Pillow Fright
Pillow Fright
The Funhouse (1981) | Haunted Attractions!
Something is alive in the funhouse! ...
...and it's your three besties chatting about Tobe Hooper's 1981 classic The Funhouse! Along the way, they discuss horror news, their first haunt experiences, and the great debate over funnel cakes vs. doughboys.
Who will dare to face the challenge of the Funhouse? Who is mad enough to enter that world of darkness? How about you, Pillow Frighter...?
Grab your fried butter and Frankenstein Monster mask and let's get into it!
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Pillow Fright theme by Brandon Scullion
Welcome to another episode of the Pillow Fright Podcast. I'm Elissa. I'm Kay. And I'm Ama. And we are your three besties here to keep you in the loop with all things horror. So keep us in the loop! Alright guys, well what is going on in horror? Well for all you nerds, we have another comic book that's getting adapted to the screen. Ice Cream Man, which is a horror anthology series that serves up a range of horror flavors and genres, all held together by the Ice Cream Man. is going to be brought to your screen by the writers of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, So it's going to be for Screen Gems and it's Alfred Goh and Miles Millar. They created the Wednesday series and of course the new Beetlejuice movie. so they are going to be on, they're going to be adapting this for Sony. And this comic has been in and out of development hell. It was going to be on Quibi, which RIP, and, other projects, but this seems to be a lot more serious. And so if you're a fan of horror comics, we have something else to look forward to. Cool. Is it, is Clint Howard involved? I wonder if it has anything to do with the original Ice Cream Man. I don't know, but my heart needs Clint Howard in there. Next up, we have a new trailer for the movie Invoking Yell. It is a black metal horror movie. Apparently it killed on the festival circuit. I have yet to see this, but It did Popcorn Frights, Chattanooga, Soho Horror Film Fest, like, and apparently it was shot in three days? So I'm really, excited to see this movie, and it's coming out September 20th, I believe on VOD everywhere. The whole like it's a feature length. Yeah. Yeah, I am. Yeah, apparently it's described as a love letter to black metal invoking yell is set in 1997 South of Chile. I know I'm just like a not a Norwegian black metal. That's exciting. Chilean black metal. Chilean. Here for it. Here for it. I am absolutely here for it. Well, guys, guess what? What? Mike Flanagan officially said that The New Exorcist is the scariest movie that he's ever made. That's saying something that is absolutely saying something like Hill House is one of the scariest things I've ever seen in my life. And I don't get scared myself. But that TV show, no matter how many times I rewatch it, I'm still like, Oh, my gosh, like hard pass. Well, no, I'm going to rewatch that till I die. It's scary. And the fact that he said that because I don't think he's quite the hype man that will just say anything really? No, he I feel like he's one of us. Well, I mean after the, unfortunate letdown of the, the last one that has come out, The last one that came out. When was that a 2021? 22? No, it was his last year. Geez, Louise. Yeah, well, that goes to show how much I remembered it. But that's okay. Universal and Blumhouse has sent out the Flanagan signal. And Mike Flanagan came to the rescue. And he it's not only just like, oh, he's a hot name. And he's directing this. I mean, he's Obviously one of the most capable horror directors we have right now. And he's really genuinely excited about it and he knows what people want from it. And I think because he has that eye and he knows what we want and can learn from the past. I, I actually am very hopeful about this. I'm so excited. Like, There's very little new developments or new creative ideas in the exorcism genre, subgenre altogether. So whatever he brings to this is going to be, I have a feeling something new and exciting. I just know it's going to be heartbreaking and we're all going to cry. Oh, yes. Yeah. Well, all that out of the way, there's something else that's very exciting, and that's Universal Orlando and Hollywood. They officially opened their doors to Halloween horror nights in lovely, lovely, crisp 110 degree weather, but it's having us feeling very nostalgic about haunted houses and haunts and just that life because even though they're starting earlier, it's still mentally, it's just, it's exciting. Doesn't matter what the weather is, but that being said, what are your favorite memories growing up of haunted houses? Do you have any of your first experiences? I think the first haunt I went to in the Midwest. Not that I went to anyone else, but the first one I remember was in the Midwest because it was a corn maze and, definitely small child and it was supposed to just be like child friendly, except for one dude who was just like in it to freak out some kids. And he, I remember everyone went through in my group and I was like at the end and he waited and it was just like a scarecrow just chilling, sitting down. And then he, he did that thing where he just like. at you, and this was like backyard haunted house, they could do whatever they wanted, or, I don't know, backyard, but still, they, I doubt there were rules, and just like lunged, and all this group of children are just running away screaming like eight, I want to say I was maybe like eight or nine, and then maybe younger, and then just running, and I loved that, I was so gleeful, it was terrifying, and then running all the way out through the rest of the maze, and like getting lost and all that, and I was like, this is, These are awesome. I love this all but like everything else was super kid friendly. So I don't know if that dude was just like having a day where he hated children. But like, I hope it was very satisfying for him. It was his last day there. It was like free for all first hand. Told you to stop making the kids cry. No union to protect him. All bets are off. So where I grew up in Mainee where you know, the closest haunted house is not there's no theme parks. There's nothing like that. And one year I think I was like 12 my mom and her boyfriend at the time took me. and his niece to this like, it was like a