The Funhouse (1981)

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Guionista:

Lawrence Block (writer)

Release Date:

13 marzo 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Frase comercial:

Something is alive in the funhouse...something that has the form of a human, but not the face...something that feeds off the flesh and blood of young innocents...

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Hit In The Head | Fake Knife | Pot Smoking | Theft | Female Nudity

Comentarios de los usuarios:

It's all about the atmosphere

Cast

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

También conocida como:

Carnival of Terror
Carnaval del terror (Argentina) [es]
Casa de los horrores, La (Spain) [es]

Duración:

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

País:

USA

Idioma:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sonido:

Dolby

Clasificación:

West Germany:18 (cut) | 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

Trivialidades:

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

Quotes:

Funhouse: [discovers that the Monster - who also turns out to be his son - has killed Madame Zena after paying her for sex... because she wouldn't give him a refund] You paid Madame Zena a hundred dollars for this? You crazy fool, I could have gotten you one of them tent-girls for fifteen! Well, you never were much for knowing the value of cash, were you?

Movie Connections:

References Halloween (1978)

It's all about the atmosphere

What a pleasure it was sitting back watching this again. Been a while and it's an 80's slasher that's a bit different and still a great watch.

From the beginning of the opening credits start and the movie's title flashes up on the screen, John Beal's sinister soundtrack let's one know that there's going to be menace in store. It takes a while to get going perhaps, but the wait is well worth it.

The set up is okay, too. Amy (Elisabeth Berridge) is getting ready for her first date with Buzz (Cooper Huckabee). Their double date, who set them up, Richie and Liz (Miles Chaplin & Largo Woodruff) is joining them for a night at the traveling carnival, Early on in the film, one character mentions the previous year the carnival had came, it had coincided with a couple of murders in the town. Coincidence? Come to the funhouse to find out.

After Buzz and a rigid Amy get off on the wrong foot, eventually everyone relaxes and is having a good time at the carnival. There's some pot smoking, seeing a `boring' magic show with a kick ass little ending, obnoxiously heckling a fortune teller and seeing an `Amazing Animals' show with all sorts of deformities, including what looks like a baby mutation.

Then Richie has a great idea! Spend an overnight in the funhouse at the park for kicks. The girls call home to make an excuse to their parents

There's a nice scene in all of this with Amy listening intently to the announcer in front of the funhouse saying `You will scream with terror.you will beg for release, but there will be no escape, for there is no release from the funhouse'. Boy, is he right.

Liz saying to Richie, `this better be good', with he enthusiastically replying `It's gonna be great!', the quartet take a ride in the funhouse, jumping off their cars mid-ride. The park closes, and as the night's crowds are leaving, the growing danger can be felt and safety diminished with the four still inside.

From there, it's a flat out horror movie. Period. It's scary and intense. After witnessing a murder, and being found out by carnival owner Kevin Conway and his `son', visuals and sounds play an abundant part to the unknown terror that could be lurking around every corner, and director Tobe Hooper knows it. This movie ain't titled `The Funhouse' for nothing. It's all about the atmosphere.

The four `teens' are good in their roles. Miles Chapin was 27 when he did this, but I actually bought him as a college age kid. Huckabee does the requisite hunk hero adequately enough here. The girls are worth watching, though. My guess is Elizabeth Berridge's agent tried to set her up as the next scream queen with this one. Interesting that she's really more trained into theater and does a lot of stage work today. The real scream queen is Woodruff, however. She's really good and totally believable, and perhaps the most memorable scene of the movie involves her trapped in a vent with a scary visitor. She is absolutely terrified, desperately trying to talk her way out of her situation and I bought every minute of it.

Both Conway and his son, played by mime Wayne Doba, are also good. Conway is simultaneously disgusted at and affectionate towards his son, and Doba portrays a range of emotions just from his body language alone, and there is sympathy for him, although he is as frightening as hell.

Admittedly, some of the material seems a bit padded to fit a 90 minute feature and could be taken out. Some of it is mean spirited, and the little brother subplot is rather weak, although it does lead up to one nice scene involving a character reaching for safety that is close, but yet so far away.

Overall, however, `The Funhouse' is quite a good watch.