The Funhouse

Along with every other horror fan out there, I have been puzzling about Tobe Hooper. Texas Chainsaw features highly in my list of favorite films. At least two of his other films are really worthwhile, one of them right here. But, it all quickly unraveled for him and by the time he had moved on to Cannon in the mid-80's, he was pretty much over as a filmmaker. I think the crux of the problem is that he was not Hollywood material. He seems to have been a shy and almost asocial presence on his own sets, a kind of droopy, charmless guy, bullied off The Dark by the crass Kinski, sidestepped in Poltergeist by the more agile Spielberg, which can be viewed in Europe as the kind of quality that signifies an artist, but the Hollywood environment requires someone to direct the crowded set and costly , complicated production, and that means energetic decision-makers of some persuasive wit and strong character.

You see, he did not come up through the Hollywood system at all. He was a documentary cameraman in the 60's and you can see that in his best work. He did Chainsaw in a close circle of friends, away from Hollywood fanfare. It just didn't seem like he could muster the ego for necessary friction to see that vision through (the drug problems were probably ways to cope with that). His own fault was that he couldn't find it in him to cut out on his own.

At any rate, I consider Hooper our loss. The guy had a genuine vision and that vision is prized by me, even snippets of it like we have here.

Here's an easy riddle: the film is typical in the slasher vein about a group of teens stranded after-hours in a funhouse. Its singular call to fame now is that it was once part of that notorious list of Nasties. Now that list is dumb and arbitrary in a number of ways, but why this nearly bloodless film? Why not Friday the 13th?

But of course for the same reason that Texas Chainsaw got an R rating. The very fabric and walls of the thing are violence.

Oh, a lot of what's inside including the storyline and bad guys is silly or simply mediocre, and mainly put together from bankable horror elements, from jump-scares to ruby-red color filters, which is after all the gist of a funhouse: the horror house is fun because you anticipate the elements and staging, and look forward to this being controlled around you. The opening that slyly takes us from a re-enactment of famous scenes in Halloween and Psycho through a Frankenstein poster on the wall to Bride of Frankenstein playing on TV, is Hooper's way of commenting on the redressing of spare parts he's going to use.

That's fun and really a lot of the film is, but not genuine vision. Hooper's vision is something more powerful than either Carpenter or Argento, both effective in other respects, were doing on this level, and that is the place itself is causing evil. It was dumbed-down by Spielberg in Poltergeist - written by him but a Hooper-originated project - as an actual force in the walls, and all sorts of gizmos and movie effects were brought around to clarify. But it was something altogether different to a 'haunted house' effect in its original conception.

Chainsaw is the most pure in this regard. But, it's a recurring feature in Eaten Alive, Salem's Lot, Poltergeist, and this. Hooper explained it as a 'physical sensation' he was after. I think it's something more he achieved.

There is violent energy in the gears and walls of the world, and it's the turning of those gears much more than storybased character decisions that control and manifest the energy as a kind of semiconscious , animal evil in the narrative of the film.

You can observe that the 'Funhouse' extends and anticipates the actual physical place (opening scene - dog - shotgun guy). It's something mischievous in the air. In our film, all of it is centered on a imaginative kid on his way to the scary place. That kid is scared out of consciousness. Shots of the unconscious kid are intercut with shots of the terrified teenagers trapped inside the maze. And there is the enigmatic shot of the boy saying nothing about that to the parents.

This is brilliant. The boy pulled a prank and expects one back from his sister, the cosmic prank that shatters lives is the universe conspires to stage the real thing.

Nothing of this registers directly, because we are distracted by the much more ordinary monster in the narrative (initially Frankenstein).

The entire last 20 minutes are a zap of cinematic energy from these cosmic gears that create and destroy the monster that is the prank that throws the world helter skelter (the finale takes place in a staging area full of gears).

Why? Because the god of the machine is watching (as the old crone cackles about) and wants to be amused.

Make no mistake, this is the sister film to Texas Chainsaw.

Up until THE FUNHOUSE, Tobe Hooper had only come pretty close to recapturing the relentless and ruthlessly nightmarish feel of the classic that catapulted him to fame, THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE. TCM 2 came closer than most of his films, but it traded in psychological terror for buckets of blood 'n' guts, where the first TCM had very little.

THE FUNHOUSE goes back to Hooper's roots, trading in the gore for playing with your nerves like Jimmy Page playing guitar. Traveling carnivals have always had a sinister, menacing undertone to them - that's part of what makes them so attractive - and Hooper, with a smart assist from Larry Block's script, takes that queasy unease and turns it up to '11', so that when the true horror is revealed, it's intensified that much more.

