6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The carnival is a place for fun and laughter, but not for Amy and her friends. When their childish dare to stay all night in the spooky funhouse backfires, it leaves a trail of dismembered teenagers a mile long in Tobe Hooper’s classic video nasty era slasher.
Starring: Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson, Jeanne Austin, Jack McDermott, Cooper HuckabeeHorror | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
I'm going to get you so bad you're never going to forget it!
It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and it's all funhouses and teenagers acting stupidly until one or more of them gets killed. Director
Tobe
Hooper's Funhouse is nowhere near as spine-tingling horrific and depraved as his macabre masterpiece The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but it's at the very least a competent
and fun
little
slice of Horror cinema that takes a slasher-type formula and transforms it into something a little more monstrous. The movie suffers through
unimaginative characters and dialogue, but it excels in the areas of mood, atmosphere, location and creature design. In fact, the film's boogeyman
looks like it
could have been an inspiration for Sloth from The Goonies or one of the aliens from The Last Starfighter. But even beyond that circus freak's terrifying
appearance,
Hooper's 1981 picture almost magically creates an environment that's at the same time friendly and inviting and terrifying and dark. The movie is
all
about its feel rather than its plot specifics, specifics that are rather uninteresting and a feel that's as tasty as a big clump of cotton candy, as odd
as a bearded lady, and as scary as a haunted house ride.
This one's one-way.
The Funhouse arrives on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory's new Scream! Factory label. The result is very impressive 1080p high definition transfer. Presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio, the movie looks fantastic, generally, offering very crisp, film-like details. Grain remains throughout and solidifies a pleasant, natural filmic texture. There are plenty of softer shots scattered throughout -- some blurry edges and a few smudgy details -- but it's clear that this is The Funhouse as it was intended to be seen. The image's crisp elements truly impress with natural, well-defined objects such as clothing, the Frankenstein mask, wear and tear around the carnival, and complex facial textures. Colors are largely fantastic, with oftentimes brilliant splashes to be seen all over the carnival, from bright yellows to vibrant blues. Flesh tones are accurate, and blacks are acceptable, though perhaps a little pale in places throughout what is a fairly dark movie. The image sees a few scattered white speckles and a couple of random vertical lines, but on the whole this is a very well balanced and authentic 1080p transfer of an old favorite looking better than ever on home video.
The Funhouse features a wonderful DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. From the great opening title music forward, this audio presentation impresses at worst and dazzles at best. That opening music plays with a big, well-spaced, and completely immersive sensation, offering precision clarity and the feel of a live performance. The carnival atmosphere proves most sonically impressive; the listener often feels completely immersed within the environment, enjoying the din of games and barkers and music scattered amongst general crowd ambience. Such scenes make use of the entire soundstage and prove enjoyable and critical both in pulling the audience into the movie and establishing the environment to enhance the terror that comes later. There are some very big, potent, and spooky sound effects -- such as booming thunder -- to be a heard during the haunted house ride. Bass is deep and aggressive but not overly so. Various mechanical sounds near the end nicely fill the soundstage and play with an evident and crucial surround element. Dialogue is clear and accurate, though microphone dialogue playing through carnival speakers comes through with an understandable, and even welcome in the name of authenticity, muffle. Overall, this is a fantastic soundtrack that serves the movie and the audience both very well.
The Funhouse contains a new audio commentary track, several interviews, deleted scenes, and more.
The Funhouse isn't a traditional 1980s Slasher. It combines the teenage victim angle of that style, however, and mixes it with a moody, wonderfully atmospheric classic Monster flick. It's a winning combination that impresses through just about every second of its lean runtime. It's a little dated and rather tame in hindsight, but The Funhouse holds up as a movie working wonderfully on the back of a great atmosphere and a director who understands what the movie requires to work. Shout! Factory's Blu-ray release of The Funhouse features very good video, strong audio, and a nice array of extra content. Highly recommended.
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