The Fun House (1977)

Interesting facts

Last House on Dead End Street, originally released as The Fun House, is a 1977 American exploitation horror film written, produced, and directed by Roger Watkins, under the pseudonym Victor Janos. The plot follows a disgruntled ex-convict who takes revenge on society by kidnapping four acquaintances and filming their murders in an abandoned building.

Production

Last House on Dead End Street was conceived by Roger Watkins, a student at the State University of New York at Oneonta (SUNY Oneonta), in 1972. Watkins was inspired to write the screenplay after reading the Charles Manson biography The Family (1971) by Ed Sanders, which focused on the Manson family murders in Southern California.

In casting the film, Watkins chose to star as Terry, the ringleader of the snuff filmmakers, and commissioned a cast exclusively consisting of current or former students of the theater department at SUNY Oneonta. The film was shot in December 1972 in an abandoned building on the university campus known as Old Main. The building, derelict at the time, was demolished in 1977.

Due to budget constraints, the majority of the film's score and audio effects were sourced from composer and ethnomusicologist David Fanshawe, via KPM Musichouse audio library. In additional to Moog synthesizer pieces, the musical score incorporates Gregorian chants among other ambient noises. The film's original musical score was released for the first time on vinyl February 12, 2016 by the independent labels Vombis and Light in the Attic.

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