The Funhouse (1981)

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writer:

Lawrence Block (writer)

Release Date:

13 March 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Something is alive in the funhouse...something that, tonight, will turn the funhouse into a carnival of terror!

Plot:

Four teenage friends spent the night in a carnival funhouse and are stalked by a deformed man in a frankenstein mask.

Plot Keywords:

Funhouse | Night | Carnival | Murder | Double Date

Cast

Elizabeth Berridge	...	Amy Harper
Shawn Carson	...	Joey Harper
Jeanne Austin	...	Mrs. Harper
Jack McDermott	...	Mr. Harper
Cooper Huckabee	...	Buzz Dawson
Largo Woodruff	...	Liz
Miles Chapin	...	Richie
David Carson	...	Geek (as D. Lee Carson)
Sonia Zomina	...	Bag Lady
Ralph Morino	...	Truck Driver
Kevin Conway	...	Funhouse / Freakshow / Stripshow Barkers
Herb Robins	...	Carnival Manager
Mona Agar	...	Mona - a strip show dancer
Wayne Doba	...	The Monster
William Finley	...	Marco the Magnificent
Susie Malnik	...	Carmella
Sylvia Miles	...	Madame Zena
Sid Raymond	...	Stripshow MC
Larry Ross	...	Girly Show Heckler
Frank Grimes	...	Strip Show Voyeur
Frank Schuller	...	Poker Player #1
Peter Conrad	...	Midget with Lady
Mildred Hughes	...	Tall Lady
Glen Lawrence	...	Spectator
Shawn McAllister	...	Garbage Collector
Sandy Mielke	...	Garbage Collector
Mike Montalvo	...	Spectator
Allison Caine	...	Additional Voices (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sherman 'Big Train' Bergman	...	Carnival worker (uncredited)
Raymond Forchion	...	Man in Tent Show (uncredited)

Directed by
Tobe Hooper

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lawrence Block		writer (as Larry Block)

Produced by
Steven Bernhardt	....	producer
Mark L. Lester	....	executive producer
Brad Neufeld	....	associate producer
Mace Neufeld	....	executive producer
Derek Power	....	producer

Original Music by
John Beal

Cinematography by
Andrew Laszlo

Film Editing by
Jack Hofstra

Casting by
Pamela Basker
Fern Champion

Production Design by
Mort Rabinowitz

Art Direction by
Jose Duarte

Set Decoration by
Tom Coll

Makeup Department
Rick Baker	....	special makeup design
Craig Reardon	....	special makeup artist

Production Management
Norman Cohen	....	unit production manager
John Orland	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Adrienne Bourbeau	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Dale Johnson	....	sound editor
David A. Whittaker	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Oscar Barber	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Oscar Barber	....	camera operator: second unit
Daniel Pearl	....	additional photographer
James Pergola	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Jonathan Lane	....	casting: Miami

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Andre Lavery	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Vicki Hiatt	....	post-production assistant
Robert Leader	....	assistant editor
Angelo Ross	....	location editor

Music Department
John Beal	....	conductor
John Beal	....	orchestrator
Tom Catalano	....	music supervisor
Daniel J. Johnson	....	music editor
Ken Johnson	....	music editor
Rick Riccio	....	music scoring mixer
John Rosenberg	....	orchestra contractor

Other crew
Kathy Day	....	assistant: Mr. Neufeld
Jonathan Lane	....	assistant to director
Arnold Leibovit	....	production assistant
Cynthia Streit	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Mace Neufeld Productions
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Succéfilm AB (1983) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Arrow Films (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Esselte CIC Video (1984) (Belgium) (VHS)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Megerle Shows  Carnival rides provided by

Also Known As:

Carnival of Terror
'n afgrijselijk gebeuren (Netherlands) [nl]
Carnaval del terror (Argentina) [es]
Das Kabinett des Schreckens (West Germany) [de]
Il tunnel dell'orrore (Italy) [it]
Kummitusjuna (Finland) [fi]
La casa de los horrores (Spain) [es]
Massacres dans le train fantôme (France) [fr]
Panoptikum (Czechoslovakia) (informal title) [cs]
To tunnel tou tromou (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

96 min | Sweden:90 min (cut) | Belgium:80 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

West Germany:18 (cut) | UK:15 (re-rating) | Norway:15 (2009) (uncut) | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:(Banned) | France:-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | Norway:(Banned) (1981-2003) (cinema release) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

North Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Mace Neufeld Productions

Trivia:

The title for the film's French release is 'Massacres dans le train fantôme', meaning 'Massacres on the Ghost Train'.

Quotes:

Funhouse: ...Who will dare to face the challenge of the Funhouse? Who is mad enough to enter that world of darkness? How about you, sir...?

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Psycho (1960)

A stylish slasher. One of the bests from the 80's.

Tobe Hooper's straight slasher flick deserves a chance. We admire this genius for "Poltergeist" and especially "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" but it's fair to recognize the good job he did with "The Funhouse".

The movie is creepy itself because of it's colorful but creepy setting and atmosphere. I mean, how could something go wrong in the fun house? Well, when there's a freak wearing a Frankenstein mask killing other weird people you can imagine that things could get nasty.

The premise is well known. Two couples go to the amusement park at night and soon after they arrive they enter the fun house and witness how a freak kills a woman. That's when the typical killing starts as the freak and his father chase the teens in order to "hide" the murder.

Overall there are some very creepy moments like when the freak takes off his mask revealing his disfigured head, when this freak slaughters a girl with his claws, the crazy witch, the puppets, and the death scenes. Hooper's direction is top class as always. He put a lot of effort in a low budget slasher flick and that's why he deserves some credit. I'm not saying that he wasted his talent on a movie that doesn't asks much for it; I think that this is one of the best looking and directed slasher flicks of all time. There are some camera angles that looked very innovative for it's time (example, Richie's dead body in the moving wagon).

The acting is quite good for a movie like this. I felt sorry for the kids when murdered. Also, the cinematography is quite impressive. The movie is from 1981 and looks very good. The correct use of light in dark settings helped a lot and gave a creepy look to the fun house. The F/X is also good. The freak looks gruesome and horrible in a positive way. The gore is okay.

"The Funhouse" is definitely a must see for fans of the genre. I can say that this is one of the best slasher flicks out there. The movie is not only about a demented killer chasing teens but it has some truly suspense moments and the effective jump-out of your seat scenes. Recommended for horror fans in general; this is another Tobe Hooper classic that shouldn't be missed.

I wonder if this movie inspired Hooper to make "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2". There are some similarities between the two movies; for example, the freak trying to abuse on a girl, the setting, the "child" abuse (uh, the freak is often beaten and yelled by his father), some death scenes, the ending, etc.