Customer Reviews

Funhouse, the

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As a huge horror fan, I've always felt as if I should really like and appreciate Tobe Hooper -- but I just don't, really. I keep giving him chances to impress me, and he never does. The Funhouse is a case in point, as it fails to deliver a single memorable moment. When I look at this film, I see a completely predictable story, several irrelevant plot points, a hackneyed ending, and no success whatsoever in delivering even a single "made you jump" moment. Things get off to a bad start, with Hooper totally ripping off Halloween for the opening scenes, and things slowly go downhill from there. Hooper does succeed in generating a few moments of suspense, but that can only take you so far.

Maybe I should confess my own personal abhorrence of carnivals -- the seedy atmosphere, the crooked games, the "scary" rides, and everything else about them. The funhouse is basically the penultimate carnival experience -- patently fake and thus not scary at all. Still, I certainly wouldn't want to spend a whole night in one of them; only really dumb teenagers like the ones in this film go in for that kind of senseless challenge. Our main character, Amy Harper (Elizabeth Berridge), should have known better, but she apparently chose this night to rebel against her nice girl image. It's her first date with Buzz Klemmet (Cooper Huckabee), an older guy from the other side of the intellectual tracks. His hobbies include smoking dope while driving, putting the moves on young, inexperienced girls, and sneaking peeps at adult shows featuring some of the oldest, most disgusting dancing "girls" ever to shake their drooping ta-tas. I guess she feels safe enough in the company of her girlfriend Liz and her nerdy beaux Richie, but look where it gets her -- trapped in a funhouse with a human monster trying to kill her.

To cut to the chase, these four young funhouse trespassers are lured away from groping each other long enough to witness a murder by a weird dude in a Frankenstein mask. Before they can escape, "Frank's" father shows up, learns that he has unexpected and most unwelcome visitors, and sets out after them, alongside his horribly deformed son. That's when the drama and suspense finally kick in. Well before the end, though, the whole concept of funhouse gadgetry and animatronics grows tiresome. Then comes the final straw in the form of a most unoriginal (and thereby quite disappointing) climax.

I'm sure inexperienced horror viewers will find more to enjoy about The Funhouse than I did. The basic idea behind the film is a good one, but Hooper just doesn't take the chances necessary to make something special out of it. I just keep coming back to that ending, as it is just so clichéd. As a result, I look at The Funhouse as a merely competent horror film.

My best friend and I first discovered the book when going through some old stuff left behind by her sisters when they moved out. We both really loved the book. Then one day we discovered the movie at a rental store, we were really excited when we realized it was based on the book. I can't tell you how disappointed we were. We didn't even finish watching it. If I hadn't previously read the book I don't think I would have known what was going on. I gave it two stars because maybe my expectations were too high after reading the book.

After the success of the shocking slasher, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and the eerily vampire tale of "Salems Lot", horror master Tobe Hooper came out with one of his most highly anticipated films yet! While being not as popular as some horror movies, this very rare gem was sadly neglected and barely even heard of throughout the years. Heck it may be low-budget, but I think that during its release it proved to be a very original and nightmarish work of art, showing us the more darker side of how a carnival REALLY can be!

Originally released as a motion picture in the theaters back in 1981, "The Funhouse" was quite the treat for the fan of homemade horror movies. (Those are always the best!) The storyline concerns two young couples who decide to spend the night in the carnival funhouse... BIG MISTAKE! They witness a murder from inside and soon are stalked by a bloodthirsty monster that lurks from inside. One-by-one they fall prey to the numerous booby traps and terrifying surprises until only one remains in a desperate fight for survival against the horror from within!

The actual funhouse itself is a really eerie set, and features some of the most scariest animatronics you'll ever see! (the fat lady one still haunts me today due to that I can't get that bizarre laugh out of my head!) I'd have to say that this may not be all big and bad as Tobe Hooper's other masterpiece, "Poltergeist" (which came out one year later) but it still packs quite punch that no other horror movie can do anymore.

I first saw this on the A&E network a long time ago when I was in the third grade and it scared the hell out of me! It aired again on the Sci-Fi channel and that's when I really started to get into it! Over and over I'd watch and never EVER get tired of it! The actors and actresses did a very good job for their roles and are very convincing that you actually start having sympathy for them. (I felt so sorry for that poor blonde haired girl who becomes the monster's second victim) The soundtrack is also one of the best I've ever heard from a horror movie with it's scary carnival-like organ music.

The effects for the monster were most excellent and truly brought the creature to life with all the fake drool and snot detail. Although there isn't much blood and gore to be found here, "The Funhouse" mostly focuses on the heart-stopping suspense and atmosphere. You want a horror film that's both original and scary? "The Funhouse" is a non-stop thrill ride that will have you on the edge of your seat and is all-in-all a FUN (literally) movie! No horror collection is complete without this! I also recommend, "The Tourist Trap" and "Black Christmas". Both of those movies carry the same similarities to suspense just like this one and are some of the best in classic horror history! They just don't make 'em like they used to! ^_^

when i first seen this movie i thought it be scary but it turned out to be one of the most boring horror movies i seen so far. i seen alot of scary movies but i dont know which is worse. the storyline was really boring and i thought it didnt have enough scares in this one.