haunted hayride, but like a like, real like truck driving hayride. And, you had to go through the haunted house first. I'd never done anything like that. Of course, I was all about it. But then , we got on this hayride, I had no idea what to expect. And they literally had like dudes hauling ass like running after us like jumping onto the hayride truck doing stuff. And when I heard about the Los Angeles hayride, I thought it was going to be like that. And no, not so much. Sounds like Midwest and East Coast haunts are intense. Yeah, they don't give a there was another one that opened in my mid twenties. It was called The Gauntlet. It was in Southern Mainee. And this was like a big deal. Like I drove like three hours to get to this. Like I was home for some reason. And it was definitely way more like, the L. A. Hayride, they did like acting. But it was like, teenagers with like really thick Maine accent. Oh, my God, like it's alive, bub. It's alive, bub I don't wait. What's the Mainee I don't know what the Maine Fill your smart car with lobster garbage. Smart garbage. OK. Why? Why is that? Like, I know Boston would be like. You park your car down by the bar and get a beer. Why is Maine you fill your smart car with lobster garbage? What did you just say? It's the same thing, essentially. Is it? I mean, Boston accents compared to Maine like Maine's a little bit like, it's like Boston, but it's slower. So it's like, sometimes dead is better. Sometimes dead is better. Okay, so think of Jud. Okay, got it. Still stuck on why you're filling your car with lobster garbage. Why wouldn't you fill your car with lobster garbage? It's gonna be like, many reasons. It smelled terrible. 20 minutes later, we're like wrapping up the episode. But why? The Maine thing that I say all the time and then Brandon's like, does that mean? Instead of saying yes, I'm like, ayuh ayuh. Oh, I like reading that in all Stephen King books. Like, everybody just goes, ayuh. Ayuh. For me, it just means yes. It's like, yep. Yeah. You took a one syllable word and you shortened it to a two syllable word. That's like the total opposite of being raised on the West Coast in California where everything is shortened. Right? Like I want some 'chos today. Can I get some za? Like all the food items need to be shortened. I don't think I've ever said the word 'chos.'Chos. We used to say that in Horror Nights my last year working. Speaking of which, oh my gosh, I didn't even plan that segue. I have a couple of memories in Hanson. The first one that I ever have, I think it was like seven, or six or seven. And I didn't even go in it. It's, I lived in Sonoma and we used to go to Santa Cruz, once a year. Just, I guess, because that was the closest kind of like theme park, Well, not really. There were more, but we used to go there. There was a funhouse there. And I was too scared to go in because on the outside, there were these like goblins and ghouls that just terrified me. And I remember it being gray with these red eyes. And my sister said that it was so scary inside because there was a ghoul that was like holding a head. And in my brain, I thought it was the most terrifying thing I could ever envision in my life. But it was probably just like, it was probably just like one of those. And that's my first memory of whatever, like some sort of haunted thing that scared me. Little did I know. I was on The Lost Boys territory growing up and I miss it. And Ooh, yeah, the boardwalk, man. But the one that I went to that I remember was 1993 or four. My, we used to travel a lot because my mom was a travel agent. And we went to Florida. And we thought, Oh, Florida's doing this cute little Halloween thing called Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando. And I think this was like the second year that they ever did it or something like that. And, we may, and the only memories I have as a seven year old kid was going up to the window and my mom or my dad being like, is this kid friendly? And the lady be like, totally. Yeah. And we walk in and I've never been more scarred in my entire life. Like, I, will find the pictures because I have a whole photo album and I will show them because, It's insane. The haunts I would not go in. My sister said they're all black and like everyone was killing each other in the mazes and my seven year old brain couldn't comprehend that. And then my dad was like here while they do the haunts, I'll take you on the rides at Universal. So we went on the earthquake ride and King Kong. still most terrifying thing that I've ever been on. I was screaming. My dad's like, can't win. And I remember we exited cause I had to exit the ride in the back. like the shortcut. And then I saw one of the actors, which now I know he was on break, probably just like, I'm hungry. Just walking with his, like to his spot. But I thought he was heading towards me and I started screaming. And I remember my dad being like, I'm very sorry. Just like escorting me out. But, I mean, I fell in love with it after that, obviously, but it was, an experience going to one of the first, like, horror nights ever as a traumatic, like, haunted child. I mean, the horror aspects of, like, any, like, Six Flags is a huge one, but even the only, I don't remember, I literally went to Disney a lot growing up, like, we would drive down to Florida, but the only part I ever remembered of Disney is the one part of the Haunted Mansion. Where you're in the like, you're in the little thing and it points to a mirror and then it puts like a ghost over one of them. And it put the ghost over my grandmother. And I just heard that literally, that's the only thing I remember from all of Disney. And I'm like, but vividly remember that part. Like I can see the skeleton ghost thing over her face and me just being like, if he wasn't chubby or skinny, you got the Hat Box Ghost. But I mean, that was, they did a lot of really good practical, like Disney did a lot of, that thing that we referenced in another video, the, I want to say pet shods, pay shods, but I'm thinking the pet shods, wait, not Chekov, it's the guy's, Penny's ghost, no. Oh, yeah, Penny's ghost. Penny's ghost. Pickles. It's pickles ghost. Let's just go with that. It's pickles ghost. I have no idea what you guys are talking. I know what you're talking about the effect. It's the mirror. So they do it for