connections

Featured in Medium: Truth Be Told (2009)

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Soundtracks

Music from_Bride of Frankenstein (1935) _
(uncredited)
Composed by Franz Waxman

User Reviews

Fast-Moving And Stylish

This was better than it should have been, considering most of the actors are unknowns and the film has a Grade B feel to it throughout. It gets good points for two things: the story moved fast and the cinematography was good. I like stylish-looking visuals, which is what you get here.

Teenage punks usually turn me off but these guys - with one exception - were tolerable. The language was bad, but much of it came in bunches by just two of the guys.

Overall, a surprisingly--decent horror film which is colorful and has its atmospheric merits. Is is super scary? No, but it's a fun-house and fun to watch.