Directed by:
Jaume Collet-SerraCinematography:
Stephen F. WindonComposer:
John OttmanCast:
Elisha Cuthbert, Jared Padalecki, Jon Abrahams, Paris Hilton, Chad Michael Murray, Brian Van Holt, Robert Ri'chard, Emma Lung, Damon Herriman, Kendal RaeVOD (3)
Plots(1)
A group of road-tripping Florida teenagers (Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Paris Hilton, Robert Ri'chard, Jared Padalecki, and Jon Abrahams) stop to camp near a small town where an abandoned wax museum draws their curiosity. Upon exploring the scary cobwebbed space, they find that the figures are not only eerily lifelike, but that the entire museum--floor to ceiling--is actually made of wax. If that wasn't enough to scare them, they encounter a couple of very unsettling characters who seem to be the only people around for miles. One is a blood-splattered redneck who collects roadkill, dumping the bodies of dead deer into a fetid carcass swamp. The other is Bo (Brian Van Holt), a gas station attendant who lures the kids back to his house. Soon, through a series of stomach-turning slasher scenes featuring scissors, long knives, and even a pair of pliers, the teens get to know Bo a whole lot better. They even meet his insane brother Vincent (also played by Van Holt). (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (7)
While the figurines don't break any genre boundaries, but they function within them more than well, and combining a teenage slasher with an atmospheric horror film so often criticized in the reviews didn't bother me in the slightest. When taking into consideration the ultrawax finale, the beautiful Elisha Cuthbert, and the solid tough guy Chad Michael Murray, it seems to me that American horror is not dead. Though I realize that this is only a seasonal affair, which my favorite actors have pushed to subjectively high places.
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Routine visual wallpaper that completely lacks tension, pace, and proper narrative rhythm. The sprawling opening outlines straightforward characters that don't deviate from the established templates of contemporary teen horror, which wouldn't matter if the film didn't absolutely lack entertainment in addition to the aforementioned tension. The protagonists die in a predictable pattern without any proper directorial innovation and willingness to show the audience something new. Yes, most 15-year-olds will feel some tension, but not everyone will find a wax shower or a precisely inserted pipe to be completely enjoyable fun. It’s absolute uselessness without a single positive.
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A hellish portion of boredom, struggling through it is truly a skill. The idea with the wax is original, but it is fully exploited only in the last ten minutes. Paris Hilton is embarrassing, and I don't understand how anyone could cast her. The atmosphere is practically nonexistent, and there are tons of clichés at every step of the way. The resolution of the plot is also quite pathetic, and so we only witness a few impressive and brutal killings, which are truly only for stronger stomachs. The actors are traditionally awkward, and surprisingly even Elisha Cuthbert doesn't bring much in terms of acting. Inexpressive music, unbalanced direction. Stay away from this garbage. Another purely routine product, the kind of which we can see hundreds these days.
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House of Wax is an unpleasantly long assembly-line product with an exceedingly modest portion of suspense, plenty of clichés and the biggest possible acting clusterfuck delivered by Paris Hilton. But the museum is nice, the digital climax is unprecedented in this genre, and a few of the murders are a real treat (I was most pleased with Elisha Cuthbert’s finger).
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I really didn't expect anything from this movie... Nor that I'm giving it three (well, it's more like three and a half) stars. If it didn't have such a slow start, I'd go even higher. It is practically only when three quarters of an hour of the film has passed that "something real" starts to happen. But then it doesn't stop happening until the end. The brother villains (one looks like Ozzy, the other like a supporting character from La Piovra) are good, helped most by Ottman's excellent music and sometimes routine, sometimes original, direction. All the "characters" are eliminated without unnecessary fuss, which is definitely a pleasure, and lovers of nice "meaty" shots will also enjoy it.... I liked the "dissolving" finale very much (the cameraman gets top marks), as well as the nicely freaked out Elisha Cuthbert, but I liked the final wink at the viewer less, along with Paris Hilton (who, of course, did what she was supposed to do, I'll give her that). But I'm satisfied.
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