It's easier to watch if you're a vegetarian (as a critique of carnivorism). A feminist might see the film as an attack on patriarchy (family composed only of men).

I saw the film (it had been out a couple of years I think) in a theater. The only viewers besides me were a Black family (mother, father, two preteen kids). Very odd experience. I wondered later if they saw the film as a comment on white people.

Robin Wood (I can't cite the source after all these years) had a theory that contemporary horror films were examinations of the stifling nature of the nuclear family.

What's your take on The Funhouse? I think it's an extremely clever film.