Summary
A group of teenagers are hunted by a psychopath after they stumble into an odd town…
My Thoughts
House of Wax finds a group of teenagers including Elisha Cuthbert and Paris Hilton (Repo! The Genetic Opera) stumbling into a strange town after needing a car repair on their road trip. After some time there, they meet the man who runs the auto shop, but as things progress and the weird gets weirder, this small town begins to shed its dark and gruesome secrets. While the writing and performances are a tad stunted, the violence and gore make this slasher flick stand just a bit taller than the others in the genre.
It's pretty clear that the director and writers of “House of Wax” had no idea how to create character development, as it tries to be an atmospheric slow burner, giving way to monotonous dialogue and scenes that keep going on even though they played themselves out minutes beforehand. The character motivations are asinine, they make zero sense, such as setting up camp in a random lot of grass right outside the mysterious town. I was pretty close to turning off this movie at this point until finally a redneck-y villain shows up and tells the youngsters about the town not too far away that has an auto shop. I'm glad I didn't turn it off because once they get to the town, this film turns into a gleeful gorefest, and it's obvious the writers were waiting too.
The plot in House of Wax is very narrow, very point A to point B, and also very nonsensical, this one absolutely requires the suspension of disbelief or else you really will not have a good time. This film is essentially and first and foremost a slasher, our villain doesn't have a real motive that makes sense, but he tortures his victims using wax and turning them into actual permanent statues, and some of the imagery depicts that in brutal fashion. And as silly as that sounds, the director actual does do a good job making a visceral and disturbing death, such as peeling off someones face because it's been waxified, it gets bloody and disgusting, and without that House of Wax would be a generic thriller. I know this is based on an older film of the same name, and I'm sure it's quite tame compared to this modern version, but that's not to say it's without its fun.
Although House of Wax takes a while to take off, when it does its pretty much a non stop blood soaked thrill ride, chalk full of stupid teenagers making stupid decisions ultimately leading to their stupid deaths. It's exactly what one wants from this type of genre, and this town with it's wax citizens puts the setting just above others in the slasher genre. While it's missing the wit and personality of better slashers such as 'Scream' it can still hold its own in sheer violent debauchery. The deaths aren't just okay, they are wholly satisfying and something that should quench any horror buffs bloodlust. Just have to remember to forget the silly setups and plot, and the incredibly dumb twist ending, but trust me the gore makes this one worth it.
Overall House of Wax is a solid horrorfest of a film, not at all the best I've seen, but it works in terms of its creative, violent deaths which make it stand out from its dull characters and weak writing, after the sluggish first half is when the horror begins and doesn't let up, if blood and abhorrent violence is your type of horror then House of Wax is a safe bet. If you're more into smart horror with clever twists and anticipation, skip this one as it is not a smart man's horror film, it's filled with inconsistencies and stupid conviences, but if you're willing to look past those and just enjoy the violence, you'll have a good time.
I give House of Wax 2.5 stars out of 5
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