like the dancing ghosts where it's underneath. It's animatronics that are dance that are just like doing this. And then up top, it just shows the ghost and it's a projection. I just can't there's so many really good videos on YouTube showing how they do all the tricks for the Haunted Mansion. Yeah. It's so cool. It's awesome. Good ol Pickles Ghost. Pickles! Pickles Ghost! Hold up! Practical effects! Holds up! Did you guys grow up going to, like, any carnivals or fairs, like, around Halloween? Oh yeah. Oh my god. Well, we didn't have We had a lot of carnivals, but you look back and you're Oh, it's easy. Definitely easy. Like you're surprised more people didn't have lawsuits. Yeah, though. We did have one of those Six Flags where are one of my favorite, one of my favorite rides got shut down because like someone lost their feet. Oh God, our Six Flags. The one that whips you around. Yeah. Yeah. Don't mess with those. But which is funny because that was just in, Totally Killer. Yeah, I was like, you're gonna lose your feet that way. That's a real thing. It's scary. The best way to get dry though. Yeah, there was a carnival fair, whatever you want to call it, where I grew up called the Blue Hill Fair. And it was every end of summer, like either the right after, what's the holiday now? Labor Day, Memorial Day? Labor Day. Yeah. And in May, that's like what it feels like fall. And so, it definitely, to me, it was always right when you're going back to school, And the air was cold enough to wear a sweater at night, and you could get What is that like? You could buy like candy apples, and like, there'd be like hay bales everywhere. That to me was the feeling of fall, so. Well, we can pretend. We can pretend even though we're sweltering in 107 degree weather today. I mean, I've always wanted the I don't I guess there's like the OC fair, and there's some of those things here, but it's not Yeah, like county fairs? Yeah, it's not something that travels from town to town and just sets up. and creepy, but that a lot in Wisconsin, those came around all the time. But then I think all the fairs that we would also have would just be like strawberry fest, chocolate fest. Yeah, berry like just generic fests that had carnival rides, but the rides always freaked me out. Oh, I know. You always look super dangerous. And the employees working there were always a little like, a little Riff Raff-y. They did have fried butter. Fried Twinkies. Oh, we had this thing called Doughboys on the East Coast that you guys don't have out here. And it is the best. Oh my god. It's like, you'll get it at a fair or at a carnival. It's basically like, what do you, what's that stuff? It's like a funnel cake? But it's not a funnel cake! Funnel cake is like hard and gross. These are like, like flat, and doughy, and delicious, and like flaky, and you like, they slather them in butter, and powdered sugar, a little bit of cinnamon, a little brown sugar, and they dust it all off so it's just coated with it, and that , I swear, I would eat like, ten of them if I could, like, we're describing a funnel, guys, it's not the same, I have a problem, because the minute you said hard and gross, my brain went a different direction, and the entire time you said that, I need to leave because I thought you're talking about, I, it could have made sense in another context. Well, that's how I was talking about a delicious funnel cake. Not a funnel cake. Yes, funnel cake, you did it. Ha it's funnel cake. No, they're, not. They're the same thing, but they're made very differently. And I was so disappointed when I went to like Santa Monica Pier or something like that. Oh, funnel cake, same thing. Not the same thing. Not the same. You maybe just had a bad funnel cake though. No, it's not the same thing, I swear. Some things they just don't eat out here. Never seen fried butter, I just, I've always wanted to taste it just because I'm like It's curious. You've never tried it? No! just because I grew up around it doesn't mean I'm gonna, like, do Like, I'm still grossed out. I've had a fried Oreo, and I've had But I've never tried a fried Twinkie. I didn't even have a Twinkie until adulthood. I've had like maybe two Twinkies in my life, zebra cakes and oatmeal cream pies all the way, right? but like That's what she said, I gotta go. Disgusting. I know. I'm sorry. I'm trying to get fried butter. I was just like, but why? Like a stick, just a stick of butter. on a stick fried. So it looks like a corn dog. But yeah, it's just butter inside. And it just never made sense. I was like, but why? And then like, I wouldn't eat that. But yeah, out here in California, they'd be like, so humans go to a window. And they're like, I'd like that entire stick of butter, please. Yeah, but coat it with fat and oil. K. I mean, Wisconsin, if you fried cheese, I guess you could fry butter. Like, but I'm getting myself a Stay Puft marshmallow from Halloween Horror Nights this year. I keep on seeing them and, they look really, I'm not gonna eat it though. I'm just gonna just save it and have it wrinkle up like, like, like that sad sack of ball right there. So cute. Oh, If you too grew up with hometown haunts and traveling carnivals, then boy howdy, do we have a movie for you! Oh, this week's movie is a classic from horror titan Tobe Hooper. If you haven't guessed yet or read the episode title, we're talking about The Funhouse oh no, I can't remember it. Nevermind, I'm stopping. Rebellious teen Amy defies her parents by going to a trashy carnival that is pulled into town. In tow are her boyfriend, Buzz, and their friends Liz and Richie. Thinking it would be fun to spend the night in the campy, funhouse horror ride, the teens witness a murder by a deformed worker wearing a mask. Locked in, Amy and her friends must evade the murderous carnival workers and escape before it leaves town the next day. I just keep hearing the music in my head. Oh, I love it. Oh, this is one of those movies that like, in my brain, I think of it as kind of grimy. A little bit, yeah. Because it's got, it feels like the carnivals that we've been talking about. they nailed that all together, but then re watching it, I'm completely astounded by like all of the practical things that they pull off in this movie it for the budget that they had and the little crew and, hearing about extras getting sick and