Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

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.

The Arch This film needed polishing. It just never seems to get going. although maybe that is the point. I would have preferred to have some deeper explanation than Christopher Lee playing cards in an asylum.The victims are so stupid, it could have been set in Troma land. I would have hoped that the victims would at least put up a fight and not just sit / stand there and take it. We don't care about the victims (which is not necessarily a bad thing). Unfortunately, there is little encouragement to side with the Jester and we are merely observers in someone's wandering vision.In 10 years time, maybe someone will remake it and put more emphasis behind the ideas and give the film some impetus.

kasimpeter-1 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.

pidders Do you like jesters? Do you like demons? If the answer is 'yes' to both, then this is the film for you. The 'Funnyman' is basically a jester-demon with a Lancastrian accent, which turns into Welsh at various points in the film, who likes to kill people via hilarious (?) pranks in his big scary house. Surreal? Yes indeed. I won't go into too much detail about the wild-afro'd weirdy voodoo lady who's hand changed into a gun. The film, in general, is rubbish... but it has loads of comedy value and lots of gore that everyone should see. By the time you've finished watching this film, you can't help but say the word "Sorted", accompanied by a thumb-up.