Tags
2000's, Brian Van Holt, Chad Michael Murray, Elisha Cuthbert, Horror, House of Wax, Jared Padalecki, Jaume Collet-Serra, Jon Abrahams, Paris Hilton, Robert Ri'chard
Film Title
House of Wax
Director
Jaume Collet-Serra
Starring
- Elisha Cuthbert as Carly
- Chad Michael Murray as Nick
- Brian Van Holt as Bo/Vincent Sinclair
- Jared Padalecki as Wade
- Paris Hilton as Paige
- Jon Abrahams as Dalton
- Robert Ri’chard as Blake
Formulaic and clichéd to say the least, House of Wax still emerges as a slight cut above the rest of the slasher movies in the last few years, with its tongue in cheek yet highly inventive death scenes and gory visuals. If you’re expecting it to be an updated version of the 50’s version, you will be sorely disappointed. But for those not as well acquainted with that version, sit back and watch this blood-spilling horror.
The plot follows six teenagers heading to an exciting football game in Louisiana. The group comprises of Carly; her twin brother and ex con Nick; Carly’s boyfriend Wade, her best friend Paige; Paige’s beau Blake and his good pal Dalton. Whilst on the journey, they set up camp in a deserted part of the woods. That night, a truck pulls up and shines its headlights on the group, the driver is not seen but refuses to move until Nick smashes a bottle against one of the lights. The morning after, Wade finds the fan belts on his car have been damaged. The group then comes upon a rural man, who tells them that Ambrose, the nearest town is not far from here. Wade and Carly hitch a lift off him, whilst the others attempt to get to the game. The group soon finds the road blocked and head back to the camping site. When Wade and Carly arrive at Ambrose, they discover it is practically a ghost town, with the eponymous museum the attraction. After receiving no service at the gas station, they run into the mysterious Bo Sinclair, who offers to give them a fan belt which is situated in his old house. It is here where events take a dark turn and the teens realize that Bo, as well as a shadowy figure are guarding a horrifying, murderous secret and that it is only a matter of time before they end up in the House of Wax as more than just visitors. Prepare for gruesome methods of dispatch, eerie music and creepy atmosphere that bring a whole meaning to the phrase pay and display( or should that be slay and display!).
House of Wax as a film has its fair share of flaws. The most prominent one being that the character’s are split up too much and the story takes a little too long before it turns into terror-inducing viewing. On the positive side, the gradually chilling and imaginative stalking of the members of the group and many of the deaths are well executed. Jaume Collet-Serra has an excellent eye for visuals, displaying the eponymous house in all it’s depraved and disgusting glory. Sonically, the ever-growing terror is accentuated by haunting music and effective albeit clichéd jump scares.
The cast work well with the script, sometimes rising above the limitations of their characters. Elisha Cuthbert plays the main girl plunged into a survival battle, she is actually pretty good when she tries to outwit the stalking killers. The relationship between her and her twin brother Nick is interestingly explored as they eventually overcome animosity in a time of bloodshed. Chad Michael Murray may force the bad boy aspect of his character Nick, but is more than adequate at playing him. Brian Van Holt takes the honours as the villainous Bo, who has sinister and well-preserved plans for the unwitting group. Jared Padalecki has a few good moments as the doomed Wade, his eventual fate becoming a gruesome highlight of the picture. While she’s not going to be considered a great actress, Paris Hilton isn’t that bad as Paige. As with Padalecki, her fate provides a good tongue in cheek moment that is still chilling and highly gory. Jon Abrahams and Robert Ri’chard are not given much to do, but work their way through the script’s flaws.
So House of Wax is not going to go down as a great films in the annals of the horror genre, but it does deliver some effective scariness and brutal slaying to keep you interested.
lukebbtt said:
Interesting. Might bookmark this one.
LikeLike
vinnieh said:
Thanks, let me know what you think of it.
LikeLike
dbmoviesblog said:
Nice post. This film was so weird, but I agree that it is not that bad 😉
LikeLike
vinnieh said:
Thanks, yeah certainly very weird. It wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be.
LikeLike
Parlor of Horror said:
I had seen this in the movies and remember the audience CHEERING when Paris Hilton got ‘wacked’ 🙂
LikeLike
vinnieh said:
Yeah I also had an experience like that myself.
LikeLike
Tyson Carter said:
I quite liked this, and Paris wasnt too bad……… 🙂
LikeLike
vinnieh said:
Yeah she’s no great actress, but she’s not that bad.
LikeLike
teny said:
Way above most of the slasher movies! Nice thoughts 🙂
LikeLike
vinnieh said:
Thanks, I’m glad you agree with what I wrote.
LikeLike
Alastair said:
I enjoyed House of Wax. Something that did make me laugh, in an episode of Supernatural (with Jared Padalecki) they were going after creatures that took over the forms of wax models and came to life.
Paris Hilton played the big bad at the end of the episode, and she caught and tied up Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki). Hilton said something about killing, and Dean said “I’m sorry, I never saw House of Wax” at which point, Sam turned and glared at him 😀
I enjoyed this though. Even if it was just to see Hilton get killed. Same reason as an episode of CSI is the most watched in my house when Bieber dies 😀
LikeLike
vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment and info, a friend showed that episode to me and I did laugh.
LikeLike
Victor De Leon said:
I think i need to watch this one again, I suppose. I got about 20 minutes in and I turned it off. Maybe, I just wasn’t in the mood. Good review, though. I may check it out again one day. Thanks!
LikeLike
vinnieh said:
Yeah it’s not classic horror, but it’s not that bad.
LikeLike
table9mutant said:
Hehe. Paris Hilton rules. 🙂
LikeLike
Mercy Desdemona said:
I prefer the Vincent Price Version. Paris Hilton annoyed me. Great post 🙂
LikeLike
vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I’ll have to see the Vincent Price version.
LikeLike
maria kriva said:
I really enjoyed this one! Great review! It is probably the type of horror film that is not that unique and special, but somehow you’ll gladly watch it again and again!
LikeLike
vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment. It may be short on originality but high on scares.
LikeLike
iampharaohmaktuk said:
I actually really enjoyed this movie. Also brings back memories. Saw it in theatres in middle school with my two best friends, one of which still is, the other of which I don’t speak to anymore. Crazy how things change.
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
It was a pretty effective and gory movie. It enjoyed going over the top with some pretty inventive deaths.
LikeLiked by 1 person
iampharaohmaktuk said:
Elisha Cuthbert’s bf gets it so bad, what a brutal way to go out
LikeLiked by 1 person
vinnieh said:
Yep, pretty brutal way to end up.
LikeLike