A lot of people hate this movie because of how violent it is. Sure, it's gruesome, but there have far more violent movies since its 1980 release. If you can look past the violence, this is a great movie. Maniac is a slasher/thriller, and if there's one thing slasher movies are notorious for, it's being crappy. This is one of the few slasher movies that actually bothered to try to be a good movie. And it excels in every category.
The story was original for the time, before slasher movies became really popular, and the script itself is truly disturbing. It centers around Frank Zito, a psycho who takes up killing women as a result of his tormented childhood. The characters are all fairly believable, but Frank in particular is horrifically captivating. The character development is spectacular, and we really get to see into Frank's mind, and it's a very disturbing look. Speaking of which, Tom Savini did the makeup for this movie, and he is excellent at what he does. The special effects and makeup for the deathscenes are very realistic, and most of them still hold up pretty well.
The cinematography is really nice, too. There's a lot of handheld and point-of-view shots, giving the movie and almost documentary-like feel to it at times. The score is really cool, too; it's a very creepy synthesizer-based score. The acting from the minor characters is decent, but Joe Spinell steals the show, being the main character and such.He looks and sounds like a regular guy most of the time, and that just makes him all the creepier.
Strangely enough, the ending is very bizarre and surreal, but it's fitting, given that the main character is mentally unstable, and we're not sure whether it's all going on inside his head or not.
Overall, this is a very unnerving, suspenseful, and downright disturbing movie. Highly recommended for those with a strong stomach and a taste for exploitation-type movies.
Quality: 4/5
Enjoyment: 5/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081114/
January 2, 2012
Movie Review- The Funhouse
Today's Movie- The Funhouse (Carnival of Terror)
The Funhouse, also known as "Carnival of Terror", is an often overlooked slasher flick from the early 1980's. Seeing as I like underrated movies like this, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I can totally see why this gets overlooked. It's directed by Tobe Hooper, of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Poltergeist" fame. He made this movie a lot better than it could have been.
I both liked and disliked this movie. On one hand, it has some of the best cinematography I've seen in a slasher movie, but on the other hand, the script is very boring and not scary in the least. The setting is a nice change-up from the usual slasher fare, it takes place in a seedy travelling carnival. But while it's a nifty location, the script doesn't take much advantage of the potential the setting had. The plot is just like any other slasher movie; a bunch of dumb teens get chopped up by a deformed psycho. But the originality put into the film falls flat. Heck, we aren't even introduced to the killer until more than halfway through the film. And when the killer does show up, he looks like a guy wearing a bat mask. On top of that, he does nothing but scream the whole time, which gets really annoying.
While the body count is pretty high (six people including the villains), they're very bland and not at all inventive. Even the villain's death is boring, which was really disappointing. And to make matters worse, nobody dies until about two-thirds of the way into the movie, so we're forced to sit through an hour of virtually nothing happening. The main characters pretty much just hang out at the carnival for an hour, and there's a weird subplot about the main character's little brother who pretty much just hangs out at the carnival, too. The acting is pretty lame, as well; the actresses virtually do nothing but scream for the last third of the movie, and the guys aren't any better. The characters themselves are unlikable, though, so that doesn't really help their performances.
Overall, a strange combo of crap and some nice cinematography. It's not a good film by any means, but it isn't terrible. As I said, I simultaneously liked and disliked the movie. If you're looking for a slasher movie that isn't Friday the 13th, I'd give this one a watch. Heck, you might enjoy it more than I did.
Quality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 3/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082427/
The Funhouse, also known as "Carnival of Terror", is an often overlooked slasher flick from the early 1980's. Seeing as I like underrated movies like this, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I can totally see why this gets overlooked. It's directed by Tobe Hooper, of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Poltergeist" fame. He made this movie a lot better than it could have been.
I both liked and disliked this movie. On one hand, it has some of the best cinematography I've seen in a slasher movie, but on the other hand, the script is very boring and not scary in the least. The setting is a nice change-up from the usual slasher fare, it takes place in a seedy travelling carnival. But while it's a nifty location, the script doesn't take much advantage of the potential the setting had. The plot is just like any other slasher movie; a bunch of dumb teens get chopped up by a deformed psycho. But the originality put into the film falls flat. Heck, we aren't even introduced to the killer until more than halfway through the film. And when the killer does show up, he looks like a guy wearing a bat mask. On top of that, he does nothing but scream the whole time, which gets really annoying.
While the body count is pretty high (six people including the villains), they're very bland and not at all inventive. Even the villain's death is boring, which was really disappointing. And to make matters worse, nobody dies until about two-thirds of the way into the movie, so we're forced to sit through an hour of virtually nothing happening. The main characters pretty much just hang out at the carnival for an hour, and there's a weird subplot about the main character's little brother who pretty much just hangs out at the carnival, too. The acting is pretty lame, as well; the actresses virtually do nothing but scream for the last third of the movie, and the guys aren't any better. The characters themselves are unlikable, though, so that doesn't really help their performances.
Overall, a strange combo of crap and some nice cinematography. It's not a good film by any means, but it isn't terrible. As I said, I simultaneously liked and disliked the movie. If you're looking for a slasher movie that isn't Friday the 13th, I'd give this one a watch. Heck, you might enjoy it more than I did.
Quality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 3/5
IMDB Page- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082427/
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