A group of teens decide to spend the night in a haunted ride at a traveling carnival, only to witness a grisly murder by a deformed killer, and as they try and find a way out… that’s when the real scares start lol.
I would describe Funhouse as an “exploitation film” version of a Goosebumps book. A group of teens (back in the day when teens were played by people clearly in their 20s lol) get caught up in a scary plot in a spooky location as we follow them along as they try and figure a way out of it… But Hooper infuses his love of classic horror, slasher filmmaking sensibilities, and themes of family, not to mention a strong love for carnivals, to take a pretty run-of-the-mill story and give it a nice bit of personality.
As I just said, the first half that follows the group as they see all the different attractions at the carnival is probably my favorite part. You can tell Hooper has a big affinity and fascination with carnivals, and he’s able to convey the fun and excitement feelings of a carnival, and his passion is very infectious… that, or at least he knows how to make something look fun lol.
The main cast are all solid, but the characters are predictable. They’re standard teen issues with teen issues (relationships, peer pressure, and sex), but like I said, the cast will give very solid performances, and they all seem like normal, likable people… again, even if the actors all seem like they’re old enough to rent a car 😂 but yes, they are good, just not anything special. I will say I was impressed by how all four of the main actors were all very good and believable at being scared.
The standout is definitely Kevin Conway as the Funhouse Barker; he has a laid-back charm but quiet intensity that makes him very interesting to watch, and his character, while definitely sinister, has somewhat of a sympathetic side that makes him a very fascinating character.
The villain/creature has a unique design and some good prosthetic effects. Not to mention, since the character doesn’t talk and only grunts, the actor does some interesting body acting in order to convey the character’s emotions that I thought was pretty well done.
The movie is sprinkled with a bunch of small, fun cameo performances, like there’s a magician who dresses like Dracula but acts like Richard Lewis. He doesn’t really add anything to the plot, but his quirky shenanigans were funny and definitely a standout.
Shout out to the fun, cooky old lady in this; there is an art form to being a creepy old lady, and this actress pulls out all the stops and really “old cooks” it up, so my hats off to her.
The mom in this is hilarious; like, you can tell she has had a long week and is just done with everything and just wants to relax, but she has to deal with her crazy kids, and she is just completely over it, and I got a real kick out of her deadpan reaction to everything, so I wanted to give that a quick shout-out.
The kids' storyline in this, I thought, was pretty interesting and a nice way to build tension in the story. You can also see Hooper developing his “Spielberg-esque” style, which she would bring to Poltergeist, which I found interesting.
So I know what you’re thinking: “Dylan, that’s all well and good, but this movie is called ‘The Funhouse,’ so what did you think of the Funhouse parts?” …Well, I’m happy to say this is another strength of the film. The set decoration and animatronics are top-notch and very creative, perfect for the Halloween season… for the early 80s at least lol. I’d be curious if this movie wasn’t an influence on Guillermo Del Toro or Tim Burton, because it definitely seems up their alley with the bright colors and heavy shadows, not to mention all the creatures and spooky imagery.
The soundtrack is good, a little too bombastic at certain points, like it’s trying really hard to sell the action on screen, and I think it comes off a little “try hard” in certain places, but overall an interesting one.
I do have some nitpicks: I wish the main character had done more. The actress was good, but not her character when things were getting intense. Just ran around and screamed a lot and got kind of repetitive fairly quickly. I was curious how this 15-pound girl was going to defeat this weird albino man-creature, but there are long sequences of her just being scared and wandering around looking for an exit that go on a bit too long. Not to mention this slasher kind of sucks at his job; he’s not very bright, he’s sloppy, he has no chill, and he flares his arms around when he’s mad… Not very constructive 😂, and he also screamed at the top of his lungs randomly over and over, and it’s like, dude, I get you’re killing me, but like, don’t scream in my ear; that’s very annoying. 😂
Also, the poster has a creepy clown… There’s no creepy clown in the movie, just wanted to save y’all some false advertisement lol
The way the characters are chased in attack one by one is quite suspenseful and creative. Again, nothing you haven’t seen before, but executed very well, and that’s what counts.
The climax felt a bit rushed and sort of anticlimactic; there was a nice fake-out towards the end, but the final conflict wasn’t the best… A big factor was that you had the two loudest characters in the same room who kept trying to scream over each other, you had the soundtrack blaring, and you had all these explosions going off in the background; it was like sensory overload.
That being said, Funhouse is a… Fun movie; its charming characters, spooky atmosphere, and impressive sets make up for any of the shorts’ shortcomings or odd moments. It also helps the movie has a short and quick run time lol.
I give The Funhouse (1981) three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️. It won’t blow your mind or anything, but it’s a fun way to spend a lazy day during the Halloween season… So have FUN watching it at your HOUSE. 😂
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