House of Wax (2005) Review

"I think this Vincent guy needs therapy."

-Wade

A group of friends on their way to a college football game take a short cut that leads them to a small town in the middle of nowhere with the main attraction being a House of Wax.  The friends realize too late that most of the wax figures are bodies that were dipped in wax.  Now the remaining friends have to fight their way out of town or end up on display in the House of Wax.

What Works:

This movie has a pretty bad reputation and I went in with extremely low expectations.  I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this film.  House of Wax is a genuinely creepy movie.  In the first two House of Wax movies, the victims were already dead when they were coated with wax.  That isn't the case here and I was stunned to see a character was actually still alive after being put on display.  It's a nightmarish moment and caught me completely off guard.  It's definitely one of the more horrific fates I've seen in a horror film and it's an image that will stick with me for awhile.  Even the not waxy kills are pretty solid.  There's a lot of fun gore all around this movie, even if it takes a bit to get to.

I frequently complain about remakes not doing enough to differentiate themselves from the original.  Most remakes can't justify their existence.  This is not the case with House of Wax.  The movie has almost nothing in common with the first two films.  People are being killed and dipped in wax.  The similarities end there.  I have to give the filmmakers props for doing something so radically different with the remake, even if it becomes a pretty standard slasher movie in the process.  At least we're not getting the same story for the third time.

The two lead characters are fairly competent, which is a nice change of pace.  I didn't like Nick (Chad Michael Murray) for most of this movie, but when he finally arrives in town and realizes his sister, Carly (Elisha Cuthbert), is in danger, he snaps into action and makes a lot of really smart choices.  Once Nick is in the picture, Carly does a solid job as well.  They make a classic mistake of not killing the murderer after knocking him unconscious, but apart from that, the choices these characters make are the choices the audience wants them to make.  They're far more competent than your typical slasher movie characters, which is very refreshing.

Finally, I really enjoyed the 3rd act.  Having a whole building melting around out heroes as they fight off the killers is really cool and memorable.  The whole sequence is very creative and pretty outstanding.  It's an impressive bit of filmmaking all-around and a great way to end the film.

What Sucks:

Especially in the first part of the film, most of these characters suck.  Blake (Robert Ri'chard) and Dalton (Jon Abrahams) are basically nothing characters that get no development at all and aren't interesting in the slightest.  Dalton is mildly annoying, but neither of them are bad enough that we are rooting for them to die, but they aren't interesting enough where we care if they live.  The only really unlikable character is Nick, but he gets some redemption in the second half of the film.  Honestly, Paris Hilton does a perfectly serviceable job in her role and puts up a halfway decent fight against Vincent (Brian Van Holt).

My biggest complaint with House of Wax is the character of Wade (Jared Padalecki), who is a complete and utter idiot to the point it was frustrating to watch.  First he wanders into the House of Wax when the sign says "Closed".  He's from a small town in the south.  They're in a small town in the south.  He should know this is a good way to get shot.  Later, he just wanders into the backroom of Bo's (Brain Van Holt) gas station without permission.  And when Bo confronts him about it, he doesn't think it's that big a deal.  Maybe it isn't, fine, whatever, but then we get to Bo's house.  After Wade uses the bathroom, he starts wandering the house going into rooms he has no business being in and touching stuff that isn't his.  That's not only rude, but extremely stupid and it winds up getting Wade killed.  He totally deserves it, but it's extremely frustrating to watch.  Who does that kind of stuff?

Verdict:

I really enjoyed House of Wax far more than I expected and it's one of the better horror remakes out there.  It's got some really twisted images, competent lead characters, an awesome third act, and is wildly different from the original films.  Some of the characters suck and make awful decisions, but this is a fun movie that is very underrated in the horror community.  It has definitely got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good