ladymidath 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.

ElijahCSkuggs I'm a sucker for things bizarre. So when I first saw the cover of Funny Man a few years back I was instantly drawn to it. But with incredibly mixed reviews I was pretty hesitant to dish out the big bucks to attain it. Well, I finally got my hands on Funny Man, and I'm unhappy to say, it wasn't worth the wait.Funny Man is about this evil Joker lookin' character that resides in this huge mansion. A family and then a group of hitch-hikers make their way to the mansion, and unbeknownst to them they are all about to meet the Funny Man, and their demise. It's really that simple. The flick is basically just a means to show the Funny Man kill people in unique and funny ways. Too bad they weren't very unique or that funny.The flick severely disappoints in the laugh department. It's a very silly and over-the-top type flick, which usually for this guy is the right ingredients for some good laughs, but not with this script or these actors. Funny Man is occasionally smirk worthy but rarely ever anything more. The actor playing him does a pretty good job as the character, but, it's just not very interesting. We don't know why he lives there, or why he's a killer. And not until the end, does a serious tone present itself where and it gives you a tiny clue into Funny Man's existence. It's just who he is. That's it. And there's this very intriguing world mysterious village that Funny Man lives in underneath the mansion, but it's not even slightly talked about. Again, another missed opportunity. If the movie focused a little more on the Funny Man's back-story, the movie would have had a much more interesting sub-plot. But instead we have a crappy, awful sub-plot concerning a washed up guitarist, and a pretty generic character with a mysterious Jamaican woman who instantly knows about the Funny Man's evil presence. Oh and she has a gun....for a hand, but it ain't as cool as you'd think. The film is also incredibly 'British. But just because it's full of British sayings and silly gags doesn't make it instantly funny. Hell, they didn't even make fun of the British's teeth in the flick. Now that would have been funny! There are far more funnier flicks than this that have come out of Britain, and it doesn't take a genius to "get" British humor, I enjoy it to a high degree, but this just doesn't cut it.The flick barely does anything above average and mostly just exists to have a weirdo character kill a bunch of people. Sure some of the deaths were kinda cool, a couple smiles and giggles were okay but overall, it wasn't enough to make this film entertaining. Shame too, cause the flick felt like it had a lot of potential. Oh well. Give it a shot if you're into horror/comedies, but don't expect anything great. 4.5 outta 10

Cinema_Fan Funny Man the Harlequin from the deep bowels of the earth, waiting for his calling in this exceedingly surreal fantasy horror of the B-movie genre. Concerning the obnoxious Taylor family, victims of the modern age with their indifference to each other let along anyone else. With father and mothers little habit and with their young son and teenage daughter left to their own devises, and their lucky win, at the time, via a poker game, of the family home, in the English countryside, of one Callum Chance (Christopher Lee). A win that will have this unexpected family playing more than the joker for their lives. Simon Sprackling, both director and writer of this very British movie, has a humour that delivers wit and slapstick that is all very bizarre and horrific, and English.Shock and startle, this is what Funny Man does best, and with his touch of poetic justice, he delivers a blend of fiery retribution and with his fearsome and disturbing looks. Funny Man will deal you your fate on the spin of the wheel of fortune. His justice is all sift, callous, graphic and controlled.This movie is low key, but at the same time high on imagination with an exceptionally amusing script, albeit the delivery and sarcasms from Funny Man himself, and its visual persona. Enough in fact to bring several highly fictitious individual characters together, such as the malice ridden Hard Man, played here by Yorkshire born Chris Walker, the dippy hippie George Morton as the Crap Puppeteer, and the wonderful Pauline Black as the Psychic Commando. Ms Black is more commonly known as the singer with The Selector, formed during the late 1970's and emerging from the Two Tone movement in late 1970's and early 1980's Britain, with such bands as The Specials, Madness, The Beat and Bad Manners. Here she plays a Caribbean type voodoo superwoman who can generate a blaster type gun from her arm, and boy, does she know how to use it. But the best is yet to come, with these vagabonds we have the superb Thelma Fudd, played with zest by Scottish born Rhona Cameron, an amusing 3-D variant on the Velma character from the Scooby Doo cartoon franchise, fantastic parody right down to the thickset-rimmed spec's, haircut, attitude and short orange shirt, fantastic.With its opposing members, each from varying social backgrounds, they just cannot seem, or just do not want to, get along. With this in mind, do these victims actually deserve their fate? If fate had turned down the right road, with compassion, respect and understanding, then maybe social indifference's, apathy and intolerance would have surfaced another day, but no, the fool of fools, the court jester, the Funny Man was called, called to cull these misfits and tyrants of social decay and decadence. Just deserts for just causes.This is a British movie through and through, with its heavy accents, cast and with Simon Sprackling being nominated the International Fantasy Film Award by Fantasporto during 1995 for Best Film. Its no wonder really, as the cinematography, by Tom Ingle, is both interesting and along with Simon Sprackling's script and overall direction of macabre horror makes Funny Man seriously horrific and at the same time funny, man.

maidenlord Totally British and perfect for a night in with a load of beer.I don't understand all the negative reviews but whatever-I enjoyed it and everyone i know who watched it thought it was great too!If you want serious horror then there is plenty of choice out there.Nothing wrong with having a laugh whilst the characters get bumped off in very original ways-Where else do you see a Jester dancing around whilst electrocuting,stabbing eyes with stilettos and as for what he does in the van-Hilarious stuff!In some ways it reminds me of Revenge Of Billy The Kid-another British horror comedy.Perhaps the humour doesn't translate that well overseas .Just wish the proposed follow up had been made but sadly we just get Friday the 13th part 54 etc........Now lets have a long overdue DVD release-my VHS copy is getting worn out!Sorted!