A film in which just about every technical and dramatic gambit has been judged to near perfection.
Comment
09/24/07
House of Wax (1953)
93 %
Reviews Counted: 29 Fresh: 27 Rotten:2 Average Rating: 7.1/10
Consensus:
House of Wax is a 3-D horror delight that combines the atmospheric eerieness of the wax museum with the always chilling presence of Vincent Price.
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Synopsis: André de Toth's remake of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM is one of the first and best 3-D (stereoscopic) feature films, an alternative technology (like Cinemascope, Cinerama) used by 1950s directors attempting to compete with the new threat of television. Professor Jarrod (Vincent Price) is a... [More]
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Starring: Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones, Charles Bronson
Director: Andre De Toth
Screenwriter: Crane Wilbur, Charles S. Belden
Producer: Bryan Foy
Composer: David Buttolph
Screenwriter: Crane Wilbur, Charles S. Belden
Producer: Bryan Foy
Composer: David Buttolph
Reviews
Top Critic
De Toth brings off one classic sequence with Kirk fleeing through the gaslit streets pursued by a shadowy figure in a billowing cloak.
02/09/06
Top Critic
Despite Price's presence this is little more than a footnote in American horror cinema.
03/16/04
Top Critic
An extremely effective "unmasking" scene at the climax ... stands as one of the great shock moments in horror cinema.
07/23/08
House of Wax was stunningly directed by Andre de Toth who used the new 3-D process to its fullest potential without bogging down the narrative with too many 'gee-look-what-I-can-do' tricks.
09/24/07
The effects are done with playfulness, zest, and some imagination (they range from a barker batting paddleballs in your face to a murderer leaping from the row in front of you), making this the most entertaining of the gimmick 3-Ds.
09/24/07
Dimly we foresee movie audiences embalmed in three-dimensional wax and sound.
03/25/06
Top Critic
Price brings a touch of creepy class to this otherwise middling B-level horror story.
06/25/05
House of Wax is not particularly scary or suspenseful, but it is a lot of fun and effectively creates an atmosphere of dread using bright colors and shadows.
05/16/05
...the film is still a crowd pleaser, its dusky shadows, turn-of-the-century setting, menacing villain, and bizarre museum as creepy as ever.
08/08/03
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