My Review OF “The Funhouse” 1981

1981’s “The Funhouse” is Tobe Hooper’s solid positioning into the realm of horror story telling. The film stars Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, Jeanne Austin, Jack McDermontt, Cooper Huckabee, Largo Woodruff, Miles Chapin, and Wayne Doba. Very different from his more famous and heralded flick “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” which had a grindhouse feel this more tradition tale of terror stays true to the whole 80’s vibe of horror by focusing on straight forward set-ups to graphic and dramatic kill scenes that are the crème of horror. The story follows four young people who decide to hide out in the carnival’s funhouse so that they may spend the night and have a really good story to brag to friends about later, and get laid of coarse. Things go wrong as soon as the lights go out and the closed sign hits the ticket booth in this dark, somewhat twisted story.
The opening scene is an iconic tribute to earlier films such as “Psycho” and “Halloween”. The view point style the scene is shot with is as if the killer has already got down to business for anyone that hasn’t seen the movie and is one of the best fake out scenes in classic horror movies. Personally I  would  not sleep well if Joey were my kid brother after this prank. It is a fun and somewhat disturbing opening scene.

Hooper manages to bring fear to small town life in this standard tale of horror in his portrayal of a darker side to the carnival. Much like another cool classic film did. Remember “Something Wicked This Way Comes”? A classic nightmare as well yet instead of collecting souls here we have more earthly monsters. The carny. “Funhouse” manages to play on social stereotypes that prevailed around carnival folk successfully bringing the scary to Americana once more.

The casual stroll through the attractions is an entertaining lead up to the actual nightmare soon to unfold. The steady pace is disarming as the build to more darker scenes begin. The really cool stuff happens when the carnival goes dark. Once the nightmare begins it doesn’t slow down. The death scenes are worth the wait with iconic and original kill sequences that stand the test of time. The gore and realism give some vintage shock moments that I enjoy each and every time I watch this movie. To many times to count.

“Funhouse” is a classic horror movie that gives good scare. It is greatly underrated. There is a lot of complaints that the grindhouse feel not shown in this film that Tobe Hooper brought us with “Chainsaw” is a big let down. I disagree with that belief. This is a classic portrayal of American horror. Not to mention that the make up FX is some of the most iconic work. The deformity creation in this film is still one of the most recognizable around.

*****5/5*****