Review of The Funhouse (1981) by Marissa & — 27 Oct 2008

Well, well. With the summer season upon us, it means many things are here once again for a brief time. Good old all-American things like BBQ, fireworks, screen doors, camping, baseball and? Carnivals. Yes, that is right, overpriced, crappy food slinging, rapidly declining in quality and fun carnivals! Nothing says summer quite like that. Remember the good old days when carnivals were still fun, still sleazy and still a little all together creepy. The freaks, the strippers and the rat-faced carnies. Well, The Funhouse sure as hell remembers and celebrates the good ole days of carnivals! The Funhouse is surely a must-have for any horror collection and any horror viewer young or old. It?s one of those movies that take you back in time and you enjoy it throughout.

The stage is set for something special in the opening title sequence with all of the old-school animatronic funhouse clowns and creatures. This part gives off an undeniably menacing vibe and gets the movie off to an excellent start.

The Funhouse centers on a group of four high school agers at the local once- a- year carnival. They become bored, the usual scene, and decide to do something they will remember? and maybe get a little action in the process. They get off the carts midway through the menacing carnival ride to spend the night there. All is going well until they witness an encounter between the resident freak and a gypsy woman that turns deadly for the woman. As if it weren?t bad enough, one of the kids steals the money kept there by the freak and his carnie father. It doesn?t take them long to figure it out, and boy are they pissed! They set off to take out the kids and silence them for good. What follows is an exciting maze of horror sure to delight any horror fan.

This film is very masterfully crafted and reminiscent of many of the older horror films of the 50s and earlier. The funny thing about this one is there is very little blood or gore, in fact almost none - yet this movie doesn?t need it. It is good enough relying on the old school vibe and sheer terror, perfect for drive in theatres.

The special effects are quite well done, especially for the time period. Watch when the freak loses his Frankenstein mask and shows his true colors and you will agree? Odd yet very effective makeup for the freak.

The Funhouse is very well written, decently acted, and the setting is purely phenomenal. This movie has atmosphere from here to Pakistan. Very rarely do you see a setting and atmosphere so perfect for a horror movie as in this old-school horror gem. An instant classic.