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House Of Wax (2005) Review - Wax On, Wax Off!

This is one of those movies. You know, you saw the trailer for it, missed it in theaters, and then forgot about it just as quickly. I didn't get around to seeing it when it was in theaters even though I wanted to, and no one was talking about it, so I forgot I had wanted to see it. So how does it hold up 6 years later? Let's find out.

Story follows a group of 20-somes on their way to a college football game, when they have to stop to rest. The next morning the fan belt on one of the cars is cut, so half of them head to the game, while two of them, Wade and Carly, played by Jared Padalecki and Elisha Cuthbert, go off into town for a new one.

The highlight of the town is a Wax Museum, which is entirely made out of wax. Inde are some very life like wax dummies, but none of them are of famous people like you would normally expect. Well there's a mple reason for that. They arn't famous people, their people that had the misfortune of finding the town, and being covered in wax! The rest of the movie pretty much turns into a fight for your life typical slasher, but hey, I'm ok with that.

The acting is pretty hit or miss. Some of the actors know what their doing, while others ( Paris Hilton * cough*) seem out of place with some bad reactions. As I was watching I thought I was going to say that the characters actions seemed to fit well for their characters, but then I got to the half way point. Once Carly and her brother get together, they start making some terrible choices. They hide a gun, only to go looking for one after. They also decide they need some light, while running/hiding from the killers, so they start flipping switches like they were having a seizure, resulting in a light show that tells the killer just were they are. Smooth.

The gore was surpringly well done. Every cut, impaling, or straight out beating looks brutal, and for a movie that takes over forty minutes to get to the good stuff, that's important. The effects of the wax house melting were good at first, but felt too effects heavy by the end. It started with the wax dummies melting, revealing skeletons underneath, and it looked quite nice. But it finished with the whole place on flames, everything melting, the entire building folding in on it's self, etc. It just seemed to be too much going on at once.

The killers were pretty interesting. They were amese twins that had been separated, leaving one looking fine, and the other needing a mask to cover his disfigurement. The good looking brother treats his disfigured brother like a freak, and ung it to mind control him.

Throughout the climax of the movie, there is a few scenes that use the idea of the twins for some alright imagery, but it feels pretty forced.

All in all, I'd say check it out. You get some cool effects, and some nice gore. Not to mention seeing Paris Hilton die, and for what it's worth, that's always fun.

Score - 78% Gore - 8/10

http://youtu.be/kbCfuFJ30t4

this one's a guilty pleasure flick for me.

It's probably inferior to the original(s), but it's got good things going for it just the same.

A lot of careless mistakes on the director AND editors part, as you pointed out, but I dug the gore, and the majority of the performances are pretty decent. I'm a fan of Padalecki's, for some reason or another lol

I was describing my thoughts on it to a friend after I finished the review, I left out the reason it gets such a high score.

It really is because of the gore, and the fact they just don't turn away. Like the baseball bat scene, you keep expecting it to show her, but it shows it connect. and connect, and connect, til your just thinking " Wow,

she isn't going to stop"

Ballsy moves like that really pulled it back around.

And little things, like where you think a knife will get pulled out, it gets pushed in.

Really though, it's not a remake at all. Ade from the name, and a house of wax, the two stories are completely different. The original is about Price's murder, and his subsequent return for revenge, whereas 2005's veron is just about a bunch of twenty somethings that stumble upon a ghost town wherein lies a crazy couple of brothers who have turned the town to wax. I can enjoy this film for what it is, a fun, competent mainstream gore flick. Hell, I even bought the Blu Ray.

Really though, it's not a remake at all. Ade from the name, and a house of wax, the two stories are completely different. The original is about Price's murder, and his subsequent return for revenge, whereas 2005's veron is just about a bunch of twenty somethings that stumble upon a ghost town wherein lies a crazy couple of brothers who have turned the town to wax. I can enjoy this film for what it is, a fun, competent mainstream gore flick. Hell, I even bought the Blu Ray.

True, but I'd argue that it plays closer to the actual original, Mystery of the Wax Museum, though clearly modernized. still fairly fun.

I don't care what anybody says, the house of wax was an awesome horror movie. The acting was great and the storyline is very interesting. They should definitely make a second one

My review of the 1953 House of Wax.





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