The Funhouse Massacre

I tend to love cheesy slasher flicks that don't take themselves too seriously so I was excited to check out "The Fun House Massacre". After seeing some trailers and reading some reviews this seemed like it would be right up my alley. Story seemed somewhat interesting and there were some very interesting names on the cast list (Robert Englund and Clint Howard), but for the most part I was just excited to see some over the top gory kills and from the looks of it I figured this movie would definitely deliver in that department, it did somewhat but it was also a bit of a disappointment.

Six psychotic maniacs have broken out of a secret asylum that houses people who too violent for modern society, from there they descend upon a Fun house (haunted house) on Halloween and take the place of the staff so that they can have their violent psychotic fun without arousing too much suspicion (since people just assume it is part of the act). So the film does a great job of setting the scene for an ultra blood bath, but I think the main problem here (for me at least) is that the kills just weren't all that fun to watch. The effects weren't terrible but every kill was just kind of generic or not brutal at all. Of the six killers I really only felt like two of them were worthwhile, the rest just kind of felt pointless.

The cast was OK, unfortunately the guys I was looking forward to seeing the most (Englund and Howard) had very little screen time, although the little screen time they had was pretty solid. Everyone else does their parts well enough aside from a few people who tried a little hard to be funny (although I would blame the cheesy dialogue for that). I felt like the killers could have had a bit more personality. It seemed like they wanted The Stitched Face killer to be the stand out but she just wasn't an interesting character and really just ended up feeling like a watered down version of Harley Quinn.

"The Fun House Massacre" isn't an awful movie, it does have points where it is fun and entertaining but with the story line and cast they had at their disposal I feel like this could have been a much better slasher movie. They were headed in the right direction with it but at some point they took a wrong turn and the movie definitely suffers from that. In the end it's just another cheesy slasher movie that has a few redeeming qualities but is far from being anything special.

The Funhouse Massacre is a comedy horror which actually manages to deliver on both fronts, not to groundbreaking levels but is regardless some real take your brain out fun.

It tells the story of a group of inmates who are broken out of a top secret asylum for the worst of the worst. Being Halloween there is a nearby horror attraction which they descend upon for a night of carnage.

With Robert Englund in the opening scene and the whole thing looking the part my hopes were fairly high within the first few minutes and I have to say they were met. This is never going to win any awards for originality but it sets about doing everything you'd expect and does it above par.

Also starring uber industry veteran Clint Howard as one of our psychopaths I was shocked just how well comedy blended with the subject matter all things considered. With a couple of comedy psychos and a hopefully inept deputy who cracked me up throughout, alongside your usual array of stereotypical 20-somethings it's roster is very strong.

The sfx are entirely practical with lashings of gore, some inventive kills and absolutely no mercy.

It's a slasher film with character and some genuinely enjoyable comedy. Take it for what it is and you might actually find yourself having a laugh riot.

The Good:

Robert Englund

Some funny moments

Decent opening

Looks great

Oddly good performances

The Bad:

Some stuff defies logic

With a title that is a mash-up of two Tobe Hooper horror classics—The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Funhouse—it's obvious from the start that The Funhouse Massacre isn't going to offer much in the way of originality: it's Halloween night, a group of lunatics have escaped from a high security mental asylum and are killing the patrons of a fun-house. Nope, not much new there! Still, at least the film never pretends to be anything other than a whole load of silly splattery fun, its tongue firmly in cheek as the psychopaths slash, chop, smash, slice and dice their way through the attraction's blissfully unaware customers, who believe that the killing is all part of the show—at least until it is their turn to die.

It takes a while to get to the really bloody stuff (the last act is where the best effects happen, including a couple of cool decapitations), but when it does, The Funhouse Massacre proves very enjoyable nonsense, each psycho having their own unique method of dispatching victims: Animal the Cannibal (E.E. Bell) eats them (obviously), demented dentist Dr. Suave (Sebastian Siegel) uses an unusually large drill to treat 'patients', The Taxidermist (Clint Howard) guts and stuffs people, Rocco the Clown (Mars Crain) uses a 'test your strength' hammer to crush heads, and The Stitch Face Killer sews shut the eyes and mouth. Meanwhile Mental Manny (Jere Burns) oversees the carnage, which features some surprisingly good gore effects (just checked the credits and Robert Kurtzman was involved, so maybe not so surprising after all).

How could anyone resist a title like 'The Funhouse Massacre'? Often films like this with an intriguing title turn out to be absolute duds, that can't come close to living up to their name. 'The Funhouse Massacre' is one of the better efforts I've seen at actually achieving it. For an almost unheard of film the quality is surprisingly high. Director Andy Palmer delivers a very high quality product. The camera-angles are smooth, the violence is plentiful and well-executed and the acting is of an above average standard - particularly for the horror genre.

Mixing comedy with horror is becoming more and more common, as the horror movie genre itself sadly becomes increasingly stale. I personally don't love the mix and feel it takes away any tension the movie is trying to create. 'The Funhouse Massacre' has a heavy element of comedy to it. It's done reasonably well for the most part and there are actually a few genuine laughs here and there. Did the film need it though? I'm undecided on this. On one hand it's trying to say it doesn't want to take itself too seriously, but on the other hand it's actually good enough that it could have worked as pure horror. Some will love it and others will find it ruins the experience. It's impossible to please everyone at the end of the day, but I just hope they pleased more people with this decision than they ruined it for. There's a lot of fun to be had here and a nice little twist near the end to keep things interesting. All in all a good little effort

Funhouse Massacre was certainly a fun experience for the type of movie it is. We all knew coming into this that it would be a wildly unrealistic, poorly acted and cheesy horror movie but pushing that aside, it was a decent watch. The concept itself of killers getting released and coming into a haunted house was very cool. Unfortunately I think there was just a lot of potential left on the table with the characters themselves as well as the action and events that could have unfolded. Despite this missed potential, there was still something entertaining and likable about the whole thing even with its flaws. Decent watch overall.