Novelizations became popular at a time when home video was either unavailable or just too expensive to own. So these books were, in essence, cheap keepsakes after seeing and enjoying a film in theaters. In the case of 1981’s The Funhouse, however, the novelization came out first. This was on account of the film, directed by Tobe Hooper, taking longer to complete than originally anticipated. It seemed unwise to release the book first, considering the risk of spoilers. As it turned out, though, it was hard to spoil anything when the novel and film were as different as night and day.
Dean Koontz, who used multiple pseudonyms throughout the early years of his career, had yet to achieve any substantial success when he agreed to write the novelization for The Funhouse. On top of the financial incentive, the proposal of adapting Larry Block’s screenplay simply intrigued Koontz. After all,...
Dean Koontz, who used multiple pseudonyms throughout the early years of his career, had yet to achieve any substantial success when he agreed to write the novelization for The Funhouse. On top of the financial incentive, the proposal of adapting Larry Block’s screenplay simply intrigued Koontz. After all,...
- 3/13/2024
- by Paul Lê
- bloody-disgusting.com
Paul Schrader’s Hardcore is one of the writer-director’s most unabashedly autobiographical films. The opening montage of winter in Grand Rapids, Michigan, contains shots of the street where he grew up, his family members, and places he worked. Schrader has also mentioned in interviews that George S. Scott’s Calvinist furniture manufacturer, Jake Van Dorn, is an equivocal portrait of his father.
That entire sequence is shot through with ambivalence. The Van Dorn clan is depicted with warmth and hominess, but there are cracks evident in the facade: the disapproving comments about modern media; the passive-aggressive way in which the emotionally distant Jake talks down to a female employee; and the absence of a presiding maternal figure.
When his daughter, Kristen (Ilah Davis), inexplicably goes missing on a church trip to California, Jake is determined to track her down with the help of Andy Mast (Peter Boyle), a morally...
That entire sequence is shot through with ambivalence. The Van Dorn clan is depicted with warmth and hominess, but there are cracks evident in the facade: the disapproving comments about modern media; the passive-aggressive way in which the emotionally distant Jake talks down to a female employee; and the absence of a presiding maternal figure.
When his daughter, Kristen (Ilah Davis), inexplicably goes missing on a church trip to California, Jake is determined to track her down with the help of Andy Mast (Peter Boyle), a morally...
- 9/6/2023
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
It’s time for a new episode of The Manson Brothers Show, the video series hosted by the writers/stars of the horror comedy The Manson Brothers Midnight Zombie Massacre – Chris Margetis (Stone Manson) and Mike Carey (Skull Manson)! In this one, the Boys take in a viewing of the 1981 slasher The Funhouse (watch it Here), which was directed by the legendary Tobe Hooper To find out what they had to say about the film, check out the video embedded above!
Scripted by Larry Block, The Funhouse has the following synopsis: Rebellious teen Amy defies her parents by going to a trashy carnival that has pulled into town. In tow are her boyfriend, Buzz, and their friends Liz, and Richie. Thinking it would be fun to spend the night in the campy “Funhouse” horror ride, the teens witness a murder by a deformed worker wearing a mask. Locked in, Amy...
Scripted by Larry Block, The Funhouse has the following synopsis: Rebellious teen Amy defies her parents by going to a trashy carnival that has pulled into town. In tow are her boyfriend, Buzz, and their friends Liz, and Richie. Thinking it would be fun to spend the night in the campy “Funhouse” horror ride, the teens witness a murder by a deformed worker wearing a mask. Locked in, Amy...
- 3/1/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
A new episode of the Real Slashers video series has just been released, and in this one we’re looking at one of the more underrated films on director Tobe Hooper‘s list of classics: the 1981 release The Funhouse (watch it Here). To find out all about The Funhouse, check out the video embedded above!
Scripted by Larry Block, The Funhouse has the following synopsis: Rebellious teen Amy defies her parents by going to a trashy carnival that has pulled into town. In tow are her boyfriend, Buzz, and their friends Liz and Richie. Thinking it would be fun to spend the night in the campy “Funhouse” horror ride, the teens witness a murder by a deformed worker wearing a mask. Locked in, Amy and her friends must evade the murderous carnival workers and escape before it leaves town the next day.
The film stars Elizabeth Berridge, Cooper Huckabee, Largo Woodruff,...
Scripted by Larry Block, The Funhouse has the following synopsis: Rebellious teen Amy defies her parents by going to a trashy carnival that has pulled into town. In tow are her boyfriend, Buzz, and their friends Liz and Richie. Thinking it would be fun to spend the night in the campy “Funhouse” horror ride, the teens witness a murder by a deformed worker wearing a mask. Locked in, Amy and her friends must evade the murderous carnival workers and escape before it leaves town the next day.
The film stars Elizabeth Berridge, Cooper Huckabee, Largo Woodruff,...
- 9/22/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
1940: Portia Faces Life premiered on CBS Radio.
