"House of Wax"

Reviewed by Chris Cappola
Starring Elisa Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Jared Padalecki, Paris Hilton, Jon Abrahams, Robert Ri'chard and Brian Van Holt. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. (2005, WB/Village Roadshow/Dark Castle)

It might be becoming frustratingly difficult for Hollywood to find new and inventive ways of killing off their characters in teen slasher films since they have been done to death. The genre isn't known for innovation bar perhaps the 'Scream' series, which reignited interest in the concept so 'House of Wax' has a fairly standard blueprint and must find a way to take a fresh spin on such an old, tired formula. Although it misses some opportunities, 'House of Wax' is quite a strongly-directed, competently acted and scary horror movie with some gruesome ideas and it never takes itself too seriously. Sure, it's not as clever as 'Scream' but these films have never been known for being stimulations of the mind and are what they are - a good old fun horror movie.

The idea itself comes across as fairly obvious to horror enthusiasts: A group of friends driving to a football match get lost and end up in the middle of nowhere. After camping out during the night and upsetting a local, they are forced into an ominously deserted town unaware of their impending doom. The town looks inhabited and many are enchanted by a local museum - the house of wax. One young couple Carly (Elisa Cuthbert) and Wade (Jared Padalecki) get help by a local Vincent (Brian Van Holt), but when Wade goes missing, Carly struggles to fight off a sadistic Vincent whose demented twin brother Bo is encasing victims in wax. Meanwhile, Carly's bad-boy brother Nick (Chad Michael Murray) and his friend Dalton (Jon Abrahams) go looking for them in town whilst Blake (Robert Ri'chard) and Paige (Paris Hilton) decide to do some hanky panky at their campsite. Of course, many of these characters become victims of the merciless brothers. If you're a horror devotee, it would be pretty apparent at the pecking order of the potential victims though the first to meet their doom is a little surprising. Of course, the characters make fatal errors and go in places they aren't supposed to. Instead of trying to escape, they still play right into the brother's plans and it's not really hard for them to kill off their victims. One victim goes right into the house of wax and ends up in the basement where their doom is more than obvious. Does any of this matter? Of course not, it's a horror movie.

The film is directed by first-timer Jaume Collet-Serra who has helmed many commercials and music clips. Although he doesn't do a fantastic job, he does everything that is required for a horror movie and for a first-timer, it is a strong job. The opening drags on a little slowly for a film of this nature but once the group ends up in the town and become sitting targets, it gears into action and never lets go. The production design is excellent with eye-catching set pieces and the actual house of wax is fascinatingly eerie. The finale in which the house literally melts with several people stuck inside, sinking into stairs and fighting through walls is strongly directed although the ending is a little too abrupt. The use of the Gold Coast as the backdrop is actually effective and it creates the small American deserted town-look convincingly. The highpoint of the film though is a creepy sequence involving the encasing of one of the victims into wax and for those wondering if the film finds new ways of killing off their victims, this sequence is in a league of its own and is one of the better horror deaths of recent years. Although it's disappointing that the other victims don't get such lavish deaths, they are all inventively executed and many very gory with Paris Hilton's much-publicised death scene well-shot. Missed opportunities? It would have been ideal to have all of the victims become encased in wax with only one getting the full wax treatment. At times, it seems more clever than it wants to be with references to Vincent (horror maestro Vincent Price star of the original 'House of Wax') while its no coincidence that the two leads are twins and the demented brothers are?ait for it! Twins! It is only clever at sporadic moments and doesn't always explain ideas it's bringing in.

Nobody expects the cast to be at the high-ends of their careers but many come across as more than sitting ducks. Elisa Cuthbert ('The Girl Next Door') has the heroine role and does a good job while Justin Timberlake-look-alike Chad Michael Murray ('One Tree Hill') is effective and likeable as the brooding bad-boy brother. Jared Padalecki ('The Gilmore Girls') and the much-publicised Paris Hilton too are actually very good. Hilton in particular is more low-key than expected and her acting abilities? She is as good as anyone could be in the role and that's a rare compliment for the overly-publicised heiress. Robert Ri'chard ('Coach Carter') and Jon Abrahams ('Scary Movie') have smaller, underdeveloped roles but are fine as obvious victims. Brian Van Holt ('SWAT') as the demented brothers plays dual roles and is creepy, menacing and charismatic at the same time and comes across as a worthy villain although frenzied half-brother Bo looks suspiciously like Ozzy Osborne. Surely, an unfortunate coincidence.

'House of Wax' echoes 2003's horror remake of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' bringing style, creative direction and interesting ideas to an old premise. 'House of Wax', a remake of a 1953 Vincent Price classic is barely a remake as they are vastly different movies. This version uses the original as a blueprint for a different design. Like 'Texas', it is strongly-directed with a great production design, menacing villain, likeable characters and inventive and scary ways of killing off their prey of victims. There is always debate on the necessity for remaking old ideas especially fondly remembered classics. With horror films, they are appealing to a younger demographic than most films, thus revamping an old idea is reigniting interest in a proven formula. The original version of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' may be fondly remembered but the remake brought a fresh, innovative spin with top-notch production credentials. If Hollywood wants to continue dusting off old horror pics from the past and execute them like 'Texas', recent hit 'The Amityville Horror' and now 'Wax', then why not? The horror genre continues to be slicker, polished and innovative than ever before and with many genres struggling to come up with fresh ideas, remaking old ideas isn't necessarily a bad thing. The way to look at it: an "unoriginal" idea like 'House of Wax' or a "fresh, original" idea - 'Boogeyman?'
out of 10
- Chris Cappola's Reviews

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