Hello readers, and welcome to a new monthly post in which I will be reviewing a Scream Factory release. Each month I will pick either a new or previous release from the line of collectible horror releases which are released each month under the Scream Factory name!
The Funhouse
Director:
Tobe Hooper
Stars:
Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, Jack McDermott, Cooper Huckabee, Largo Woodruff, Miles Chapin, Kevin Conway, Wayne Doba and William Finley
What’s It About?:
“Four teenage friends spend the night in a carnival funhouse and are stalked by a deformed man in a Frankenstein mask” – IMDB
THE FILM:
In the 70’s, director Tobe Hooper had already made a name for himself among the horror community with the release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). A horror icon was born out of the film and even today the film is still a favorite for many fans and non-horror fans alike.
Fast forward 7 years and a few films later, and Hooper was back in the saddle with his first major studio release, The Funhouse. Hooper had just come off of filming his Salem’s Lot tv movie at this point and wanted to make an old-school monster movie, despite this period of time being the slasher era. Immediately after viewing the film, you know that Hooper was inspired by the classic Tod Browning film, Freaks. Also in the opening moments of the film, Hooper pays tribute to Carpenter’s Halloween as well as Hitchcock’s Psycho in one fell swoop. This was my first viewing of the film and already within 2 minutes I was hooked.
The film itself follows a group of teens that spend the night at a carnival and decide it would be fun to hide out in the funhouse ride overnight. Amy Harper (Elizabeth Berridge) is picked up by her boyfriend Buzz Dawson (Cooper Huckabee) in the beginning of the film and they meet up with friends Liz (Largo Woodruff) and Richie (Miles Chapin) for a night at the carnival. Amy’s troublesome younger brother Joey (Shawn Carson) sneaks out and decides to follow the group to the carnival. The group check out a freak show, watch a magic show, sneak a peek at a strip show and eventually enter the funhouse.
The film itself is a really fun ride and is shot beautifully in anamorphic widescreen, a first for Hooper at the time. The characters are fun and the monster character (Wayne Doba) is even pretty disturbing. There were even a few moments in the film that made me jump which doesn’t happen that often when I watch older horror films.
Everyone in the film does an amazing job and one of my favorite characters is the carnival barker. Actor Kevin Conway plays three roles in the film. He is the freak show, strip show and fun house barker, a stipulation he asked for from Hooper when taking the role. This is a movie you will watch and immediately appreciate, but once you hear the stories behind the scenes, you will love it even more.
THE EXTRAS:
This release offers several extra features that are very informative and eye-opening for any true horror fan. The new feature commentary with director Tobe Hooper is absolutely amazing. He gets into just about everything about making the film, including the fact they shot on the east coast in Miami because of child labor laws. After watching this with commentary it honestly made me love and appreciate the film even more. The disc also includes an interview with Kevin Conway where he talks about Hooper agreeing to let him play three roles in the film as well as ad lib some crucial scenes in the film.
Other interviews include those with the executive producer Mark Lester and composer John Beal. An audio interview with the magician who passed away in 2012 (William Finley) is another treat and very informative to listen to about how he was trained for the role by a real magician. The disc also includes deleted scenes that were mostly used for TV cut purposes of replacing scenes not appropriate for network television.
CONCLUSION:
Overall, I would say that this is a must-own release for anyone who enjoys Tobe Hooper or monster movies in general. The love and respect that went into making this feature is absolutely amazing and I’m so happy I finally was able to see this film. Horror fans will like this movie on the first viewing, but after the bonus features you will undoubtedly love it!