Funny Man [1994]

EMM# : 10052
Added: 2017-11-04

Funny Man (1994)
He's cheeky & he's cruel!

Rating: 4.7

Movie Details:

Genre: Comedy (Horror)

Length: 1 h 33 min - 93 min

Video: 1792x1072 (24.000 Fps - 2 050 Kbps)

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Location:

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When Max Taylor wins the ancestral home of Callum Chance in a game of Poker, little does he realise that the game is far from over... One by one, Max's family are murdered by the Funny Man, a demonic jester with a varied and imaginative repertoire of homicidal techniques and an irreverent sense of humour. Meanwhile, Max's brother is on his way to the mansion with a bunch on hitchhikers who will be lucky to survive the night. Written by

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Afracious from England
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Disregard the many negative reviews of this film below. It is actually an odd little hidden gem. The story is about a man who wins a card game against Christopher Lee, who then gives him his large old house. The man moves into the house with his family, and they soon discover a sinister jester who resides there, the Funnyman.

This pesky little guy kills people in different ways; some of them are outrageously gory and over the top, and a little bit like Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead. The joker also speaks in a variety of British accents, and takes on different personas, such as a club owner, a footballer, and a few other weird guises.

The film is low budget and very English, and may not appeal to overseas audiences; but it's a worthy effort considering its budget. If you want a horror film with comical gory scenes, dark humour, sprinkles of English silliness, and something different, check out the Funnyman. You might like it.

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kasimpeter-1 from London, England
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The heavy-handed criticism levelled at this film by certain reviewers is mostly irrelevant. This film has merit far-beyond being a simple Freddy Krueger rip-off and is not , i suspect, intended to be that scary. It's British humour of the highest order, and along with this comes the sad inevitability that it will alienate many international viewers. The direction and acting is, for the most part, spot-on, don't confuse this with the crude and meaningless no-talent b-movie drivel that has come to typify the genre. Sure, it's low budget, and it's certainly shallow in the plot department, but the film is all the more charming for such "shortcomings", with a brilliantly hilarious and understated script and production values which clearly display a labour of love on the filmmaker's part. I sincerely urge anyone who has a taste for British humour to investigate. If, like many of the critics here, you don't "get it", then you simply won't, but if you do, you will absolutely adore this film.

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Fenris Fil from Brighton, England
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I was suprised to see how low this film has rated. I guess it's been watched by a lot of people that either don't like horror at all or are too caught up in a particular genre to get this.

It's very tounge in cheek, which many simple people won't get. However it has the distinction of being one of the few horror comedies around that is both funny and eerie/disturbing.

The Thelma (from scoobie doo) character was hilarious, especially when she died, and I couldn't help but think of that when that awful Scoobie doo film came out. They should have hired the woman from funny man.

The relation between Christopher Lee's character and the fates of those in the house reminded me a lot of Hammer Horror. But then you can probably drop Chris Lee into any cheap horror and immediately raise the standard. His minor involvement worked for me. Tim James was brilliant as the killer. His Yorkshire accent along with some of his lines had me convinved it was Shawn Bean right up until the end credits. He is the kind of movie bad guy that you could see spawning endless sequels, and while he may not be on the level of a Fred Krueger he's way above the level of a Chucky.

The effects, the set and the sound track are all quite cheap, but you don't need a big budget to make a good movie and this demonstrates that.

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ladymidath (ladymidath@gmail.com) from Australia
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I admit I had to watch this movie a couple of times before I could really appreciate the weird humour and bloody violence that it had to offer. Funny Man is a movie that is totally different in every way. It is not the usual horror fare that is served up to us and there a moments when you really laugh out loud at the nasty little jester's murderous antics. As usual, Christopher Lee is perfect in his role as Mr Chance and raises the film to a higher level. The other actors are fine in their roles but Tim James as the Funny Man was brilliant. This is a film that you will either love or loathe, but one thing is sure, you won't forget it in a hurry.

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CaptainBirdcat from United Kingdom
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Fantastic horror comedy. If your looking for a film to make you laugh out loud for an hour and a half this could be it. Especially if you like the sillier side of British humour. It's not quite up there with the Monty Python boys (but then again tell me who is) but add in the gore and the tongue in cheek approach to the horror and you've got more than a pleasant film. After I watched it the 1st time I had no idea what the plot was but at the same time didn't care. I was just happy that I had. If your having your mates round for a few, and you want a film that is funny without being too involving or taxing on the brain than this is perfect

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Lovecraft-Fan from Lakeland
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I didn't know what to expect from this film when I watched it, but I was vastly amused. If you like the Monty Python variety of British comedy, and the Nightmare on Elm Street type of horror, you should check this movie out. It doesn't really make sense or have any sort of real plot, but hey, what the hell does? Overall, an amusing horror film, made me laugh more than a few times.

