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/movies/63368/house-of-wax
Review of House of Wax
by Jeremy Thomas
Posted on June 7th, 2021
Neutral 6
Overall Rating
 
+
i hated this film when i saw it upon its home video release in late 2005. there are a lot of reasons why, no doubt. but a fair number don't have anything to do with the movie itself. call it guilt by association; the mid-2000s were not kind to horror, and i saw what i expected in another cash grab remake (see also: the hitcher, the fog, and so on). and i'm not saying that there wasn't a cash grab here. but while it's not particularly good, house of wax is fun. chalk that up not to the script, which runs clunkily through the motions of a remake in name only, but to the director and the cast (yes, even her). jaume collet-serra is now known as the director behind orphan, the shallows, and a host of liam neeson action-thrillers. but at the time, he was a nobody who hadn't quite figured his shit out as a director. but what he lacks in finagling the script into order, he makes up with in the inspired set pieces. production designer grace walker deserves so much credit for making a truly unsettling, horrifying town that our college kid protagonists arrive at, before they start getting picked off. the rest of the credit goes to the cast, led by a capable elisha cuthbert and solid performances by chad michael murray and jared padalecki. are any of these actors able to wring much depth out of their paper-thing characters? not really. but they have energy and chemistry and you want to believe and even root for them. above all though, i owe paris hilton an apology for my thoughts on her acting skills. hilton is by no means great in this; she lacks screen presence, and she doesn't have much to do. but she's decent, and she scream queens very well. it was easy to hate hilton during that time for being a tabloid obsession, but divorced from the real life and her personal life by time and understanding, it's easier to judge her fairly. she's no oscar contender, but she is at least believable and game for her brutal scene with the killer. at the time, i didn't give her a chance, and i wish i had. there are still a lot of flaws, largely in the script. but the final setpiece is amazing, featuring heat and a literal house of wax. relying on practical effects helped give this film a lifespan beyond its theatrical run, and while i may not be dying to see it again, i no longer regret having seen it (twice now). that's something.
Jeremy Thomas
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