Wow! No comments for this film?
I'm going to have to disagree with this review, as I thought this film was very good. It was not dimly lit at all as the reviewer claimed, even though the main focus of the film was the teens staying the "night" in a "closed" funhouse.
Even though it does take close to an hour for the real terror and killing to begin, I felt the build up was excellent. The carnival folk, attractions and funfare in general I found to be very creepy. The monster, when finally revealed is a brilliant bit of design, with matted white hair, piercing red eyes and it possesses a horrible blood curdling shriek. Obviously this film is nowhere near the sheer, menacing class of Chainsaw Massacre, but Tobe Hooper deserves more credit for this one. A totally capable 80's slasher/monster flick, with my only gripe being the cover/artwork used, that is misleading to an extent. I've read comments on other sites people have left about this film and I know they haven't actually sat and watched this. The killer is not a clown, but a circus freak in a frankenstein mask. But again, highly recommended.