Released: May 2005
Director: Jaumet Collet-Serra
Run Time: 113 Minutes
Rated R
Distributor: Warner Bros./Scream Factory
Genre: Horror
Cast:
Elisha Cuthbert: Carly
Chad Michael Murray: Nick
Brian Van Holt: Bo/Vincent
Paris Hilton: Paige
Robert Ri’chard: Blake
Jared Padalecki: Wade
Jon Abrahams: Dalton
In cinema, there is no genre that is more versatile than horror. Regardless of how you may actually feel about horror, you can’t really deny that horror is one of the most wide-reaching genres. Within the horror genre, there are MANY sub-genres covering all sorts of topics: Zombies, vampires, werewolves, the supernatural, ghosts, Bigfoot, serial killers, and slashers. While there is a wealth of material to be found in the genre, it’s also one that you can combine with any other genre in film. You can find horror comedies, science fiction/horror hybrids, horror thrillers, horror action, drama, and romance. You can do so much with horror that the only limit is your imagination…and budget. Obviously some forms of horror are more popular than others. Slashers have been a staple of the genre for decades. Same thing with monster movies. Around 2003, we began to start seeing remakes of older franchises like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We would eventually get remakes of popular films like Friday The 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street to varying degrees of success. The one remake that few people talk about anymore is the 2005 film House of Wax, which was a remake of the Vincent Price chiller from 1953, which itself was a remake of Warner Bros’ own Mystery of the Wax Museum from 1933. The 2005 version of House of Wax holds a special place in my heart, but I’ll tell you why later. Let’s uncover the mystery of House of Wax.
House of Wax follows a group of college kids as they head to the big city to catch a football game. On the way, they run into a roadblock and are forced to find a different means of getting to their destination. Considering that it’s getting dark, they decide to camp in a nearby field for the night. In the morning, Wade finds that the fan belt in his car is broken. Deciding to split up, Wade and his girlfriend Carly run into a truck driver and are escorted to a nearby town to find the part that wade needs, while the rest try to get tickets for the football game. After exploring a wax museum in which the wax figures seem eerily realistic, they run into Bo, one of the town’s residents who owns a gas station. While at Bo’s house, Wade gets knocked out by a mysterious figure wearing a mask, and Carly discovers that the truck she’s in is the same truck that accosted her friends the night before. She realizes that the wax figures in the museum are real people that have been covered in wax. While the setup with the wax museum is interesting, the actual story plays second fiddle to the action. That’s to be expected in a slasher movie. Ultimately, the story serves as a way to get from one set-piece to another, and not much else.
I mentioned in my intro that House of Wax holds a special place in my heart. There’s a reason for that. THIS was the movie that got me back into horror. I hadn’t seen a horror movie for nearly a decade until House of Wax. Is there really anything truly special about this film? Not particularly. I mean, it’s a slasher movie that sticks pretty close to the conventions and tropes of that kind of movie. Boyfriend gets waxed(literally), then it’s the stoner, the promiscuous girl, and(I hate to say it)the token black guy. It’s pretty much in that order too. What stands out about this film is the casting. The film stars a pre-Supernatural Jared Padalecki as Elisha Cuthbert’s boyfriend. Chad Michael Murray plays her brother while Robert Ri’chard plays Blake. The interesting choice here is Paris Hilton as Paige. Now, everybody needs to realize that Paris is not an actress. She wasn’t hired for her talents or her looks. This was an interesting marketing ploy to get people into theaters. No, they wanted to hire Paris Hilton so they could kill her in the movie. Now, to Paris’ credit, she was all for it, which allowed the audience to show that she didn’t take herself too seriously. Well, her death scene was pretty bad-ass. I wouldn’t call it iconic, but it IS one of the most memorable kills in slasher movies. Acting-wise, this is all standard stuff, with a couple of standouts. I actually liked Elisha Cuthbert as Carly, as she was somewhat sympathetic. Brian Van Holt is awesome as Bo and Vincent. It’s not an easy thing to play two different characters in the same movie, but Brian is fantastic. Unfortunately, that also brings me to one of the biggest issues with House of Wax: The writing. Most of the characters aren’t very likable, so you’re not likely to give a damn when they bite the dust. As I said with the story, it just goes through the motions of a slasher movie.
Say what you will about House of Wax, the production values on this project are sky-high, despite the film’s low budget. This is an incredibly well-made movie from a technical standpoint. The set designs are amazing, especially the titular House of Wax. Most slasher flicks are fairly gritty in their looks and feel. House of Wax feels like a high-budget slasher flick despite a 40 million dollar budget. It’s not just the sets, but some of the visual effects, the character designs and the wax figures themselves are suitably creepy, especially when you find how they get made. Speaking of which, the reason why most of us go to movies like this is the method in which characters are killed off. Now, I just mentioned that the wax figures are creepy. Well, that’s because those wax figures are actually people covered in wax. Now, you actually get to see the process take place and it is brutal. Seeing someone get covered in molten wax alive is genuinely haunting. The kills are fairly creative, especially Paris Hilton’s death scene. I loved it, and it’s one of the most satisfying kills in the genre. For a movie that plays it safe by following the slasher film formula from A-Z, it’s surprisingly intense and thrilling. Again, the sets and location lend itself to a very creepy atmosphere. I think that it’s because the movie looks so good that it has this truly sinister vibe. I can’t forget composer John Ottman’s outstanding score for the film. Utilizing mainly pipe organs and a very orchestral sound, House of Wax ends up with a very dark, Gothic, and oppressive feel that gets under your skin. Should a movie of this sort sound this good? Yeah, actually. John Ottman is a fantastic composer as he did the soundtracks for X2: X-Men United and Superman Returns.
While I wouldn’t say that House of Wax is one of the strongest slasher movies ever made, it’s definitely far from the worst, and it makes the best use of its premise that it can. Outside of some annoying characters, House of Wax is a perfectly serviceable slasher flick with production values that are quite frankly better than this movie deserves, but it also has a really solid musical score by John Ottman. Although entirely predictable, it’s still a thrill ride from beginning to end with some shocking and memorable set-pieces. As imperfect as it is, House of Wax basically reintroduced me to the horror genre, and I’ve been a huge fan of the genre ever since. I will always be grateful to House of Wax for that. For fans of the genre and slasher movies in general, I would recommend it. For a film that’s almost 20 years old, it holds up surprisingly well. So, yeah, I love this movie. I just picked up the Collector’s Edition on Blu-Ray from Scream Factory. It’s not the most extensive in terms of special features, as it rolls over features from the DVD as well as the previous Blu-Ray release, but it does offer new interviews with Paris Hilton, Robert Ri’chard, film composer John Ottman, and special effects supervisor Jason Baird. The other features include a gag reel, theatrical trailer, an alternate opening and various behind-the-scene featurettes. There’s a good deal of value to be had here, especially if you’re a fan of the film like me. It’s definitely worth checking out.