The Funhouse

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.