things like that. What a shoot. What a shoot. And it has, I think one of my favorite scores, like any horror movie. I love that. It's so dramatic. It's so extra and I love it. so much. It is a very long intro. But I mean, the props that they showcase are cute. Oh, they're so cool. I love that. I love that intro where they have Yeah, it reminds me of Don't Open Till Christmas with the vintage Santa slowly burning. Oh, okay. But this had, I love all the like, puppets and things that I think Tobe Hooper kept a lot of them. Oh, well, I think that's such a, like such a fun way to open it. And then I the opening scene, I always forget about that, too. Because I remember that there's, I The bratty little brother, it's up to shenanigans. But then I always forget that there's like this sort of like Halloween slash Psycho homage, and it's very weird, but cool. It's. It's a little out of place, a little bit, not, but what's weirder is I really do think that little brother is the scariest part of the whole movie because he is a little pervy there, slowly going in, not even doing a quick ha and running away, opening the curtain, seeing his naked sister. and slowly trying to put the knife. Yeah. Well, he does some weird fake slashes first, which I mean, it, I like that it's a very good combination. He has the mask on. So it's Michael Myers. He's attacking the sister. So it's Michael Myers, but then the Psycho and if he was just going like, the only purpose that was like a little long, if it just went to the last one where he was doing this, I think it would have made a little bit more sense. Because at what point is she not just going to be like, right. It was, like shot for shot Psycho. Fair. So that's probably, they just wanted to do that before they got into their thing. But after, when she goes in the bedroom and it's the marionette with a thing in it, and then I thought that the, him, her opening the closet and the Polaroid, I was like, that's funny and that's cute. and it felt real. Yeah. Because this is exactly when, and then she like gets a little violent, fair to be fair. but the, I also liked in the picture where it's like the Frankenstein is behind her and it's like, whoa. I was gonna say, yeah, I love all the art, but they really focus on that, Frankenstein's Monster there. I wonder why. Oh, I mean, I didn't know this was the first time I'd ever seen this movie. Yeah. This, well, it's one of those things where I believe Universal wanted their own Friday the 13th. So You know, obviously there's going to be universal monstery stuff there because they have the rights to that. But I think Tobe Hooper and his crew were like, they're very adamant that this was not a slasher. This was a monster movie. I was going to say when I'm, this is actually might be a little bit of a hot take here. This might, be my favorite Tobe Hooper movie. Maybe I'm not sure, but I love it because. It's, it feels like it's structured, like a slasher movie, but it's a monster movie. And also, this is the first time watching it where I've actually clearly seen clear parallels between this and Texas Chainsaw. I didn't think about that before, but Or, what was that? Sorry to interrupt you, but if you think about this, The parallels between this and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, like, the big over the top sets, the, use of, like, sexuality to try to get away from the monster, and, I think it's interesting to me because a lot of the things that he tried to do In Texas Chainsaw 2, I think we're more effective in funnels. Oh, okay. I didn't even think about that. this came before 2, right? Wait, no. 2 was 86. And this was 81. Yeah, so this was for you still like it's totally Yeah, you can see the influences clearly. But I think Texas Chainsaw was 74. Right? Yeah. Okay. I Yeah, because I was sitting there thinking, okay, so you have Gunther the monster and you have Leatherface. They're somewhat sympathetic characters because they're influenced by their monster family. Yeah. So I see them as not being the actual like the families the actual real head honcho monster of all this. But that's why I see like the structure similar like that. But yeah, it's a monster movie. I don't consider this a slasher, really. No. And I think that there's a lot of really interesting things at play here as far as with the family and the, the father character who's playing like he's like all over the place. Like and I reading like the IMDB trivia, I never realized He's supposed to be three different characters. Me either! I always thought they looked like they're the brothers or something. I didn't realize I thought it was like the same dude running around the carnival. The barker? No, I know, I thought He just had I thought he was just like a guy that wore a lot of hats. Yeah! No, he's supposed to be three different people. Wow. Okay. I didn't, that didn't come across. Oh, yeah. Why couldn't he have just been a guy that likes hats? Look, he's just got a lot of jobs. It's a traveling carnival. You don't got a large crew. And another thing that I found interesting that I had never really picked up on until today, for some reason, this movie really was a huge influence on House of 1000 Corpses had to be I saw like, I took a picture with my phone of like, there's a clown prop in the background. And I was like, Oh, that looks just like Captain Spaulding. No way. Like the idea of the murder ride. And like, I know that Texas Chainsaw is definitely an influence. Yeah. And I was thought that Mother's Day randomly was, but this is definitely another one. I mean, it has to be. Yeah, it has to be. I don't, I've never read about that extensively, but today I was noticing parallels. That's so cool. Well, then they also, very recently. So there's a new Batman, the animated series. That's more for adults. That's on prime. And they did a, an episode at like a fair and it's like, there's a spoilers. There's a brother. And a little and a sister duo and they work at the fair and he's the magician and she's his sister who goes in the from the audience and gets brought up for the trick, which we see here and and then she is a not a murderer. She steals children and sucks the life out of them to continue her life or to feed her life force. And he's instead of being like, aw dammit, you did it again. He's just like, you promised, and you