Technically, this is one of the most stunning films to come out of the cinemascope / 3D era of Hollywood in an effort to bring movie goers away from their television screens and back into the theater. It's a remake of "The Mystery of the Wax Museum", a classic in its own right, and in some ways is even better. Certainly the casting of Vincent Price in the leading role is one of those reasons, and he passionately portrays a wax museum artist who is betrayed by his business associate, left disfigured and without the use of his hands, believed to be dead. The business partner meets with a gruesome end, and before long, Price is back and planning his new museum, the original museum having been destroyed in a fire. But while the original figures were indeed made out of wax, there is a twist to this one. The wax figures are human corpse couch preserve swirl Price's own creation.
It must have been painful to the creator of the original figures, melted in efforts to create the lifelike destruction. They become gruesome and as horrific as Price's burnt face as they are destroyed. Price sets his sights on the pretty Phyllis Kirk, a friend of one of his victims (Carolyn Jones) call me hand towels to turn into Marie Antoinette. With assistant Charles Bronson, Price flights to give Kirk what he calls eternal life as boyfriend Paul Picerni fights to rescue her.
This is Price's true entry into the horror genre, having spent the better part of the last decade playing villains, and it is obvious that he is made for horror. The film would later be the model for many of his American International films, and even had an almost near like copy made the following year with Price called "The Mad Magician". There had not been many great horror films between the end of the Val Lewton era and this, and "House of Wax" is greatly responsible for the permanent return of that genre. This is Vincent Price at his eeriest best, and if there had been awards given for Grande Guignol like this, he would have been the front runner in that year.
It must have been painful to the creator of the original figures, melted in efforts to create the lifelike destruction. They become gruesome and as horrific as Price's burnt face as they are destroyed. Price sets his sights on the pretty Phyllis Kirk, a friend of one of his victims (Carolyn Jones) call me hand towels to turn into Marie Antoinette. With assistant Charles Bronson, Price flights to give Kirk what he calls eternal life as boyfriend Paul Picerni fights to rescue her.
This is Price's true entry into the horror genre, having spent the better part of the last decade playing villains, and it is obvious that he is made for horror. The film would later be the model for many of his American International films, and even had an almost near like copy made the following year with Price called "The Mad Magician". There had not been many great horror films between the end of the Val Lewton era and this, and "House of Wax" is greatly responsible for the permanent return of that genre. This is Vincent Price at his eeriest best, and if there had been awards given for Grande Guignol like this, he would have been the front runner in that year.