The Funhouse(1981)

R
1h 36m
- Horror

Release Date: Mar 13, 1981 | Moderate

Teenage Amy Harper, her boyfriend Buzz Dawson, and their friends Richie Atterbury and Liz Duncan visit a local carnival for a night of innocent amusement, but soon witness a fortune teller's murder and find that the exits are locked.

Releases

Original Release | Mar 13, 1981

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Box Office Results

Updated as of May 14, 2026 11:55 AM ET

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$2,765,456
Total US & Canada:
$7,886,857
Total International
$142
Total Worldwide:
$7,886,999

Current Showtimes

Your Location or

(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

Tobe Hooper
Director

Elizabeth Berridge
Amy Harper

Shawn Carson
Joey Harper

Jeanne Austin
Mrs. Harper

Jack McDermott
Mr. Harper

Cooper Huckabee
Buzz Dawson

Largo Woodruff

Liz Duncan

Miles Chapin

Richie Atterbury

David Carson

Geek

Sonia Zomina

Bag Lady

Ralph Morino

Truck Driver

Kevin Conway

Freak Show Barker, Strip Show Barker, Funhouse Barker

Herb Robins

Carnival Manager

Mona Agar

Strip Show Dancer

Wayne Doba

The Monster

William Finley

Marco the Magnificent

Susie Malnik

Carmella

Sylvia Miles

Madame Zena

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo

Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

Against her stern father's orders, teenager Amy Harper visits a sleazy traveling fun fair with her new boyfriend Buzz, her best friend Liz, and Liz's irresponsible boyfriend, Richie. At the carnival, the four teens smoke marijuana, peep into a 21-and-over strip show, heckle fortune teller Madame Zena, visit the freaks-of-nature exhibit, and view a seedy magic show. Amy's 10-year-old brother, Joey, sneaks out of the house to go to the carnival as well. Richie dares the group to spend the night in "The Funhouse" - actually a dark ride. After the park closes, the teenagers sneak back into the fairgrounds settle down inside the ride, at which point they witness the ride assistant (a man in a Frankenstein suit who never speaks) engage Madame Zena as a prostitute. He experiences premature ejaculation, but despite nothing physical having happened, Zena won't return her $100 fee. He strangles her to death in a violent rage.The teenagers try to leave, but find themselves locked inside the ride. As they attempt to escape, Richie secretly steals the money from the strongbox from which "Frankenstein's monster" took Zena's fee.The fun fair's barker, Conrad Straker, then discovers what "Frankenstein's monster" (his adopted son Gunther) has done to Zena. Conrad also promptly realizes that all the money from the strongbox is missing. Thinking Gunther took it, he attacks his son, at which point Gunther's mask is removed, revealing a gruesomely deformed face with sharp protruding teeth and ruby-red eyes.When Richie's lighter falls from the teens' vantage point, Conrad realizes someone is watching. At this point, Conrad and his "monster" son Gunther then stalks through the ride to eliminate any witnesses after also heckling the reluctant Gunther into a murderous rage. Throughout the ride, various props readily double as murder weapons.Meanwhile outside the funhouse, Joey hangs around the dark carnival after it closes for he witnessed Amy and her friends enter the funhouse but did not come out. While searching for a way in, Joey is suprised by the appearance of the unmasked Gunther/Monster at an air vent and attempts to flee only to be found by the other carnival workers who call his parents to pick him up. Mr. and Mrs. Harper soon arrive to pick up the clearly traumatized Joey to take him home (with the implication they will beat him as punishment for sneaking out to go to the carnival). Joey is unable to speak and thus explain to his stern and abusive parents that Amy and her friends are still inside the funhouse.Trapped in the funhouse, the teens quickly die one at a time by the hands of Conrad and Gunther. Richie is first when Gunther throws a noose around his neck and he is strangled to death. Liz is next when she falls through a trapdoor in the floor to a hidden air vent where Gunther approaches. She attempts to sexualy intice the sex-starved monster who lets his guard down for a mintue and Liz stabbs him with a dagger. Wounded but angry, Gunther snatches the dagger away and viciously stabbs Liz to death.Meanwhile, Amy and Buzz attempt to break out of the funhouse through one of the exit ride doors only to be confronted by a gun-toting Conrad. The barker tells them that he is only protecting his son from the authorties and implies that Gunther had previously killed two teenage girls a few months earlier whom inticed him. Just then, Buzz lunges at Conrad to wrestle the gun away from him and manages to impail the barker against a prop sword. Just then Gunther the monster arrives and seeing his father dead, attacks Buzz who attemps to shoot him. Amy is forced to run only to find Buzz's dead body a minute later after Gunther apparently wrestled the pistol away from Buzz and shot him with it.With only Amy remaining, she is terrorized by the funhouse props and dummys which leads her to flee to funhouse maintenance area underneath the building where Gunther follows her to kill her as well leading to the suspenseful, climactic showdown. Amy defends herself with a crowbar against Gunther the monster who grabs the crowbar away from her only to get electrocuted on a nearby fuse box when he swings the crowbar to strike Amy where he is then caugh on a track chain that controls the moving cars through the funhouse. But Gunther revives and grabs Amy only to get crushed to death when the track chain drags him through two spinning gears as Amy screams.As dawn breaks, an exhausted and shaken Amy emerges from the funhouse through the broken down doors while the animatronic fat lady perched atop the ride laughs. Amy then slowly walks out of the deserted carnival, passing a few carnival workers taking down the rides and tents as she heads for home.

Storyline

Teenage Amy Harper dates Buzz Dawson for the first time and they go to the carnival with their friends Richie and Liz. They smoke grass and have a good time visiting the attractions including a sideshow with freak animals. The silly Richie suggests the group to spend the night in the Funhouse for fun. During the night, they witness the murder of fortuneteller Madame Zena by a man wearing a Frankenstein mask from an opening in the ceiling of a room. They decide to leave the funhouse but all the exits are locked. Meanwhile, Richie sneaks into the room and steals the funhouse manager's money. The masked man returns with his father and owner of the funhouse to show the corpse of Madame Zena; when the man realizes that he had been robbed, he presses his son, who removes the mask and shows his horrible face. Richie starts and drops his lighter in the room. The owner asks his freak son to chase the thieves and eyewitnesses in a night of terror for the teenagers. — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Two young couples on a double date go to a mysterious carnival. As a prank they decide to spend the night in the funhouse. When they witness a brutal murder, they suddenly find themselves in horrific danger. — Sean V. Taylor <st52@cornell.edu> Teenagers Amy Harper, Buzz Klemmet, Richie Atterbury, and Liz Duncan travel to the carnival which has just come to town, for some fun. As the night begins to come to an end, Liz suggests they stay the night in the funhouse. They all agree and decide to take the last ride before the attraction shuts down. As they stay in the funhouse, the four witness a horrific murder against a psychic reader by a very big man in a Frankenstein mask, also Richie takes some of the money earned by the man who runs the funhouse. The owner is furious about the missing money and sends his son Gunther, who killed the reader, to take care of the thieves. Now the four are locked in the funhouse, being stalked and killed one by one. — jaydasnay88