Print DVD Shopping Bag: The Funhouse Blu-ray

The great thing about the Halloween season is that, in September and October, a plethora of Horror titles arrive on DVD and Blu-ray. The Universal Classic Monster Box Set was probably the best Halloween gift we all received (or bought ourselves). Those films are perennial classics and their treatment in the Blu-ray format is nothing short of spectacular.

Now, as much as love the Universal Horror Classics at Halloween, I do seek out other Horror films, as well. I am always amazed by what I haven’t seen. I educated myself on Horror and dove into the numerous horror sections in the 5 different video stores I worked for. It was here that I discovered the likes of Hellraiser (1-3), where I watched all the Friday the 13th’s in 3 days (well up to Jason Takes Manhattan), and toyed with the weird world of Frankenhooker. Yet, nothing could bring me to watch any of The Faces of Death. It might go without saying, but I was solely going on a box’s cover art and synopsis for my Horror selection. It wasn’t as if, then, I could Google the trailer and make my decision off of that.

This could be the reason why I never saw Tobe Hooper’s The Funhouse (1981). The box featured a Jack-in-the-Box clown. The backside featured a fat lady statue and a girl getting her hair pulled. I failed to see who it was directed by, but since I didn’t really care for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, “Tobe Hooper” wasn’t going to sway me, anyhow. Since Shout! Factory launched their new Horror division titled, “Scream Factory”, I have had the chance to check out what The Funhouse was all about.

First of all, I don’t remembering seeing a Jack-in-the-Box anywhere in the film. Secondly, what an incredible waste of time. I hate to be so blunt, but when I reached the thirty minute mark, I still had no idea what The Funhouse was about.

After an opening that was clearly stolen from John Carpenter’s Halloween, then spoofed Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, we witness the family dynamic of Amy (Elizabeth Berridge) and Joey Harper (Shawn Carson). The big sister-little brother situation is laid out for us when Amy is so upset by being scared in the shower that she tells Joey she will not take him to the carnival tomorrow. Amy then dries off and heads out on a double date to said carnival with her two friends and Buzz (Cooper Huckabee), a good looking guy who is clearly just interested in getting into her pants. Meanwhile, Joey sneaks out of the house and heads for the carnival anyway. After what seems like forever, Amy’s couple friends, Liz (Largo Woodruff) and Ritchie (Miles Chaplin), finally suggest heading into the funhouse and Ritchie casually suggests they spend the night inside the ride. During all this, we witness Joey making his way across town and into the carnival’s mayhem.

Up to this point, there is no weird disappearance of any character. Nothing crazy or strange about the carnival itself, outside of a set of triplets (all played by Kevin Conway) barking out the typical carny gab. Everything is normal and on the up and up. There is one odd character working the funhouse cars, but nothing out of the ordinary. Up to this point, nothing alarms the audience or any of our characters. So, when they finally do stay in the funhouse and witness a murder, it is just too little too late.

Hooper may have been trying to do a picture of bizarre and strange family behavior as we learn the funhouse operator is actually a twisted freak of nature. Where he really fails in his storytelling is the revelation of this. First of all, the villain’s mask/ head is half the size of the real head later revealed. So, when it is finally exposed, it looks almost ridiculous. The plot quickly flounders into an escape from the funhouse. The women scream, the men try and figure a way out, and each one drops after the other. By the end, I was left with only one question: How in the hell did Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist come out so well? This is my third or fourth film of his and I have to wonder exactly how much of Poltergeist was saved by producer Steven Spielberg. It was, after all, his story (Spielberg’s). Nothing in any of Hooper’s work tells me the man can tell a story. This film was so unwatchable that it makes the worst episodes of Tales from the Dark Side and Masters of Horror look like Rod Serling’s Twilight Zones.

Oh, what happened to little Joey? Nothing. He was safely found by the carnival manager and his parents came and got him. An argument could be made that Amy’s parents were so close and Amy was so very near to her salvation... but no, that would be thinking too deeply about this forgettable piece of fiction.

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DVD Shopping Bag: The Funhouse Blu-ray (Mania.com)