10 Things You Didn't Know About Tobe Hooper's The Funhouse
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In celebrating the work of Tobe Hooper, Talk Horror presents ten things you didn’t know about The Funhouse.
#1: Director Tobe Hooper actually turned down Steven Spielberg when asked if he would like to direct E.T. so he could direct The Funhouse. The pair would later work on the legendary horror film: Poltergeist.
#2: The film’s opening seem familiar? It was a direct homage to both the opening of Halloween and the infamous shower scene in Psycho.
#3: The production took full advantage of being made by Universal and it shows with all the references to their stable of monsters. This includes posters, props and even a clip used from Bride of Frankenstein.
#4: Dean Koontz actually wrote a novel tie in under the pen name Owen West. Later Koontz would expand the idea and use his real name.
#5: A string of bad luck haunted the production including director Tobe Hopper being bitten by a brown recluse spider and narrowly escaping a serious injury involving a cog. An accident occurred with one of the rides leaving some of the poor extras stuck for a full half hour. Thankfully besides being sick nobody was seriously hurt.
#6: Some of horror obsessed Joey’s props belonged to famed entertainer Shari Lewis. Lewis was of course known for her sidekick Lamp Chop.
#7: Speaking of props Hooper re-used some of the film props when he directed the Billy Idol video Dancing with Myself.
#8: In a clever bit of marketing the poster of the beasts open mouth was meant to be a parody of The Rocky Horror Picture Show a fact that went over a lot of people’s heads.
#9: Obviously referencing Texas Chainsaw Massacre the original French title translates to Massacres on a Ghost Train. This is, of course, odd considering there are zero ghosts or trains.
#10: Legendary award winning special effects wizard Rob Bottin was originally going to play the monster until Hooper saw mime actor Wayne Doba and decided he had the right skills for the role.
That’s our list, did we forget anything? Please let us know in the comments below and if you enjoyed the thrill ride please check out our other videos and hit the subscribe button.