Teenage Amy Harper, her boyfriend Buzz Dawson, and their friends Richie Atterbury and Liz Duncan visit a local carnival for a night of innocent amusement, but soon witness a fortune teller's... Read allTeenage Amy Harper, her boyfriend Buzz Dawson, and their friends Richie Atterbury and Liz Duncan visit a local carnival for a night of innocent amusement, but soon witness a fortune teller's murder and find that the exits are locked.Teenage Amy Harper, her boyfriend Buzz Dawson, and their friends Richie Atterbury and Liz Duncan visit a local carnival for a night of innocent amusement, but soon witness a fortune teller's murder and find that the exits are locked.
- Truck Driver
- (as Ralph Marino)
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector Tobe Hooper was at one point nearly struck by a flying cog but was saved by an extra who broke their arm in the process.
- GoofsDespite the funhouse being a portable carnival attraction, it has a basement.
- Quotes
Richie Atterbury: Amy'll hit it off for sure. Buzz is a terrific guy.
Liz Duncan: She's stoned. When you're stoned, Charles Manson is a terrific guy.
- Alternate versionsAlthough 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.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Terror in the Aisles (1984)
From the director who brought you the cult favorite "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" going on this ¨The Funhouse¨ about four teenagers spending a night at a carnival funhose , they then witness a murder , and become next on the list of victims . This is a nice and entertaining film but nothing that hasn't been seen before . If you are looking for a watchable 80's horror film this is a cool choice providing buckets of blood and several limbs essential elements to movie terror. Tobe Hooper's Terror film in medium budget and lots of violence and gore with excellent make-up from notorious Rick Baker ; made just after the classic ¨Texas Chainsaw Massacre¨ . Hooper's success with "Chainsaw" landed him in Hollywood , then Tobe rejoined the cast of "Texas" and with Kim Henkle again for "Eaten alive" (1976), and subsequently this Funhouse (1980). Filmmaker Tobe proceeds a bestial and savage picture with plenty of grisly killings , disembowelled and butchered corpses , terrible events , sleaziness , and anything else . This is a suspenseful and frightening yarn , and adequately paced with plenty of chills , thrills, surprises , twists and turns. This noisy as well as visceral film contains images of graphic violence , and ominous scenes and it may not be suitable for all audiences , viewer discretion is advised. It boasts a nice main and support cast , such as : Elizabeth Berridge, Kevin Conway, Miles Chapin, Wiliam Finley and Sylvia Miles.
Dark and sinister cinematography by cameraman Andrew Laszlo and the camera often assumes a pointedly aggressive stance . Screeching and eerie musical score by means of strange and offbeat sounds composed by John Beal . The motion picture was competently directed by Tobe Hooper . Hooper had greater success with Stephen King's 1979 mini series ¨Salem's Lot¨ (1979). In 1981, Hooper directed the teen slasher film ¨The Funhouse¨ (1981) for Universal Pictures. Despite its success, "The Funhouse" was a minor disappointment. In 1982, Hooper found greater success when Steven Spielberg hired him to direct his production, haunted house shocker ¨Poltergeist¨ and the inferior remake ¨Invaders from Mars (1986)¨ and the disappointing , minor sequel Texas Chainsaw massacre 2 (1986) . But his essential big success was forever ¨Texas chainsaw massacre¨ that in 2003, Hooper co-produced the hit remake for New Line . In the 1990s, Hooper continued working in both film and television with ¨Spontaneous Combustion¨, ¨The Mangler¨, ¨Crocodile¨ , ¨Mortuory¨, ¨The Apartment Complex¨ , ¨Dark Skies¨, ¨Perversions of Science¨, ¨Shadow Realm¨, ¨Night Vision¨,¨I'm Dangerous Tonight¨ and ¨Djinn¨ got notorious failures . Rating : 6.5/10 . Passable and acceptable.
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- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Carnaval del terror
- Filming locations
- Production companies
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Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $7,886,857
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,765,456
- Mar 15, 1981
- Gross worldwide
- $7,886,999