THE FUNHOUSE

Directed by Tobe Hooper
Written by Larry Block
Produced by Derek Power & Steven Bernhardt
Cast: Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, Jeanne Austin, Jack McDermott, Cooper Huckabee, Largo Woodruff, Miles Chapin & David Carson

1981/96 mins/Color/2.0 Dolby Digital
2.35:1 anamorphic/English/US/NTSC Region 1

Review from the Universal DVD

Even with her father telling her not to, young Amy Harper (Elizabeth Berridge) is going out for the night with some friends. She is joined by her date called Buzz (Cooper Huckabee who plays the typical 80s hunk), the annoying geek Richie (Miles Chapin) and the dumb blonde Liz (the lovely Largo Woodruff).

They visit a mysterious, scary and sleazy dark carnival and decide to spend the night in a funhouse. What first looks like a hot night of teenage love turns into horror and mayhem. First they witness a brutal murder and then a disfigured man hunt them down, one on one in this trapped and dark funhouse. "Carnival of terror. Pay to get in. Pray to get out!"

Coming off the success of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and SALEM'S LOT, director Tobe Hooper delivered a very cool and typical 80s horror flick. Unfortunately for him, the movie failed to make kind of impact at the box office with what was considered at the time a mere $8 million. Like most of his movie, this was supposedly another troubled production. The opening sequence is clearly stolen from Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO and John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN while the ending is a homage to his own classic, TCM. The next year, Hooper would end up making POLTERGEIST which would be a huge success for him but not his career.

Back in 1999, MCA Home Video released THE FUNHOUSE on DVD in a less then stellar edition. Universal have finally released THE FUNHOUSE on DVD. The film is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and it is anamorphic. While nothing spectacular, the image is still good. The colors are nice but a little soft. There's is no compression or artifacts. The 2.0 Dolby Digital is loud and clear. We get English, Spanish and French subtitles.

The only extra featured on the disc is the nicely edited and scary theatrical trailer presented in full screen. The movie is separated in 18 chapters features some nice static menus and comes without an inlay card or booklet. A commentary track with director Tobe Hooper and some more extras would have been welcomed.

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Review by Kim Dubuisson. All Right Reserved. 2006. ©