can't take kids, like, too many kids. We said, like, one kid per town, but like, he definitely says it in, like, a better way, but she's just like, oh my god, they're orphans, who cares? Like, they're not gonna be missed. but it was, like, I, there's a lot of this in there, and for those, that to be, like, They've been taking this Batman thing in a different way when they're trying to make the characters more interesting and using, they already used a lot of horror things with, some of their other episodes, a lot of horror homages. So I was like, Oh, and this is another one where they're bringing classic horror back into like this comic book and like merging the worlds. Love it. I didn't expect to see, cause I'd never seen this movie and I was like, Oh, I get it now. Yeah, that's so cool. And, like, something else I really love about this movie are, like, the sets that they've made, and I know that they, actually use, like, a lot of rides, and they imported a lot of fair things to their soundstage or their location, but the funhouse itself feels like a legit funhouse. I thought it was for a second, but I mean, obviously they can't, it couldn't be, but I love that they have Rick Baker doing all these like crazy makeup and like realize that he did the makeup on this. I didn't think about that. Oh my gosh. Well, who else? Who else are you going to have? But the other, I don't know, do you know that he was going to play the monster? Until they have this guy, that was like a professional mime and tap dancer play, which makes him so much less scary when you think about it. Why wasn't he utilized for both of his skills? Right, like a tap dancer! Like distraction, He could have tapped off. It takes, it makes him a lot less scary. There's behind the scenes of him just like, Tapping. Oh, there's his shuffling off to Buffalo now. They made his hands so big and they were like, they put a lot of work into his hands. I can't see it. He does have a lot of grand arm. There's so much drool. There is. He's very slimy. And I love that they lit it to in the scene under the tracks or whatever. It's just like, Oh, that's one of my favorite things. Things about this movie is the lighting and the shots. It's very just by the trailer. You could be like Tobe Hooper directed. It's like just the air with the strobe and the off. This movie to me also like, the whole drama of Poltergeist, like this movie solidifies for me that Tobe Hooper did in fact direct Poltergeist. I see so much of his work and his vision from this to Poltergeist. Absolutely. Another really interesting thing about this movie. is that a lot of people tend to think that it's based off a book. But the book that was written under a pseudonym for, it was Dean Koontz, was actually written before the movie came out, or sorry, it was, the movie had been filmed, and it's based off the movie, but it came out before the movie, and it has a lot of interesting, like, has like a backstory for the mom, and then she's like this overprotective religious person. Her mom? Yeah, it has like so many details that aren't in the movie. I can see that. But are like a companion piece to the movie that if you ever get a chance to read it, you should. I really want to. it's interesting and it's. I love that, what's his face? I don't know his character name, but he looks like a combination of, he looks like if Beau Bridges played Bob in Halloween. What's his character name? The boyfriend of the blonde? Is that Buzz? No, that's not Buzz. Oh, you're talking about, yeah, Richie. Is that his name, Richie? I thought it was Beau Bridges for the longest time, because he looks like Beau Bridges, but I love, his death in this. Oh, is he like, Yeah, because you don't expect it. Out of nowhere, yeah, he just, it's like elongated and you just hear the screaming and that's very, that's when they first show the, wind blowing, lighting effects of the Tobe Hooper world. And it's very dramatic. And I love that. And I love how they were just like, Hey, he's done now. And then he goes through the, what is it called words? the ride seat. He just opens the door and it's just like, here it is. And then, Buzz is like, Oh gosh, they're gonna axe him in the head now. And then they realize it's, they yell at him to tell Buzz to do it. And then they're like, you killed him. just two seconds later, and his face would have been, in the light. And then he has his girlfriend going, ah, chasing after him, like walking with him. To be fair, that's very dramatic. I probably would be doing that too. Like, my biggest issue is, that Buzz looks like he's like 40 and everybody else looks like a teenager. I know! I mean, they, yeah, they all look like they're, 34 and except, Amy. Amy. Amy looks, except in close ups, but she looks, younger. She actually was younger. Yeah, she looks younger. But you knew that guy was gonna get it because he gave A tragic story of his brother locking him in a closet and all this stuff. And then, well, sorry dude. Like that's, you have your, you were like the, not the asshole, but like sealed his thing. The eh, yeah. that guy that everyone, this guy got the written description but eh, yeah. That's, eh, it's like e and then like a bunch of Hs. And then he. He tells the story about his brother traumatizing him when he was a little kid. And it's like, I said, as soon as he said that, I was like, Psh, RIP, that guy's gonna get it. And then they did that with the, the hanging and pulling him up, which was, and even the look of him after going through with the axe in his head was, great. I love that shot. I mean, I think, like, it takes a while to really get to the kills in this movie, but it's fun. Like, it takes you on a night at a carnival in a very real way. Yeah. Like, I've never been to like a carnival with like, what do they call it? Like a hoochie coochie tent. but I distinctly remember my grandpa talking about trying to sneak into them when he was a kid. Is that what it's called? Yes. It's like a burlesque tent. They call it the Hoochie Coochie Tent. That's my new show name, the Hoochie Coochie Tent. Come on in. I feel like if you went to, like, Coney Island, you could still see so much of this stuff. Oh, I love it. And they're probably still like 78 doing it and just Good for them. No, exactly. Good for them. but the, little side show that they had, which I mean, the