1980: Edge of Night's Clown Puppet killer claimed its first victim.
1991: Y&R's David died in a trash compactor.
1997: One Life to Live's Tea fell out a window."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1940: Radio soap opera Portia Faces Life debuted on CBS, sponsored by General Foods during its entire run on radio. The series had premiered early in 1940 on radio station Wnac in Boston, then moved to Wls in Chicago, Krld in Dallas, Kgw in Portland and Kfi in Los Angeles before moving to the CBS network.
1980: Edge of Night's Clown Puppet killer claimed its first victim.
1991: Y&R's David died in a trash compactor.
1997: One Life to Live's Tea fell out a window."The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1940: Radio soap opera Portia Faces Life debuted on CBS, sponsored by General Foods during its entire run on radio. The series had premiered early in 1940 on radio station Wnac in Boston, then moved to Wls in Chicago, Krld in Dallas, Kgw in Portland and Kfi in Los Angeles before moving to the CBS network.
- 10/10/2018
- by Roger Newcomb
- We Love Soaps
Burt Reynolds, one of We Are Movie Geeks favorite actors, has died! Burt suffered cardiac arrest and was taken to Jupiter Medical Center in Florida, where he died at age 82. Rip Burt.
On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV job or theater role. Burt was spotted in a New York City stage production of Mister Roberts and signed to a TV contract and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series,...
On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV job or theater role. Burt was spotted in a New York City stage production of Mister Roberts and signed to a TV contract and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series,...
- 9/6/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Given the title character’s reputation for bending time, perhaps it’s fitting that a decades-old draft for a Doctor Strange movie came back to haunt one of the writers of the 2016 film.
Screenwriter and novelist C. Robert Cargill this week recalls how a complaint from Bob Gale – who worked on the script for an early, unsuccessful attempt at bringing the Sorcerer Supreme to the big screen – brought Cargill into contact with a long, messy history of unrealized scripts and shifting ownership.
I lost an entire Christmas after Doctor Strange came out… A month after the movie goes out I get a phone call. The WGA says, ‘Okay, we’ve got a problem. Bob Gale just contacted us and said that he wrote a draft in 1984 of Doctor Strange and he feels that that was borrowed for this film.’ And I’m like, ‘Wait, Bob Gale as in the guy...
Screenwriter and novelist C. Robert Cargill this week recalls how a complaint from Bob Gale – who worked on the script for an early, unsuccessful attempt at bringing the Sorcerer Supreme to the big screen – brought Cargill into contact with a long, messy history of unrealized scripts and shifting ownership.
I lost an entire Christmas after Doctor Strange came out… A month after the movie goes out I get a phone call. The WGA says, ‘Okay, we’ve got a problem. Bob Gale just contacted us and said that he wrote a draft in 1984 of Doctor Strange and he feels that that was borrowed for this film.’ And I’m like, ‘Wait, Bob Gale as in the guy...
- 6/15/2018
- by David Pountain
- We Got This Covered
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Travis Keune, and Tom Stockman
Burt Reynolds, one of We Are Movie Geeks favorite actors, turns 80 today. Happy Birthday Burt!
On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV job or theater role. Burt was spotted in a New York City stage production of Mister Roberts and signed to a TV contract and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series, Hawk...
Burt Reynolds, one of We Are Movie Geeks favorite actors, turns 80 today. Happy Birthday Burt!
On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants and clubs while pulling the odd TV job or theater role. Burt was spotted in a New York City stage production of Mister Roberts and signed to a TV contract and eventually had recurring roles in such shows as Gunsmoke (1955), Riverboat (1959) and his own series, Hawk...
- 2/11/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Travis Keune, and Tom Stockman
We like to celebrate the movie tough guys of the ’70s here at We Are Movie Geeks and at Super-8 Movie Madness. We’ve posted Top Ten lists to tie into Super-8 shows featuring Charles Bronson (Here), Clint Eastwood (Here), and Lee Marvin (Here). This month we’re going to honor the #1 top money-making star for five consecutive years – 1978 – 1982 – Burt Reynolds. On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants...
We like to celebrate the movie tough guys of the ’70s here at We Are Movie Geeks and at Super-8 Movie Madness. We’ve posted Top Ten lists to tie into Super-8 shows featuring Charles Bronson (Here), Clint Eastwood (Here), and Lee Marvin (Here). This month we’re going to honor the #1 top money-making star for five consecutive years – 1978 – 1982 – Burt Reynolds. On February 11th, 1936, Reynolds was born in Waycross, Georgia, before his family moved to Jupiter Florida, where his father served as Chief of Police. Young Burt excelled at sports and played football at Florida State University. He became an All Star Southern Conference halfback (and was earmarked by the Baltimore Colts) before injuries sidelined his football career. He dropped out of college and headed to New York with dreams of becoming an actor. There he worked in restaurants...
- 11/28/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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