The Funhouse

The Funhouse is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Tobe Hooper, written by Larry Block and starring Elizabeth Berridge, Kevin Conway, William Finley, Cooper Huckabee, Miles Chapin, Largo Woodruff, Wayne Doba, and Sylvia Miles. The film's plot concerns four Midwestern teenagers who become trapped in a dark ride at a traveling carnival and are stalked by a mentally handicapped albino killer. A Universal Pictures production, The Funhouse was director Hooper's first major studio film after The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Eaten Alive (1976). Its producers were inspired to produce a successful teenage-themed horror film following the major financial success of Paramount's slasher Friday the 13th (1980). Though the film is set in Iowa, principal photography took place on backlots at Norin Studios in Miami, Florida. Upon its release on March 13, 1981, The Funhouse was a commercial disappointment, but received mixed to positive reviews from critics with praise for its atmosphere, cinematography and Kevin Conway's performance but criticisms for its pacing and comparisons to Tobe Hooper's other works. Contemporary film scholars and critics have noted that the film continues Hooper's recurring theme of family as seen in his previous films. A novelization of the film by Dean Koontz was released prior to its release, with Koontz using the pseudonym Owen West.