Sideshow Museum, like we've talked about in a different episode that I went and I loved, love, loved, all that kind of stuff and like the, especially like the deformed animals or they had birth defects and then like seeing it in this movie was like, Oh, that's crazy that they went and got them. Yeah. But the cow, the two headed cow. Yeah. I don't know. Was that? I mean, how did they think it's real? But they found a cleft palate cow and a two headed probably went searching the same time. they used, a, an actual like traveling carnival, animal farm situation. No, but they get, well, they probably had, no, they hired them. Well, no, but I'm saying like those, though there could have been worse fates for those animals than being in a traveling show. I hope they were, I hope they were kept very well. And, I hope they lived a good life. but the, when they went into the room with the, fetus in a jar, I don't know how else to say fetus, her face going in there. I was like, That's me. That's why people look at me weird because I recognize that face. I'm just being like, wow. Yes, two baby in a jar. but that, I didn't mean that baby didn't even look that weird. Did he have the same thing? So that was like a Gunther baby? Yes. Wow. Okay. Yeah. They had him really nicely lit. Again, there's a novelization by Dean Koontz. I want to hear that. Backstory there. Maybe. The world will never know unless you pick up the novel. And there's a lot of, like, other stuff about his adventures. I care what his father says about like, Oh, he's not a bad boy. He just gets himself into some trouble. Yeah. Well, I don't know how good of a boy you are when you're tearing, apart people and R-ing them. Yeah, no, he does say the father does says like, you can do it to the people who live in the town, but you can't do it to your own. You can do it to Madame Zena. Who, by the way, that's going to be me in 20 years. I'm going to be Madame Zena. All things, her fate aside. I just like her real accent. Like, she gets so annoyed with the kids. She's like, Get the f--k out of here and never come back! Like, that's totally She, did something that I feel she earned her money. It's a hard time today, so, I wouldn't put it past, that happening for people, I get it. By the way, we're doing an IndieGoGo! Speaking of, great segue, donate to our campaign! We have a new perk! Oh, to clarify, that was a joke. What's crazy to me is that these kids are just like, hey, it's gonna be fun Just let's like spend the night in the funhouse. Whoo. Whoo. Whoo. Like what a bunch of assholes I know at a time where there was no such thing as cameras everywhere Right and just like oh, my parents are totally gonna be cool this just gonna be like, hey, see you in your friend's house. What I'm confused is how the little kid, the little brother just keeps showing up. They show flashes of him just slowly sneaking around. I was like, how is he not home? What a little D. I mean, I don't think he was really necessary to the movie besides the opening, right? I don't know why he kept. Yeah. I don't know why he was there. I was expecting there to be like. Does he save her? And no, he just looks and he's like, I'm going to get you. I think he's there to bring the parents to collect him so that she could try to shout through the fan and I think that was literally the whole point of that because otherwise I don't know why he was there. It would have been cool if he was more integrated in the finale a little bit, like maybe saving them weirdly. And she's like, thanks. I'm not going to kill you after all. But her friend's death is like, I think my favorite death because that's so brutal. The girl. Yeah. What's her name? It's on the list. But Liz, I love how that shot. I love that with the fan in the background. Yeah, it scares the crap out of me as a kid, though, like it creates a strobe effect. Yeah, but in a practical way. So it's not just like a light like that. Come on. Nowhere like it makes sense. And then she pulls the whole, I know you like girls which I guess technically is a smart move in the moment to try to get psychologically him on your side But well, they try to do that in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 as well with Stretch yeah And I mean it doesn't work out for her much better. But no, I mean at least she survived. Yeah, she's the final girl Yeah, but it's definitely a theme that Tobe Hooper's played with The, I did like with, Buzz's death that even though it doesn't happen, on screen because at first you think he's gonna die, but then he gets saved by his rock hard abs. The, him coming out, like being presented to her on the clown, I thought was really cool. yeah. especially if we weren't going to get an on screen death for him. Love that. It's very Jesus y. It is. Or like Greek tragedy. Yeah. There was something very Greek tragedy about it to me, but it was a clown. Yeah. It's very dramatic. It's scary, because it just, with the music swelling up too, and she's just staring, crying, and you think, oh, is the clown, like, in disguise? Or is it just a statue clown? Was this, like, their first date? Supposedly. I don't think it was. Why didn't you ask me that before? Well, no, I mean, I don't know. No, it was, yeah. I think they knew each other ish, but I think this was their first official, like, okay, we're all going to go out together. So she's easy, is what you're saying. I mean, good for her. Right? Good for her. As long as they're of legal consenting age. Like, she goes on a first date with a dude, and she, like, hooks up with him in the funhouse. I mean, I'm not, I mean, I'm not bullying against her. I can't judge that. Two feet away from her friend, who is also hooking up with someone else. I can't judge that. What the? I remember when I was watching that, I was just like, go to a different room, whatever, it's high school, in high school, you got hormones, they're all high, they're all, but like, I just, I did. I love that. She's like, well, what makes you think I'm a virgin? And then the angry Christian lady just being like, I'm watching. Oh, yeah, the random. Oh, yeah. Worst. And then she came out just to scare the little boy, and then that's it. She reminded me of Alice Cooper from Prince of Darkness. Yes. A lot. Yes. So much. I see that. That's so funny. I mean, yeah, Gunther, is definitely a topic