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The Funhouse (1981)

R  |   |  Horror  |  13 March 1981 (USA)
5.9
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Ratings: 5.9/10 from 8,129 users  
Reviews: 138 user | 127 critic

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

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(as Larry Block)
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Shawn Carson ...
Jeanne Austin ...
...
...
Largo Woodruff ...
Liz
Miles Chapin ...
David Carson ...
Sonia Zomina ...
Ralph Morino ...
Truck Driver (as Ralph Marino)
...
Herb Robins ...
Mona Agar ...
Strip Show Dancer
Wayne Doba ...
...
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Storyline

The teenager Amy Harper dates Buzz Dawson for the first time and they go to the carnival with their friends Richie and Liz. They smoke grass and have good-time visiting the attractions including a side show with freak animals. The silly Richie suggests the group to spend the night in the Funhouse for fun. During the night, they witness the murder of the fortune teller Madame Zena by a man wearing a mask of Frankenstein from an opening in the ceiling of a room. They decide to leave the fun house but they find all the exits locked. Meanwhile Richie sneaks in the room and steals the money of the manager of the place. The masked man returns with his father and owner of the fun house to show the corpse of Madame Zena; when the man realizes that he had been robbed, he presses his son that removes the mask and shows his horrible face. Richie startles and drops his lighter in the room. The owner asks his freak son to chase the thieves and eyewitnesses in a night of terror for the teenagers. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

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

Genres:

Horror

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

13 March 1981 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Carnival of Terror  »

Filming Locations:


Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (cut) | (video)

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

A two-headed cow and also one with a cleft palate are seen in this movie. See more »

Goofs

Amy and Buzz leave her house in a 1966 Pontiac LeMans (obvious because of the grill and chrome badging behind headlight). The deep recess in the top of the c-pillar indicates that it is a convertible. Moments later when they are going down the road and even more clearly in the carnival parking lot when they are parking, it is a 1967 Pontiac GTO with a black vinyl top (notice the different grill insert and blinkers, as well as missing chrome badges on fender). See more »

Quotes

Funhouse: I've been expecting you.
Amy Harper: Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to kill us?
Funhouse: I'm just protecting my family.
Amy Harper: Your family? But that guy... he's not even human.
Funhouse: The Lord works in mysterious ways, little lady. He ain't such a bad fella. My son does get himself in all sorts of trouble, though, don't he? Anyway, blood is thicker than water. I'm sure he's gonna be a real comfort to me in my old age. Now, how many people know you're here?
Amy Harper: [lying] Lots. Our parents... they all know.
Funhouse: [scoffs] Well, no ...
[...]
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Dark Ride as horror motive
11 September 2009 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

There are only two horror movies known to me whose central topic is a Dark Ride (also called "Ghost Train" in England): "Ghost Drive" (2006) and "The Funhouse" (1981). Typologically, a "Funhouse" is a building which is not inhabited by humans, but by projections of human fantasy whose motives are basically taken from Old-World legends and mythologies, in some modern cases also from horror movies (zombies, aliens, Freddy Krueger, Bela Lugosi, etc.). Normally, you drive alone or as a couple in a wagon called vehicle that has either the form of an open car or an engine (hence Ghost Train) on a single or double rail along which there are contacts by which the passing wagon makes the appearances move, shine and utter sounds. Since most modern appearances are quite realistic, it is only a short step to think that they could become actually alive. However, "The Funhouse" falls not into this cheap trap to show as robots with alleged free will, but carefully maintains the Poly-con-textural border between the ghosts and their operators. As a matter of fact, this movie serves a lot of unexpected or rather seldom scary effects and thus belongs definitely to the best representatives of Slasher Movies. The idea, however, that there is actually no escape from a Funhouse-building is an invention: In Europe as well as in the United States, such theme-buildings must have roofs that can be removed in no time in the case of a fire-emergency. Also, they must have clearly indicated emergency exists as well as water connections in the case that a Funhouse is a non-ambulant building (a building which is not transported, as the one shown in the movie, from fairground to fairground). Since I belong to the possibly very few people in this world who actually had several times the possibility to walk through enlightened Funhouses, Dark Rides and Ghost Trains, I can assure you that this movie - quite unlike "Ghost Drive" - does a hell of a job in showing you the inside of such a theme-park building which is normally as secret to public as the election of the pope is.


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