A group of 8 C-list celebrities find themselves on a reality show, where they are literally fighting for their lives in Funhouse. Kasper Nordin (Valter Skarsgård) is a man trying to recover from his very public marriage to popstar Darla Drake (Kylee Bush), and he reluctantly accepts a spot on the online reality show Furcas' House of Fun. Kasper is joined by a group of reality show veterans including Lonni Byrne (Khamisa Wilsher), Ximena Torres (Gigi Saul Guerrero), James ‘Headstone' Malone (Christopher Gerard), Ula La More (Karolina Benefield), Cat Zim (Amanda Howells), Dex ‘El Shocker' Souza (Mathias Retamal), and Nevin Evensmith (Dayleigh Nelson). However, the contestants soon discover that their CGI Panda host Furcas, the alter-ego of the mysterious Nero Alexander (Jerome Velinsky), intends for them to kill each other off one by one.
Funhouse is a satirical horror film written and directed by Jason William Lee. The film stars Valter Skarsgård, brother to Alexander and Bill, as Swedish pop singer and actor Kasper Nordin, who is trying to rebuild his image after a very public divorce with his ex-wife, and reality show co-star, Darla Drake. Kasper joins other reality show veterans in the titular Funhouse, where they quickly find out that the contestant who receives the lowest audience score has to participate in a deadly challenge.
While Funhouse is clearly meant as a satirical look at the culture of “everything is entertainment” and how bottom of the barrel reality TV is, the film ends up being bottom of the barrel itself. With a very nihilistic premise bordering on torture-porn, and some coincidental similarities to the recent Netflix hit Squid Game, Funhouse would like us to believe that we'd willingly watch internet-streamed snuff films, while cringe-inducing vlogger Pete Sake (Bradley Duffy) provides commentary. I can say I was not entertained.
Funhouse aired on Super Channel Fuse as part of the 2021 Blood in the Snow Film Festival
Related Links
Trailer for Funhouse – Blood in the Snow 2021
