The Funhouse

With the loss of the terrific horror filmmaker Tobe Hooper a couple of weeks back, I decided to revisit one of his movies that I haven't seen in quite some time, 1981's The Funhouse.

A group of horny teenagers decide to spend the night at a traveling carnival for kicks. The four hide out in the funhouse until the midway closes. Once inside they witness the gruesome murder of the carnival's fortune teller at the hands of the funhouse barker's deformed kid. Trapped inside the ride, the group try desperately to find an escape while being hunted down by the killer and his dad.

This one would make for a nice double bill with some of Hooper's other work like Texas Chainsaw Massacre's 1 or 2 or Eaten Alive. These are what I like to call Hooper's redneck killer films. He has assembled a pretty great cast of character actor's that includes Amadeus' Elizabeth Berridge, Midnight Cowboy's Sylvia Miles, Phantom Of The Paradise's William Finley, and Paradise Alley"s Kevin Conway, who does a believable job playing three different barkers.

Steven Spielberg was very impressed with The Funhouse. So much so that he offered Hooper the chance to direct Poltergeist, which would become Hooper's biggest commercial hit.

There's no denying that Hooper was a true talent and a maverick. He definitely paved the way and influenced filmmakers like Rob Zombie. The Funhouse is further proof of what a gifted director we lost.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.