The Funhouse (1981)
Distributor: Arrow Video
Blu-Ray release date (UK): 18th July 2011
Directed by: Tobe Hooper
Starring: Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, Sylvia Miles
Review by: Stephanie Scaife
Tobe Hooper is an incredibly inconsistent filmmaker; when he is good he is very, very good (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Poltergeist) but when he is bad he is horrid (The Mangler, Mortuary etc.) So I entered into The Funhouse with some trepidation, only to find myself pleasantly surprised.
Released in 1981 during the heyday of the slasher film, The Funhouse could so easily have been a forgettable paint-by-numbers affair, but right from the very first scene Hooper plays with our expectations of the genre. In an opening scene that borrows heavily from Psycho and Halloween we see a beautiful young woman preyed upon by a knife wielding masked killer whilst she takes a shower. It is revealed to be a fake knife wielded by her younger brother Joey (Shawn Carson) as part of an elaborate practical joke. Traditionally the opening scene of a slasher film would end with a horrific murder and provide a set up for the rest of the film, but here it transpires to be the film’s main protagonist, Amy (Elizabeth Berridge). This initial unexpected twist is the first of many, meaning that even the most jaded horror connoisseur will find much to enjoy here.
Amy is about to go on her first date with Buzz (Cooper Huckabee) along with her best friend Liz (Largo Woodruff) and Liz’s boyfriend, the irresponsible Richie (Miles Chapin). They decide to go to the carnival, against the wishes of Amy’s parents. Once at the carnival they smoke pot, eat cotton candy, ride on the Ferris wheel and visit the fortune teller, Madame Zena (Sylvia Miles). All of these scenes work very well in setting up the film, there is something deeply unsettling and uncanny about the whole concept of the carnival in general and it is used to optimum effect here. Particularly in and early scene where they go into the freak show which the barker enthusiastically tells us contains “all live exhibits” including genuinely deformed animals.
Richie decides that it would be fun if they were all to sneak into The Funhouse to spend the night. Meanwhile Joey has crept out of the family home and has pursued his sister to the carnival. Whilst inside the teens are quick to get down and dirty in The Funhouse, taking advantage of their dark and atmospheric surroundings. Soon they are disturbed by voices coming from below; they peer through the cracks in the floor to witness the ride attendant, who is dressed as Frankenstein’s monster, paying Madame Zena for sex. However, after climaxing prematurely and demanding his money back, which Zena refuses, he flies into a blind rage and murders her. Shocked by what they have witnessed the teens decide to call it a night and make a run for it.
Unfortunately for our horny teens, the only way out of The Funhouse would take them right into the path of the crazed Frankenstein’s monster – whose father, the carnival manager, has now returned and discovered what his son has done. Angered that the monster has killed one of their own he begins to beat him, during the altercation Frankenstein’s mask is torn off to reveal that underneath he is hideously deformed. Echoing the mask that he wears; a monstrous creature through no fault of his own with emotions that he cannot understand who ultimately, is a tragic figure almost warranting sympathy from the viewer.
It doesn’t take long before the teens are discovered and they enter into a fatal game of cat-and-mouse with the monster and his creepy carnie father. Although not outwardly as gory as you may expect there are some creative death scenes that optimise the funhouse location as well as some great creature effects from the always fantastic Rick Baker. There is something of the carnivalesque about the horror genre as a whole, but rarely is it so literally exemplified as it is in The Funhouse.
Our preconceived notions of the slasher film are subverted and questioned throughout – where else can we see our Final Girl smoke pot, fuck on a first date and still reign supreme at the end of the movie?
Being an Arrow Video release the film looks great on Blu-Ray and is jam packed with special features including three different audio commentaries, interviews, Tobe Hooper Q&A, numerous featurettes as well as reversible sleeves and a collector’s booklet written by Kim Newman. The Funhouse is a welcome addition to the ever expanding Arrow Video Collection and I highly recommend picking up a copy.