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The Funhouse

The Funhouse is a 1981 film from the USA, directed by Tobe Hooper, running 96 minutes. reelscum files it under slasher.

Poster for The Funhouse
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Year
1981 · 1980s films
Country
USA
Runtime
96 min
Director
Tobe Hooper
Updated
29 Oct 2026
Obscurity
known (31/100)
Also known as
Massacres dans le train fantôme · Funhouse: Carnival of Terror
Banned in
UK

Defined in the glossary: Slasher

⊘ Banned in UK

Swept onto the DPP list largely on its title, a comparatively tame entry that was later cleared.

Tobe Hooper does a carnival slasher. A deformed killer, a hall of mirrors, and real dread.

Tobe Hooper's studio slasher, in which four teenagers hide overnight in a travelling carnival funhouse and are hunted by its deformed attraction and his barker father. Hooper brings the same feel for grimy Americana that made Texas Chain Saw work, and the carnival setting is eerie.

It is slower and moodier than the Friday the 13th pack, more interested in atmosphere than body count, and the monster is a sad, grotesque creation rather than a blank killer. A more crafted slasher than most, from a real horror director.

Something else

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Legal options in USA

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