Why THE FUNHOUSE Was *Almost* a Great Slasher Film
The Funhouse (which turns 40 this year) is one of those films that I always seem to think I might enjoy more if I give it another chance. And a lot of that has to do with it having many of the makings of a great slasher. It has several of the components needed for a successful stalk-and-slash flick but it doesn’t stick the landing. As a result, The Funhouse is a feature I perpetually think I will warm up to if I give it one more shot.
Synopsis:
Rebellious teen Amy (Elizabeth Berridge) defies her parents by going to a trashy carnival that has pulled into town. In tow are her boyfriend, Buzz (Cooper Huckabee), and their friends Liz (Largo Woodruff) and Richie (Miles Chapin). Thinking it would be fun to spend the night in the campy “Funhouse” horror ride, the teens witness a murder by a deformed worker wearing a mask. Locked in, Amy and her friends must evade the murderous carnival workers and escape before it leaves town the next day.
As it stands, I’ve seen The Funhouse three times and I still don’t love it. What I would love is to talk a bit about what the film does right and where it could have been better. Perhaps, the next time I convince myself I need to revisit, I will reread this piece and save myself the time. Or, maybe not. Who am I to say? I’m fickle.
Synopsis: The Funhouse follows a group of wacky teens planning to do something outrageous: They hatch a plan to stow away as overnight guests at the funhouse of a traveling carnival. Things start out groovy. But what they don’t realize is that a homicidal madman is stalking the halls of the attraction and he’s out for teenage blood [cue maniacal laughter].
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The film starts off great, with an opening scene reminiscent of the first several minutes of Halloween. However, Tobe Hooper slyly subverts expectations and goes in a different direction than first time viewers are likely expecting. And that’s a smart move because it puts the viewer on edge and also does something unexpected.
Like in Halloween, we are introduced to a nude teenage girl and her masked younger brother who is carrying a knife. It seems clear that Tobe Hooper was nodding to Carpenter’s Magnum Opus and then saying, “Just kidding. I’m doing my own thing.”
Beyond the opening scene, the film continues to show promise. We’re introduced to Amy (Elizabeth Berridge) who is a likable protagonist. She is easy enough to get behind and cheer for. Unfortunately, her cohorts aren’t as engaging and there aren’t enough of them. The core cast is comprised of two couples on a double date. And that’s about two cast members shy of the requisite six needed to fulfill the standard slasher formula.
If we assume there is a survivor, that only leaves three potential victims from the core group. It’s ok to stray from expectations but there has to be something there to account for what’s missing. The Funhouse too closely follows the established slasher template to justify deviating from the requisite body count.
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Where the film starts to lose me is in the second act. We have a promising set up established in act one and then almost nothing happens until the final twenty minutes of the movie. The first act should pull viewers in (and The Funhouse succeeds at that). But the second act should provide a bridge to the third and give the audience a reason to stay invested. Sadly, that’s not the case here. The second act is anticlimactic and doesn’t give the viewer enough reason to stick around until things really go off the rails.
Another misstep is showcasing a villain that is a bit too sympathetic. I actually start to feel sorry for the killer when it becomes obvious that he just wants to be loved and is being manipulated by his father. And that leads to confusion about who the audience should to be rooting for. A humanized villain can work well in horror but things get confusing when we start to feel sorry for the killer as much or more so than we do for the victims. I wish that the killer had been slightly less sympathetic and the secondary protagonists had been just a bit more relatable.
I also wish the kills had been more evenly spaced and there had been a few more victims. If a few tweaks had been made, this really could have been a major hit for the late, great Tobe Hooper. As it stands, The Funhouse has moments of greatness but never quite lives up to its potential.
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