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Erewhon from Los Angeles, California
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The makers of FUNNY MAN seem to have wanted to create a 100% English version of such wisecracking horror figures as Freddy Krueger, and the figure they've chosen seems on the mark: he's a living embodiment of a joker from a deck of cards. Other joker/jester images are scattered throughout the film.

But the problems overwhelm the movie: to begin with, there's no story. A guy wins a house in a card game (why is the card game in the U.S.?) and moves into it. The Funny Man promptly erupts from the floor and starts killing the new arrivals, including some others who show up later on. But at no point is there even the slightest hint as to WHY this is going on. We never have any idea as to the Funny Man's motives, or the failings (if any) of the people he kills. There's a slight hint that all this is the delusions of an insane Christopher Lee -- but the madhouse scene is in exactly the same style as the rest of the film.

The Funny Man isn't funny (though the makeup is impressive), and isn't even intelligible to most Americans much of the time. Effects are minimal (although there's one bit with a hand spreading wide that's unnerving -- and meaningless), but the photography and use of color are actually quite impressive. It's impossible to judge most of the performances, since the characters (if that's the word) are drawn so broadly that they're repellent caricatures from the moment we meet them. We not only don't give a damn if they die, we don't even know who the heck they ARE (or why they're dying).

Reportedly, the movie was made as an effort to revive English horror, but this ponderous, pretentious mess, unfunny, confusing and inconclusive, wouldn't have revived anything. Some praise is due Christopher Lee for cooperating with this effort; it was an act of courage and generosity. Too bad it was for such a sorry end product.

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Ron from Manchester, England
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After winning the huge mansion and family air loom from Callum Chance, Max has a new 'friend' to deal with in his life. The Funny Man is the Joker from the pack, a demon out to get Max, his family and friends once and for all… it's payback time.

This movie is a tongue in cheek cult horror/comedy made on a shoe-string budget. Despite this constraint, Simon Sprackling (director and producer), has done some excellent work. The story line is whacky, the special effects a little to be desired, and the characters are extremely strange. Some of the scenes are very surreal, and there are a number of class one liners in this film, which will only really gel if you have a British sense of humour.

The result is well worth watching, particularly if you have a strange film fetish, as I do.

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Leofwine_draca from United Kingdom
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Not in the least bit funny, this comedy horror was, although it breaks my heart to say it, made in Britain, and, although it pains my very soul to admit it, stars Christopher Lee. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Poor old Lee, we can't blame him for appearing in these things though; everyone needs to make a living, after all.

The "plot" is a retread of a typical American slasher film of the 1980s, with a group of people in a mansion being bumped off by a psycho killer dressed as 'Punch' from Punch and Judy who offers us the worst one-liners you will ever hear in the history of comedy. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger's wince-inducing puns in BATMAN AND ROBIN come nowhere close to the obnoxious stupidity of the material on offer here.

For me, the film falls flat in every sense. The characters are all ridiculously unfunny, the deaths are simply stupid, the comedy doesn't work and there is no horror. Luckily Christopher Lee doesn't have much screen time to embarrass himself. The film does try, but it's just all downhill from the start. The opening scene is actually quite good, where Lee is engaged in a card game and loses everything to a joker in the pack ("You're a funny man, but I've met funnier" is his simple reply). But switch off straight after it finishes, or you're in for one of the worst times of your life.

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(Vomitron_G) from the Doomed Megalopolis of Blasphemous Technoids
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"Funny Man" is most likely an abhorrent oddity to the more serious & 'intelligent' horror fan amongst the audience and pretty much a fun ride to those who enjoy a loose horror cannon with blood fodder every now and then. It's like Ken Russell's "Gothic" meets "Spookies" on acid without the monsters but with gore and a villain that's a cross between Leprechaun or Rumpelstiltskin (just pick your favorite ) and Freddy Krueger. Virtually no plot, but rather a rigging together of insane gags, with a few effectively gory bits thrown in the mix that would have been very suitable in early Peter Jackson/Sam Raimi movies. So, you may take that as a compliment. Obviously, the absurd - and often pretty dumb - humor is something you'll have to tolerate. Either you fly with it, or you'll get annoyed by it. Christopher Lee makes a cameo appearance that feels much like just a narrator's part in the wraparound story of some B-horror anthology film. And as nothing more than a cameo, his contribution oddly enough works like a silly charm, almost. Because, well, "Funny Man" is a British nonsensical B-horror flick made with enthusiasm, a fair amount of creativity and perfectly acceptable little rippings-off left & right. It's all not to be taken seriously at all. If you do, you're on the wrong track.

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