‘The Funhouse’ (1981) - why didn’t you whores tell me about this hidden gem?

The trailer, converted to HD

Koontz wrote the book based on the screenplay.

R2 it’s probably one of those hard to find books now too, like the Black Christmas novel, which has been out of print for decades and impossible to find unless you’re willing to buy it used for a lot of money.

Damn, r3, I used to have it.

R4 Black Christmas? The 1976 novel based on the film, which added in more backstory for the killer and characters? Yes, you should have kept that.

OP- Stop PITCHING Peacock

No, r5, Funhouse.

i read the book as a kid and remember it being very sexy and salacious. Koontz early books always had a lot of scandalous, perverse eroticism. Never seen the movie though.

Always thought this one was a little dull. I only ever remember Sylvia Miles hamming it up and telling the kids that she'll break every bone in their fucking bodies.

I saw this movie for the first time after it was released on Blu-ray, around 2012 I believe. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, and I too found Buzz hot. Very tall, lean and pretty. His chest looked hot in his white polo. I think it was a polo.

The actor is originally from Mobile, Alabama. I don’t think he’s ever acted opposite a POC. I always wondered about that lol.

It’s funny how 70s and 80s B level horror films were better than all of today’s horror.

Buzz today...

When A Stranger Calls is another first rate stalker movie that doesn't get the respect it deserves.

Though it kind of falters in the middle, the first and last twenty minutes managed to be suspenseful without an ounce of gore.

Another pic.

R11 OP said it’s said he didn’t age that well.

R13 r12 did you read what I wrote? I said he was hot in the movie, while he was young. I also said he didn’t age well… so your comments are ridiculous.

Found a photo of him in his tight white polo in the movie. His chest looking hot.

R6 hate to be the one to break it to you, but Peacock has been doing well, surpassing expectations

R9 it was a duller movie because it focuses on those 4 teens, and they’re trapped and tormented for a long time before one is killed. It isn’t a slasher where someone is a serial killer.

But it’s fun once shit starts happening.

The book is very well written and gives more background on the characters. For instant, the final girl and the monster are siblings. Her brother was born deformed and the parents gave him up. If I remember correctly, they left him at the carnival and that’s how he ended up there.

I don't think it's so great. Kind of gross and cheesy.

Ugh, even in 1981 the dude playing Buzz was a fuggo

I saw this movie at the drive-in. Same drive in would have cheezy 70s soft core porn as a midnight movie. Would take HS buddies there and we’d jerk in the car.

He wasn’t fuggo

“He was often cast as youthful handsome leads in his early years. Later, equipped with an intense, craggy face, has developed into a character actor specializing in suspicious or villainous characters.”

It’s a shame his beauty faded rapidly.

The actor playing Buzz is 70 years old now. He looks fine for a 70 year old man to me.

I’ve seen younger guys look much worse.

R19 thanks. I may have to find it to read

I miss the 80s

I decided to watch this because of this thread. It’s a fun flick. Bright and colorful. Buzz was so hot. The lead was so annoying.

The chick from Amadeus is in it. You got a glimpse of her nice tits in the beginning.

She’s annoying

I've always found the Liz character more likable in this than the lead. I am surprised Largo Woodruff didn't have a bigger career. "The Funhouse" in general is a weird flick. It has a super sleazy undertone to it, which is helped by the set designs as well as Sylvia Miles' performance as the wretched whore/fortune teller—she always excelled at playing haggard, hyper-sexual, nasty old bitches, so the casting was perfect. It's an odd slasher film that is in some ways more of a monster movie, really. It's one of Tobe Hooper's best films IMO, though his filmography was so varied—nothing ever comes remotely close to the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." I think that "The Funhouse" has more in common (at least tonally) with "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2," which played up the dark comedy and camp factor to significant proportions.

I love these B 80s horror movies

I just ordered the newly-released 4K disc of this. It's one of those films that I really do enjoy but rarely revisit. It always makes for a good fall/Halloween-time viewing experience. It is a very strange film—weird atmosphere and an array of truly bizarre characters. Sylvia Miles plays the most reprehensible, saggy old whore I've ever seen on film (which is on brand for her). She is fucking repulsive in this film. I sometimes forget that Tobe Hooper directed this. He had a very eclectic (and inconsistent) filmography.

Cooper was in Urban Cowboy as Travoltas friend Marshall.

R33 yes, it’s a fun one to watch during October. I love Halloween time.

I got Scream Factory's 4K release today in the mail and pored through all the new cast/crew interviews they did. There were some interesting behind-the-scenes recollections in there. Largo Woodruff still looks great and seems like a true sweetheart (I always wondered why she didn't have a bigger career—she was stunningly beautiful and a pretty good actress). Almost everyone interviewed referred to Elizabeth Berridge as a "method actor" and it didn't seem like anyone particularly enjoyed working with her. Largo said something to the effect of her being "sassy", and that it was a challenge acting with her, but she seemed to really be dancing around the subject. Collectively, the interviews gave me the impression that Elizabeth was a cunt.

Also, Miles Chapin commented that Sylvia Miles was "very proud of her breasts" and asked him what he thought about her tits. When he said they looked good, she had him undo her velcro bustier for her on the set.

This has one of my favorite posters for a horror film ever. Grotesque and attention-grabbing, but it doesn't tell you much. It very much has an old-school (even for 1981), throwback feel to the monster movies of the '50s. It's just great.

The Koontz novelization should be easy to find. Even if it’s not currently in print it was available for years so used copies should be affordable. I have the original paperback published under the pseudonym Owen West. I read it years before seeing the movie and was disappointed there was a lot in the book not in the movie.

OP at this Fun House, are there prizes to be won? Is it a whole lot of fun? Is it wacky, crazy, OUTRAGEOUS?

I just got my Shout Factory! release and watched it this afternoon. God I wish that they still had carnivals like this today. So shady and fucked up. I told me friend that Buzz was a hottie eyed by the gays and then remembered this thread. Miles Chapin has aged well I thought based on his bonus footage. I also loved that Wayne Doba who plays the monster was originally considered to play all the animatronics in the funhouse first! He did say he played the robotic pirate who stabs away at the air near Buzz. The atmosphere in this film is fucking perfect and it was worth the wait to see it gloriously restored! I think the opening credits are pretty fantastic too!

R40 I may buy it.

R40. Do it. Mine came with a POSTER!

It’s on Peacock now

Is it still on Peacock?