House III: The Horror Show (1989)

Go to Hell.

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Release Date: Apr 28, 1989
Rated: R | Runtime: 95 Mins | Language: English
Director: James Isaac
Stars: Lance Henriksen, Brion James, Rita Taggart, Dedee Pfeiffer, Aron Eisenberg, Thom Bray, Matt Clark

Summary

Detective Lucas McCarthy finally apprehends "Meat Cleaver Max" and watches the electric chair execution from the audience. But killing Max Jenke only elevated him to another level of reality. Now Lucas' family is under attack, his sanity in question, and his house haunted. Aided by a disreputable college professor, can Lucas reclaim his mind, house, and family? Features Lance Henriksen as the Lucas McCarthy and Brion James as Max Jenke. One of the few movies featuring these actors as main characters.

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House III: The Horror Show Original Trailer (James Issac, 1989)

What to Expect

This movie has nothing to do with House 1, 2, or 4. And apparently I'm not the only one who was confused by how this storyline fit into the House franchise. This movie was marketed as a sequel to House in some countries and as a standalone movie in others. I guess the studio wanted it to be a standalone, but also wanted to attach it to a known franchise to raise early interest. It's really bizarre, House 2 was ridiculous and totally family-friendly while House 3 was some random attempt to jump on the slasher train. The trailer tried to sell 'œMax' as being slashier than both Freddy and Jason. Then as a follow up to this, House 4 returns to the original House characters and storyline. As fans of this site already know, I like to review movies as standalone's, putting little stock into the continuity of a franchise. Director's change direction and new directions don't always hurt the entertainment value of horror. However, this is not the case with The Horror Show, which went so far off the rails that it's hard to ignore. The only connection to the House franchise is that the detective lives in a house. As for the movie itself, it's literally a slasher knockoff, poaching heavily off Freddy.

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Movie Review: House 3: The Horror Show (1989) Review

Critic Reviews:

Beyond its overwhelming use of graphic gore and violence, along with bizzare effects, The Horror Show seemed out-of-place and confusing mostly due to it being shot by two different directors.

– Cryptic Rock

If you enjoy 80s gore and horror then I think you’d like what you see in the horror show, there are more than enough hacked off limbs, blood splattered walls and some more inventive moments.

– GBHBL

The fact that House 3 works as well as it does is largely down to Lance Henricksen, who really gives his cliched tormented cop character considerable power.

– Horror Cult Films