NEW BLOOD: THE FUNHOUSE MASSACRE

THE FUNHOUSE MASSACRE
Petri/Scream/Shout 2015 color 90 Mins. Horror/Comedy Robert Englund, Clint Howard, Matt Angel, Courtney Gains, Mars Crain, Candice De Visser, Ben Begley, Michael Eric Reid, Leigh Parker Sebastian Siegel and Jere Burns star. 
Written by Ben Begley Directed by Andy Palmer.
Rated R for language, violence, gore, sexuality, nudity and drug use.

I've seen some mixed reception on this one from horror fans. And after seeing it, I can't understand why. Funhouse Massacre is a nasty little fright flick. It never tries to be anything more than what it is. It's sort of an homage to great slashers of yesteryear but more than that it's a welcome return to form for fun horror. Nowadays most genre films just take themselves way too seriously. The setup is simple a group of sadistic psychopaths are broken out of a mental ward and set up shop at a local scare attraction on Halloween highlighting their infamous crimes. Before you know it their killing spree begins in some innovative and delightfully gruesome ways from a trip to the dentist to taxidermy, a psychadelic funhouse walk and a nasty little day in school amongst others. 

. "Funhouse" feels like a lot of other movies from Texas Chainsaw to House of a 1000 Corpses to Night of the Demons to Scream and truth be told it does seem to borrow liberally from them and many others. But it is it's own thing altogether. My one complaint would be that they didn't really seem to develop any of the villains. They do have personalty and presence but lack the execution to be iconic. Not the same can be said for the victims which share a good amount of screen time individually and together and mostly play everything up for laughs. 

The movie is cleverly directed by Andy Palmer whom I hope will continue in the genre with more fun flicks and the screenplay by Ben Begley who also is Sheriff Doyle in the film is inspired  it's filled with lots of fun horror tropes and a few interesting spins on genre cliches. The gore is aplenty and looks good but never feels too realistic. The film smartly stays in the fun category amping up the entertainment value. It's packed with laughs, scares and lots of gory delights it may not have made the impact it deserved in it's initial release but will no doubt find a cult following. I myself am adding it to my ever growing rooster of annual Halloween horror flicks. Horror alum Robert Englund, Clint Howard and Courtney Gains show up for cameos and some standout members of the cast are the sexy and hilarious Matt Angel as Morgan, the gorgeous and funny Ben Begley as Sheriff Doyle and  the talented Renee Dorian as Laurie. And as for the villains who roam the funhouse walls Candice De Visser is fun as Dollface in her best Baby Firefly impression, Mars Crain is one hell of an intimidating presence as Rocco and the hunky Sebastian Siegel hams it up as the killer dentist Dr. Suave. 

Now if any of these things sound fun to you. You will enjoy the hell out of this film. However if you find yourself more a fan of serious horror steer clear because this attraction is not up your cinematic alley. It's a fun infectious horror romp that's worth the price of admission! ****.5/5