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The Funhouse (Carnival of Terror) (1981)

My Rating

Movie Info

This low-budget horror film about teenagers trapped in a carnival funhouse with a freakish monster is pretty standard stuff. Director Tobe Hooper manages a few shocks and includes some typically peculiar supporting characters, but this film is less entertaining than either of his previous excursions into such territory. Not as scary as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) nor as bizarre as Eaten Alive (1976), The Funhouse may as well have been directed by an anonymous hack as one of the foremost

R, 1 hr. 36 min.

Horror

Oct 19, 1999

Warner Home Video

Cast

All Critics (15) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (5) | DVD (5)

Bad date chiller.

July 22, 2010 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

An underrated gem, a mini-masterpiece of frights and atmosphere.

October 15, 2008 Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | Comment
DustinPutman.com

Lento e aborrecido, consegue criar tensão em um ou outro momento, mas só.

April 14, 2005 Comment
Cinema em Cena

Creepy but slow horror show. Neat monster.

March 20, 2003 Comment
Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

It's creepy and effective and a kind of fun horror picture we don't see anymore.

September 12, 2002 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | Comment
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Not as fun as it should be, but worth a visit.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Funhouse (Carnival of Terror)

I'm just going to be honest here up front and say that I've never really been a fan of Tobe Hooper. Outside of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, his work has been spotty and lackluster. Such is the case with The Funhouse. I do praise the score for the movie, even though it's overused, and the design of the monster's mask,

June 22, 2011
FilmFanatik
Tim Salmons

Super Reviewer

An unknown and under appreciated movie. Tobe Hooper knows how to make great horror movies, and although this isn't as amazing as Poltergeist or Texas Chainsaw, it is still good. The opening scene is a great tribute/reenactment of the famous shower scene from Psycho.

May 1, 2011
blkbomb
Melvin White

Super Reviewer

    1. Harper: I don't know where you're going tonight, but don't go to that damn carnival. It went through Fairfield last year, when they found the bodies of those two girls in the creek.
    – Submitted by Creep F (8 months ago)
    1. The Barker: They wiggle and they dance. Six beautiful girls. They wiggle and they dance. (Looks straight at Amy very eerily) They wiggle and they dance.
    – Submitted by Creep F (8 months ago)
    1. Madame Zena: Don't come back. Or I'll break every bone in your F**KIN' BODIES! Beat it!
    – Submitted by Creep F (8 months ago)
    1. Marco The Magnificent: A little history. In the fifth century, Vlad V of Wallachia, known as Vlad the lmpaler to his friends, tortured 23,000 prisoners in a device not unlike this. Tiring of his name, he decided to change it. He selected his father's name, Dracul, meaning devil. He added the letter A and became. Dracula; literally, 'son of the devil'. And so legends are born.
    – Submitted by Creep F (8 months ago)
    1. Carnival Manager: Alive, alive, a-live-ah. These are all creatures of God, ladies and gentlemen. Not men. They are authentic, and they are alive. Alive, alive, alive-ah.
    – Submitted by Creep F (8 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • The Funhouse (DE)
  • The Funhouse (UK)
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