that I think that we should, talk about for a bit. I thought the Gunther mask had some interesting, like, I don't know it, there's certain things that I like other things I've seen that I'm like, are these images too? But this like, he reminded me of The Fly. Yeah. And some I think it's about because the eyes were like farther apart and split down the head. When they'd showed the cleft palate in the cow earlier and all, and then also the two headed, it's like, okay, well, these were picked for a very specific reason because they are going to show the possibilities. But yeah, Gunther's, mask was, a lot of stuff. There was a lot going on with that face and the teeth and everything that he built into it. There was a lot of different parts that all put together to make Gunther, the creature who he was. Yeah, I feel like the only like mobility really had was like his jaw, right? Yeah, which I would have loved to see a little bit more movement with the eye area. Yeah, that's very much like a mask. Yeah, there was no life behind the eyes at the time it was made. And the limitations that they had not being able, now there would have been, it'd be like animatronics, or it would have just been CGI, or they would have done something different, maybe use like one eye was active. Give it a more Jason Voorhees vibe of like one not being there and one being real. but it does take it away. It does take the, so it I felt a little bit, it was difficult for me to connect to him as a real person simply because I was like, I can't, look in their eyes. I'm wondering if that's maybe why he was so exaggerated in every other movement and especially just screaming. He had the whole It was like a Nicolas Cage effect where you want to, you almost want to laugh and I'm sure some people do laugh at the way that he screams, but it almost gets unnerving. To me, it's a little unnerving because it's like, okay, this is a little, ridiculous, but then he just keeps going and screaming and you hear the dramatic music. It's like, this is like, If you saw that if you were there and you saw that you would like melt, that would be just horrific. Yes. I like the whole finale with him too is actually very tense and scary. Like, I think of like, what it must have been like for Amy to be in the haunted house by herself, all of her friends are dead and just knowing that this guy's out there. And like, when I'm at home by myself, And, we have horror props, we have like a, real size Annabelle and stuff. I, , throw a towel over her head, like, it's like, just being around horror things when you know you're alone, and like, it is scary. And, so, I can only imagine just knowing that this creature is looming and out to get you. And it's bad enough, like, in a slasher movie or whatever, if they're chasing in your own home, but if you're in a funhouse where you don't know which way's what, it's bad. At every corner, something's popping out at you like, like, it's just, Oh God, that's terrifying. That is, they get to like the mechanics of it with like all the gears and things like, and she at first when she looks at that, you see it as like, there's no way out. It's something hits it before he does. It's a board or a piece of metal or something drops into it. Since the gears. Yeah, I didn't choose them up. So it shows you what those gears can do before it ever touches him. Yeah. And then by the time she has that final battle with him and you know that you're like, get him, and yeah, you're just like waiting for those gears to chew him up. I also got, I mean, this is my stupid brain. I got sad when he died, even though he's done terrible things and I'm not actually sad, but there's just something underlaying so sympathetic about him. Just, I don't know. No. No, all the bad stuff aside, just growing up. I think of him as like a child growing up and that's what makes me sad. But, yeah. Adult like current him obviously no, but I don't know. There's just something sad they did the prequel if they did the prequel And yes, they'd be very sympathetic. But I did like that, you know, the electrocution and all the different ways was like a little bit about What he also did to other people. Yeah. And we don't really know what he did to Buzz, but the other aspects of it were very much, retribution for what he has done to others. Granted, we don't know. We don't know what he did to all the others, but the others that we got to witness, so it's a nice way to like tie all that in, into one very planned out and intricate death. Yes. Yeah, I know. I was fully there for, usually when they have monster movies, I hate seeing them die at the end because usually it's very sad and this one, it felt earned. So yeah, I had no problem with it. And I love, like, she's, like, leaving and it's the fat lady is just, like, screaming in her face. She looks just destroyed when she's leaving. She is. I, was fully expecting her to hop in the back of a truck and just go and just laugh like Sally. But Tobe's like, I've done that. He's like, nah, it's time for, he's like, everyone else for the next 20 years is going to do what I've already done. So let me mix it up. Let's just have her walk away. And literally the fat lady is going to sing in your face. Yep. The fat lady was the star of the carnival. She was, she traumatized a little boy. She was in the opening. She's everywhere. She's. She is the lead. Well, and I actually love that nobody found her. There were no cops or whatever. She literally just walks like she made it out. And it's crazy with , the camera, zooms out. And we see all the carnival workers just cleaning and starting their day. Nobody's just like, what is this girl wandering out? The ladies there, the Alice Cooper lady is there. Yeah, just like wandering. There's nothing. There's no light of the carnival. She is. There's no response to like, this girl being just Absolutely. Yeah. So I think another thing we really got to talk about is this movie. Like, nobody expected it to be a success. Yeah. Didn't have a giant budget. I think it was what, like three million or something like that. And I believe at the time, and there's so many stories. I don't know which are true. Supposedly he turned Tobe Hooper turned down E. T. to direct this to make this. Yeah. But then there's conflicting things where supposedly the success of this was the reason why