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The Fun House (1981) (trailer)
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OK this is a Tobe Hooper classic.  Released in 1981, less than ten years had passed when he served up The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 1974.  At the time, a lot of horror fans complained that they didn't think it lived up the standards that he supposedly set for himself in the 70's; in other words, they thought he had lost his "Horror Chops."  I really disagree[d], I love this film.  I scared the daylights out of me when I saw it for the first time on HBO as a kid.  I hadn't owned a copy of it in quite some time and recently re-purchased the DVD; watched again last a couple of weeks ago.  I had just attended a funeral and really wanted something to get my mind off of it.  I know, it's pretty sick of me to choose a Tobe Hooper flick for the job, but it worked!!   I particularly like the pace of the film--you do sort feel like you're in a funhouse yourself, just ever so slightly off-kilter!  Or maybe that's just me that off-kilter...  It's star has since risen quite high with horror fans; and, I think, it really deserves to be called a Horror Classic as much as Massacre does.

Original Release Date:  OK this is Fun!  Friday 13 March 1981.

There are some incredibly quirky character actors that populate the carnival in this movie, including:

Herb Roberts (who assays "Carnival Manager") who is known for his work in the likes of Sinthia:  The Devil's Doll, Invasion of the Bee Girls where is plays a role known only as "redneck,"  The Worm Eaters that he both starred in and directed.  He also directed The Brainsucker in 1988.

Sylvia Miles (Madame Zena), who is probably best known to movie buffs as the real estate agent in Wallstreet.

William Finley (Marco the Magnificent), who showed up in the such flicks as The Fury, Phantom of Paradise, and Eaten Alive.  He hadn't appeared in a movie since 1993, when, in 2006, he made an appearance in The Black Dahlia.

And, of course, there is Kevin Conway (playing several roles: "Funhouse" "Freak Show" and "Carnival Barkers").  He is so well known in television and feature films that anything like a complete list would be pointless and time consuming for this blog.  So I'll direct you here to his Internet Movie Database page.

And then there is Wayne Doba, who gives us:

Runtime: 96 minutes.

Filming Location:  North Miami, FLA.

Also Known As:  Carnival of Terror

Total Gross To Date:  almost $2,800,000

 

Some Trivia:

A lot of the set pieces were acquired by Hooper himself in Antique toy shops and junk stores. 

The French title release was Massacres dans le train fantôme or Death (or Massacre) on the Ghost Train.

Dean Koontz, the well known horror writer, wrote a novelization of the screenplay under the name Owen West.

And thank goodness for horror fans; Tobe Hooper used his production work on this film to say NO to Steven Spielberg, who wanted him to shelve the project and direct ET!