For anyone who loved the Vincent Price version of "The House of Wax" - or even the earlier 1933 Lionel Atwill version, "Mystery of the Wax Museum" - this will be a disappointment because it is a remake in name only. It will also be a disappointment because the director spent the first 50 minutes of the movie attempting to "flesh-out" his characters with some mundane trip to a football game and then when the killing finally gets started, eliminates all but two of the characters in a very short period of time. The story itself is not bad - two sons of a former (insane) wax artist go insane themselves and basically create a town out of wax, filling it with people they have abducted and then coated in wax. The climax in the actual House of Wax is pretty cool, too. All in all, the movie gets off to a very slow start, heats up quickly, and finishes strong. It's generally kind of creepy (and gruesome in some spots), but overall is kind of weak. The twist at the end (which I won't reveal here) is not only unnecessary (unless the producers are keeping the door open for a sequel), but it provides little or no jolt. So what, is what I said to myself. Measured up against some of the garbage that has been released this year, "The House of Wax" deserves an Academy Award. But, to me, it is only mediocre.
Review of House of Wax