Spielberg hired him to do Poltergeist. So I, in my head, I don't know the truth, but in my brain, the story is probably they were looking for a project to work together and Poltergeist ended up being it. whether this movie existed or not, but I don't know. I'm sure that there's a historian out there that knows better than I do. But yeah, this movie came out and critics liked it. It was a big hit. Yeah. And like, if you know anything about Tobe Hooper, a lot of the movies that he made were not hits. Like, not until far after the fact. Same with like, John Carpenter, who's never actually had a hit movie. Mind blowing to me. And a lot of Tobe Hooper's movies were not successful. Some were, some But anyway What else did he do? He did Lifeforce, he did TCM, he did this. He did another one called, It's something he did with Robert Englund as Marquis de Sade. Oh, with the cover? Yeah. That cover scares the crap out of me. Oh, I watched it on repeat when I was a kid. and then, with all the Poltergeist drama that tarnished his legacy. And, I mean, I don't know if it has or it hasn't, but it definitely bums me out when I see it on the internet now. as, a filmmaker and when someone's trying to take something away from someone, and like posting like BTS photos that don't look, that could be taken out of context to, I don't know if you're familiar with it or not, but basically there, there's a big rumor that Spielberg directed Poltergeist. And I don't think that's true either. I'm, assuming he was on set and he had opinions, but. I do think that it was Tobe Hooper's movie. Anyway. Yeah. but yeah, this movie got some like success. And one of the quotes I pulled just because I thought it was so interesting, because you know anything about Siskel and Ebert, they frickin hated horror movies, disparage them whenever they could. And this is a quote from Siskel, where he said, "my final guilty pleasure, a film I'm embarrassed almost to admit I like is a film that starts out like a mad slasher movie, except it turns out to be a rubber knife. Little brothers having fun with the sister, and I don't think I've knocked any other category of film more than the slasher pictures. But this movie, The Funhouse gets beyond that very quickly, where it tells the story of four teenagers, two couples, who visit a carnival and have a lot of fun until one of the guys makes a suggestion to stay a little bit longer. And that's, Siskel. That's not, wow. And like, it was on an episode that was all about guilty pleasures, but, to hear him say that is interesting to me, because I, would say that's something he does not in this career. Siskel was the one who actually got, he got like angry. Yes. At slasher movies. Yeah, they both did. they both, it was hard to get one over on them. Oh wow. And this movie was on one of the first issues of Fangoria's cover. It was issue, Volume 1, issue 11, February 1981. I mean, that's. That's something to write home about, in my opinion. But yeah, it was, definitely a movie. And as I said before, supposedly, if you depending on, which source you believe this movie got him Poltergeist. I believe that. I feel like I believe that. I don't know. I'm mixed on it. I think that they, as I said, I think that they were looking for something to work on together. Yeah, he loves us. It's interesting to talk about. No, it really is. Tobe Hooper really seemed to love the theme of backwards, gritty movies. I, yeah, oh, I'm sorry. He, he seemed to go back to the themes of, like, incest and hillbillies and small town folk. And I wonder why. I don't know much about his childhood or anything like that, or maybe it's like Rob Zombie where that's just something that he gravitated towards. Maybe. When was Deliverance? Was it before? It was 70s, right? Yeah. 70s. Okay. I wonder, maybe that's just an angle that, I don't know if he had a real life encounter, that's something that freaks him out, but. Yeah, I just love that there's the backwoods approach still here, but in a funhouse. It's still a very small town and then, the, carnival folks are definitely portrayed as, a little, A little backwoodsy. A little salt of the earth. Salt of the earth. I like that. But I, think more than, the backwoods aspect, I really love that this part of his career, he started playing with big set pieces of the idea of like, In Texas Chainsaw 2, where when you see the layer that they're living in, it's this like giant cavernous thing. Yeah. Wasn't a shut down carnival too, or what was it? It was, I know it was a mi it was a mine, I think. Yeah. But it looked like it, it was felt very, it elaborate. I mean, I think that hits all the points. Yeah, I, love this movie. It, I remember seeing, when I saw it for the first time, it really affected me, certain things about this. And every time I watch it, I pick up on something new and I just love that it's its own thing. Like it's, a monster movie. It's not a slasher. It's not, We're gonna make Friday the 13th because Halloween was a successful kind of thing, really. Which is what the studio paid for! Exactly, and that's why I think it's hilarious that it's like, You did, sorta? But, it's its own thing, and I love that, and I love just the isolation of the funhouse and oh and to me It's one of those things where you know everything in his filmography pretty much stands alone how many times have people ripped off or like homage his movies sense every single one of them, and He let he has such an iconic career and he has such a strong vision that you know This is one of those movies. It wasn't the first one I ever saw. It wasn't my favorite one that I've ever seen, but it definitely holds a special place in my horror heart. Yeah. I mean, it's a classic for a reason. And, I like it. I like its place in horror and its soundtrack is the best. All right, folks. Well, that seems to be our episode on Funhouse. Let us know what you think and what your favorite Tobe Hooper movie is. Follow us on our socials. we have TikTok and Instagram where you can find the latest in horror news, trailer watches, new release reviews, and plus tons more. Yay! We also have a Patreon, that you can follow for the uncut versions of these where you can see us in our full glory. Well, maybe not full, but full enough glory. All right. Well, until next time, sweet screams, everybody. Whatever you don't fall asleep first.