No, it's certainly not art and didn't really win over fans of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but Hooper's Funhouse is worth visiting. If Scream-era flicks are your bag, then you'll pass this off as "Stupid" and "boring", but if you love 80s slasher flicks and drive-in exploitation, then you can't go wrong. Yeah, it's a slasher film, it's a little slow, and isn't full of pulse pounding terror. Tobe Hooper's reputation certainly proceeds him, so it's difficult to go into this without premature comparisons to Texas Chainsaw and Poltergeist. The fact of the matter is that this film isn't as good as either of those films, but the world is a better place because of The Funhouse.

You know, all i ever hear about is how great a director Tobe Hooper is. Then the same people that regergitate this line over and over turn around and say, well Eaten alive was crap, the funhouse was crap, on and on and on..... Don't listen to the mindless horror snobs who would have you belive that if its not "Texas Massacre" its worthless. These people have pigeon-holed every horror movie into being something else. If a zombie movie isnt "Dawn of the Dead", its crap. Dont get me wrong, im not doubting these people's devotion to the greatest genre in existence. I'm just saying, there will never be another dawn of the dead, texas chainsaw massacre (I know these movies have been remade, but you know what i'm saying) For the love of god, GET OVER THEM AND DONT KNOCK EVERYTHING ELSE FOR STUPID REASONS! JUST ENJOY HORROR! This is an awesome movie, and as the other reviews say, the funhouse lighting is awesome. Only 4 stars because not enough gore for me. Still a good amount though.

From director Tobe Hooper, this movie does not live up to the reputation of a director who put out such great films a Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist, and Salem's Lot.Not even worth one star. Though i'll say "Hooray for Effort." A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. I'm a long time horror fan and was absolutely disgusted by this movie. It was one of those you beg to end. Now, trusting Tobe Hooper, i got this, i've never been so disappointed in a movie, except pehaps the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Don't make the same mistake i did. Not a good story, and lacks any real talent.

The set of this movie is the carnival. Nearly all the lighting is natural, which means it comes from the lights at the carnival and the atmosphere in which it was shot.

This is a creepy and fun movie based upon the novel of the same name.

Highly recommended.

All things considered, Tobe Hooper's "The Funhouse" is actually a better movie than his infamous original version of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." True, you will not a single scene in this 1981 splatter flick to rival the first appearance of Leatherface (i.e., the scene with "THE HOOK"), but overall the production values are better and the atmosphere never goes careening off into the totally bizarre (at least not in my book).

After a title sequence that sets both the setting and the tone, "The Funhouse" begins with a nice nudge-nudge, wink-wink that combines the opening of "Halloween" with the shower scene from "Psycho." Amy Harper (Elizabeth Berridge) has a pesky younger brother, Joey (Shawn Carson), who violates their sibling propriety so badly that she pins him up against the wall and says not only will she not take him to the carnival that is in town, she will, one day, at a place and time of her choosing, get him in a way that will pretty much scar him for life.

Our story really begins when Amy's dad forbids her to go to the carnival, because a couple of girls were found dead after it left a nearby town. Of course Amy not only goes to the carnival with her date, Buzz (Cooper Huckabee) and her friends Liz (Largo Woodruff) and Richie (Miles Chapin), but after enjoying the freak shows and other tacky sideshow attractions, she ends up going along with Richie's brilliant idea to spend the night in the Funhouse. However, before the two couples can get really comfortable they witness a gruesome and unexpected murder on the level below them, and when they make the mistake of letting the killer know that they are there, the fun really begins.

This horror film really benefits from the setting, both in terms of the seedy carnival and the mechanical innards of the funhouse itself. There is a slight let down because the funhouse ride, which the quartet take so that they can jump off to hide for the night, is nothing special. On the one hand, that is not surprising, because this is a seedy little carnival. But the title credits heighten our expectations and it is actually not until the power is off in the funhouse and the figures are all still that they start to creep you out. You know most of our little group is going to end up dead and Amy meets the only requirement a young woman needed to survive a splatter flick way back then, but Buzz actually does a decent job of keeping his head and trying to fight back, which is a rather welcome surprise, even though it is obviously a doomed effort.

The script by Lawrence Block was based on a novel by Dean Koontz, but once it became clean the finished film was going off in a different direction, Koontz got his name pulled from the credits. Despite that badge of dishonor, "The Funhouse" is an above average splatter flick and one of the few that came out in the wake of "Halloween" that was not a wretched disappointment. Final Thought: I wonder if years later, when Cooper Huckabee and Kevin Conway (who plays the carny barker) both appeared in the film "Gettysburg" if they got together and commented on the fact that they got out of "The Funhouse" with their careers alive. Then again, Conway does give the best performance in the flick and has all of the good lines.

Tope Hooper directs again another great horror movie as people stay in a funhouse for the night and then start to see the real, funhouse. intense to say for the extreme and gross. when the freakshow, mutant alien looking creature unmasks himself, be prepared for some good times. sorta like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, really. it has a psycho man who has this thing(like Leatherface) in his disposal, and I think I heard a famous line from Massacre as well, it was "what is wrong with you people" I believe the phrase was. original and fun. can you get out of the funhouse