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Funny Man

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Funny Man is a 1994 British horror comedy film written and directed by Simon Sprackling. It stars Christopher Lee, Tim James, Pauline Black (lead singer of ska band The Selector), Matthew Devitt, Ingrid Lacey and Benny Young.

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…

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Filmed in a head-shakingly irritating late 80s/early 90s style with vapid one-dimensional characters (including a Velma from Scooby-Doo clone), the only minor saving grace in this stupid abomination are the occasional dead-pan one-liners delivered by the titular Northern accented Funny Man. However, supposedly amusing throwaway 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 character says ‘really juvenile’ which sums up the proceedings…

Following this cinematic insult, Simon Sprackling’s career thankfully went no further than providing DVD extras featuring Linda Hayden (The Blood on Satan’s Claw) and Judy Geeson (Inseminoid). Christopher Lee’s legendary pomposity didn’t stop him appearing in this low point of British movie-making (even The Hollywood Meatcleaver Massacre and Howling II are better in their own pathetic ways). Funny Man was never a funny idea — it’s obviously a massive piss-take –but scenes of main character Taylor snorting huge amounts of cocaine can surely be the real clue to its existence?

Adrian J. Smith, Horrorpedia

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‘But sense is not what this film is about (as you’ve probably guessed) – it’s all about the central performance. And it is a cracker. When you call a film Funny Man you really have to deliver the lines, and this film does –- it’s a work of minor genius, and well worth seeking out as a shining jewel in an otherwise moribund decade.’ British Horror Films

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Buy Funny Man on DVD from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk



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