Funny Man is a 1994 British comedy-horror film written and directed by Simon Sprackling. It stars Christopher Lee, Benny Young, Tim James and Pauline Black.
It is an unusual British gambling movie with an element of comedy and horror in it, and it’s a gem in its own right. It’s the Joker in the pack and a tongue in cheek cult movie where payback is one of the main plots.
The Main Story
An obnoxious record producer Max Taylor (Benny Young) wins a haunted house from a mysterious man (Christopher Lee) in a high stakes poker game. Little does he know what awaits him in his new acquisition. Upon moving his family into this spacious mansion equipped with a peculiar house guest, he spins what they call the Wheel of Chance. The wheel of chance is split into four sections. Two sections have “Win” on them, and the other two sections have “Lose” on them. Max spins the wheel, and it lands on the Lose section, which awakens a demon Jester that lives in the soil of the ancestral home.
The Jester is a hideously deformed jester known as THE Funny Man ( Tim James ) with an affinity to horrible puns and demented Monty Python style violence. He goes on a murderous rampage killing Max’s family starting with his wife and children.
After the wife’s killing, he changes his voice to sound like the son luring the wife to her death as he drags the child’s body away telling the audience it’s always good to put the little ones down first. This is the kind of sick humour reflected throughout the movie. However, the film was enjoyable to some, as it received a nomination in 1995 for the International Fantasy Best Film Award.
The Ending
The film ends with Funny Man turning to the cameras and saying “No rest for the wicked.”
