The Funhouse Massacre – Blu-ray Review

The_Funhouse_Massacre_Blu-ray_Cover_Art[tabby title=”The Funhouse Massacre”]

Sometimes you just need to shut your brain off and watch a dumb movie. The Funhouse Massacre is a dumb movie. It’s got sketchy acting and some bad parts, but you know what? It’s a helluva lot of fun to watch. For every bad thing that comes up on the screen, there is two or three fun as hell stuff flying right at you. Be it fun cameos, groovy gore or the occasional booby, The Funhouse Massacre is a low-budget schlockfest, but damn it, you got to check it out! Read on to see why…

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DISCS: 1
RUN-TIME: 90 min
ASPECT RATIO: 2.35:1
RESOLUTION: 1080p
AUDIO: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English 2.0 DTS-HD MA
LANGUAGE: English
SUBTITLES: English
REGION: A/1
RATING: R
PRODUCTION DATE: 2015
RELEASE DATE: June 7, 2016

[tabbyending] [tabby title=”Plot Summary”]

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On Halloween night, a group of the United States’ most notorious serial killers escape from Statesville Asylum and descend upon a giant funhouse whose theme is based on their different reigns of terror. The unsuspecting carnival patrons think that the carnage created at the park is just part of the show… until they become part of the main attraction. The only people left to stop the killers are a rag-tag group of college kids, a clueless deputy (Ben Begley, The Hungover Games) and the local sheriff (Scottie Thompson, Skyline, Before I Wake), who seems to have a strange attachment to the leader of the maniacs, the silver-tongued devil “Mental Manny” (Jere Burns, Justified, Angie Tribeca).

This chilling thriller features supporting turns by horror icons Clint Howard (Evilspeak, The Lords of Salem), Courtney Gains (Children of the Corn, The ‘Burbs) and A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Robert Englund as the warden.

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Things start off on the right foot with The Funhouse Massacre, as Robert Englund graces us with his presence in the first few minutes of the flick. He isn’t in the movie much, but his cameo is very much welcome. Mr. Englund plays the warden of an insane asylum housing several psychos that society just wants to forget about. Of course, this is a horror movie we are talking about here, so we can’t just shove them aside and forget about them. Thanks to the help of the clearly ripping off Harley Quinn, Dollface, five psychos are let loose. You have Rocco (Mars Crain), who is a giant beast of a man; Mr. Suave (Sebastian Siegel), the handsomely insane dentist; Animal (E.E. Bell), the cannibal; Taxidermist (Clint Howard – enough said) and finally Mental Manny (Jere Burns), the master planner and Charles Manson wannabe.

After getting broken out of the asylum, their plan is to run the local funhouse, which is dedicated to each killer’s past history. As the funhouse opens, the public comes in droves to check out the scary good times, but little do they know, the dead bodies are real. People start dropping left and right and it’s up to a group of twenty-something-year-olds, the sheriff, and her inept sidekick to bring down the psychos once and for all.

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The Funhouse Massacre never takes itself seriously and that is something we can be all thankful for. It’s pretty easy nowadays to make a shitty movie and this flick manages to rise above several of those other lesser horror films of now and give us the viewers a gory good time. Yes, it still has that glossy, shot on digital look that all newer low budget films have, but the jokes, for the most part, hit the right spot and the gore comes in waves. There are most certainly problems with the movie. Jere Burns, who plays the lead killer is sorely underused, as is the always reliably creepy Clint Howard. I would have loved to have seen more of the killers doing their dirty work. We do get to hang out with Dollface more than any of the other ones and Candice De Visser does a wonderful job of playing the ripoff character with some flair.

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[tabbyending] [tabby title=”Blu-ray Opinion”]

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Scream Factory does a wonderful job at serving up a Blu-ray worthy of a purchase. The video has the usual too damn clean digital look, but there are no issues with the disc. The audio fares just as well, with a 5.1 and 2.0 audio options to listen to. The special features are surprisingly featured packed for this low budget release, with a couple short behind the scenes look at filming, a Popcorn Talk video commentary with a couple of the cast and crew, and finally an audio commentary with the director Andy Palmer, producer Warner David and actors Clint Howard and Courtney Gains. I was quite surprised at the inclusion of two commentaries for this movie. There is a bit of information regurgitation with the commentaries, but fans of the flick will want to check them both out. All and all, it’s a worthwhile Blu-ray release.

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• Audio Commentary With Director Andy Palmer, Producer Warner Davis And Actors Clint Howard And Courtney Gains
• Popcorn Talk’s Video Commentary With Director Andy Palmer And Co-writers/Co-stars Ben Begley And Renee Dorian (Blu-ray Only)
• A Day On The Set
• Production Diaries
• Theatrical Trailer

[tabbyending] [tabby title=”Verdict”]

I wouldn’t fault you for quickly looking at the cover of The Funhouse Massacre and giving it a pass, but I think you should reconsider. It’s got the right amount of gore, a healthy dose of horror cameos and a plot that is straight and to the bloody point. I say grab your ticket (Blu-ray) and venture into this deadly funhouse.

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