Killer Cuts, Part Four

By DC Green
Part Four of a Series

Killer Cuts #8 - The Funhouse

When I think of movies that exemplify the slasher genre of the 1980s, the usual suspects come to mind (Halloween, Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), but one movie that is often overlooked is Toby Hooper's criminally underrated The Funhouse, which in many ways stands as the anti-slasher film, a movie that, while embracing the conventions of the sub-genre, also seems to eschew them for more iconographical and emotional scares.

This is not to say that The Funhouse is a great movie, or even a great slasher picture...in fact, it sometimes pales in comparison to its more pop-culture friendly kinsman, especially when compared to the only slasher movie to truly transcend the sub-genre, the original Nightmare on Elm Street. The Funhouse is however an interesting and original movie, one that may reignite your old fear of clowns and of all things freakshow.

In many ways this unusually moody and emotionally driven slasher piece displays a deft touch in composition and storytelling that Hooper would later show in Poltergeist, but then subsequently lose all ability to repeat as he shot craptacular scare cinema like Lifeforce and The Mangler.

So when looking for a taste of something different in your slasher cinema, The Funhouse may be just what you need.

Killer Cuts #9 - The Devil's Backbone (El espinazo del diablo)

The Devil's Backbone (El espinazo del diablo) is a spooky and atmospheric ghost tale cum gothic thriller from director Guillermo Del Toro (Blade 2, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth). Taking place at an Spanish orphanage in 1939 during Spain's civil war, The Devil's Backbone tells the tale of Carlos, a newly arrived young boy who finds himself encountering the dead spirit of a former resident, Santi, who appears with a cryptic warning that "many will die."

If and how this tragedy comes to pass, as well as the secret to Santi's mysterious death and other goings-on at the orphanage are all part of the giant mystery that is The Devil's Backbone. Superbly crafted with both beauty and elegance, this gothic gem is as emotionally moving as it is creepy.

As a word of warning, the film was originally shot in Spanish, but for those of you who can't stand reading subtitles, there is a tolerable English dub available as well.