Funny Man is a 1994 comedy horror film about a record producer who wins an English stately house in a poker game. However, he finds it is haunted by a demonic jester intent on murdering his family.
The movie was written, directed by Simon Sprackling, and produced by Nigel Odell. The movie stars Tim James, Christopher Lee and Benny Young. Also known as FunnyMan
Plot:
When Max Taylor (Benny Young) wins the ancestral home of Callum Chance (Christopher Lee) in a game of poker, little does he realise that the game is far from over.
After moving into the ancestral home with his family, the nightmare begins after Max spins a wheel of chance (a wheel with four parts, two saying win, and two saying lose). It lands upon lose, and this awakens a demonic creature that lives in the soil of the ancestral home.
Soon, one by one, Max’s family are murdered by this strange creature known as the Funny Man (Tim James), a Mr Punch-like jester with a varied and imaginative repertoire of homicidal techniques and a highly irreverent sense of humour.…
Blu-ray release:
On September 4, 2017, Funny Man was released on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK by Screenbound Pictures.
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.co.uk
Review:
Filmed in a head-shakingly irritating late 80s/early 90s manner with a plethora of vapid one-dimensional characters (including a clone of Velma from Scooby-Doo), the only minor saving grace in this abomination is the occasional deadpan one-liners delivered by the titular Northern-accented Funny Man.
Alas, Funny Man‘s supposedly amusing throwaway references to references to ‘Leather Mistress’ magazine, psychedelic weaving and 90s rage (yes, rage) are simply not enough to save the film. Meanwhile, a prolonged attempt to mock spaghetti westerns is simply painful. At one point, a dismissive character comments ‘juvenile’ which sums up the proceedings in two words…
Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk
Christopher Lee’s legendary pomposity didn’t prevent him from appearing in this low-rent example of British movie-making (even his appearance in Howling II is better, in its silly way). Thankfully, for Lee and the audience, his ignominy is brief. But he does deliver the film’s most telling line: “You’re a funny man, Mr Taylor, but I’ve met funnier. And so will you.”
Amazingly, this insulting exercise in supposed comedy horror even received a British cinema release. Since then, writer-director Simon Sprackling’s career has been outside of the horror genre, other than providing DVD extras featuring Linda Hayden (The Blood on Satan’s Claw) and Judy Geeson (Inseminoid).
Ade Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
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Cast and characters:
Tim James … Funny Man
Christopher Lee … Callum Chance
Benny Young … Max Taylor
Matthew Devitt … Johnny Taylor
Ingrid Lacey … Tina Taylor
Jamie Heard … Jammie Taylor
Pauline Black … Psychic commando [lead singer of Ska band The Selector]