Four friends on a double date (Elizabeth Berridge, Miles Chapin, Cooper Huckabee and Largo Woodruff) decide to hole up in the Funhouse of a traveling carnival just outside of town way past closing time, just for kicks. It's a weird place that gives off a freaky vibe, but they don't come to realize just how freaky, until they see something that puts all of their lives in danger, and realize to their horror that not all the freaks in the show are fake...or at all "fun".

I don't want to spoil the surprises, but as is his habit, Hooper front-loads the movie with some acting vets, including genre favorites William Finley and Sylvia Miles. Plus the great Kevin Conway plays a pivotal role in bringing about the terror and death that the seemingly endless night holds for the trapped teens.

Anyone expecting Hooper and company to just pour on the gore is bound to be disappointed. THE FUNHOUSE is more about empathy and atmosphere...I mean, who HASN'T been through a funhouse like this at some time in their lives? The more you can put yourself in the place of the main characters, the spookier the film will be for you - especially in the third act.

Kudos to everybody for putting in some damn good performances, but especially to Berridge and to Wayne Doba who gives us a monster that is by turns pathetic, disgusting, pitiful and horrifying. And for John Beal, who created a score that plays with your nerves just as powerfully as the visuals do.

This is one of those best viewed alone, with the sound up and all the lights out...And don't worry - if you screech like a little schoolgirl at some parts, it'll be our secret, I promise...(hehheh)

Four hormone-driven teens sneak into a funhouse at a traveling carnival, and plan to stay the night. Little do they know, it harbours a deformed sex-crazed maniac. Now, they've seen too much, and must find a way out, before the monster and his father find them...to dole out their own brand of carny justice.

The way the whole sub-plot with the little brother plays out is really weak. It's only included to offer a possible out that never comes to fruition...and it plays out as awkwardly as does that last molestey scene with the little kid in it.

Petty criticisms aside, however, it's an entertaining film. The funhouse robots are pretty rad, and the monster is badass. The kills could have been a little more gory...but the one where they accidentally axe their friend is great! There's a nice amount of tension in that final scene too.

While not a masterpiece of horror or anything, this Tobe Hooper film is certainly worth a watch. But it's not particularly scary.

6 out of 10.

"The Funhouse" has an excellent atmosphere. The opening credits are creepy and i'm not even afraid of carnivals. The film follows a good plot and I enjoyed it overall. Not a lot of gore but the carnival is creepy enough, isn't it? The atmospheric build-up is fascinating. The shots of the carnival really capture a weird and incestuous world which only becomes totally apparent on a second viewing. Hooper really knows his stuff and the ideas contained in this piece are quite remarkable as is the notion of multiple casting of some of the characters. The film revolves around a group of teenagers who decides to spend the night inside a dark ride (The Funhouse) and witness a murder between two members of the circus. After this they are hunted by the by the deformed killer and his father and... well, the rest is the usual nerve wrecking scenes.

The cast is great as well. The beautiful Elizabeth Berridge makes a great screen debut. Cooper Huckabee is also good as Berridge's date. Kevin Conway however is the best of the cast, in his sinister performance as he plays a trio of carnival barkers. Kudos also go to makeup artist Rick Baker for one memorable creation! The story moves around a group of teenagers who decide to break into a carnival funhouse and spend the night there for a bit of fun. Soon they're stalked by a ghastly freak from the carnival. "The Funhouse" is no "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" from 1974 or even "Poltergeist", but Tobe Hooper really creates some thrills and a good deal of suspense. The carnival atmosphere that was created for this movie is superb. There is everything you'd see at an 80's carnival - rides, freaks, a funhouse, tents, a striptease show, a fortune teller, everything. The after hours night-time atmosphere is creepy. The mannequins and various props inside the funhouse are very creepy. I like the fat lady prop at the entrance to the fun house. Her laugh is super creepy. If you want to see a largely forgotten horror classic, see this movie. They don't make 'em like this anymore...

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Every time I'd see this film pop up on a streaming service I'd skip it because it has a low rating. I've seen some reviews say the first half is boring and has no direction, but I think that's what makes this movie great.

The first half of the film does a great job at making you feel the atmosphere of the carnival. You get to see how a night out with these characters is like, it felt very natural almost as if you're there hanging out with them. As the night goes on things begin to take a sinister turn and things just keep escalating from there on.

If you appreciate 80s horror I would highly recommend you watch this film and be your own judge. Sometimes the directors want to put you in the front seat with the characters and I think they did an awesome job. Just sit back and enjoy the night out at The Funhouse.