The Funhouse Blu-ray Review

• 18th Jul 2011

Today sees the release of Tobe Hooper’s (he of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame) underrated and enjoyable little slasher Funhouse. This release given the loving Blu-ray treatment by Arrow Video, who themselves have seemed to step up the quality on their recent releases.

For those that don’t know, Tobe Hooper is probably one of the most inconstant horror filmmakers from the last generation of horror directors. His recent output has been largely forgettable, both his The Toolbox Murders remake and the more recent Mortuary have been a bit naff to say the least. Only 2000’s Crocodile was any fun, but itself felt too similar to his earlier effort Eaten Alive (a genuinely underrated little gem).

Where Hooper seemed to have the most creativity, besides the aforementioned Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was during the 1980s where he produced a few interesting little nuggets on his film CV. In 1982 we whee given Poltergeist, while in 1985 he released  space vampire sci-fi horror flick Lifeforce. 86’ saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (hugely underrated in my opinion) and Invaders From Mars (a curious little feature).

Funhouse came out during his more studio based efforts from the 80s and while it lacks the raw terror and sweaty palm inducing tension of his earlier efforts, it is still an enjoyably silly creature feature. In Funhouse we see Hooper do what he does best, dysfunctional and deformed families. This time the focus in on fairground folk and a group of four teens who get locked up in a funhouse over night. Slowly each of the teens is picked off one by one by a weirdo in a Frankenstein mask, later revealed to be a deformed creature who drools quite a bit.

There is little gore, most of the scares are cliched and do little to cause you to jump or feel frightened. It is very much a product of its time and contains a very 80s soundtrack and early 80s fashion. The picture on the Bluray itself is top quality a looks exceptional showing off its wonderful production design and make-up effects (the latter by the underrated Craig Reardon). This release from Arrow is, much like Bird WithThe Crystal Plumage, a Blu-ray exclusive.

The extras themselves are particularly impressive for such a forgotten film. There are three separate audio commentaries, one with Craig Reardon and Jeffery Reddick, the second and third with producer Derek Power and Justin Kerswell (author of Teenage Wasteland).

There are several in-depth featurettes ranging from the production to the film, through to the directors impression of his own work. There is also an interesting audience Q&A with Hooper as he talks to fans in San Francisco. As is now standard with Arrows releases fans are treated to four different artwork sleeves, a double-sided foldout poster and a collector’s booklet this time with writing from horror critic Kim Newman.

All in all an impressive release for a middle of the road slasher. It is far from Hoopers best film but even if you have a passing interest in a few of his lesser know works, it might be worthwhile to pick this up. If only for its impressive treatment and gorgeous high def picture quality. This is average Tobe Hooper at best, certainly not his worst but far from some of his better know works.

Dominic O’Brien