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Movies / On DVD / House of Wax
House of Wax

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House of Wax (2005)

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Reviews Counted:145

Fresh:37

Rotten:108

Average Rating:4.3/10

Consensus: Bearing little resemblance to the 1953 original, House of Wax is a formulaic but better-than-average teen slasher flick.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: In this remake of the classic 1953 Andre de Toth film that starred Vincent Price, horrors abound in a creepy wax museum. A group of road-tripping Florida teenagers (Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael... In this remake of the classic 1953 Andre de Toth film that starred Vincent Price, horrors abound in a creepy wax museum. A group of road-tripping Florida teenagers (Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Paris Hilton, Robert Ri'chard, Jared Padalecki, and Jon Abrahams) stop to camp near a small town where an abandoned wax museum draws their curiosity. Upon exploring the scary cobwebbed space, they find that the figures are not only eerily lifelike, but that the entire museum--floor to ceiling--is actually made of wax. If that wasn't enough to scare them, they encounter a couple of very unsettling characters who seem to be the only people around for miles. One is a blood-splattered redneck who collects roadkill, dumping the bodies of dead deer into a fetid carcass swamp. The other is Bo (Brian Van Holt), a gas station attendant who lures the kids back to his house. Soon, through a series of stomach-turning slasher scenes featuring scissors, long knives, and even a pair of pliers, the teens get to know Bo a whole lot better. They even meet his insane brother Vincent (also played by Van Holt). Brief interludes of teen squabbling and a Hilton strip tease in red lace lingerie temporarily break the tension, but for the most part this HOUSE OF WAX stays the course with shockingly gory moments that earn grosser-than-gross status. Sick predilections involving an experimental surgical station and an elaborate wax-coating machine reveal Vincent's artistic process. But before the bloodbath is over, more twisted secrets about Bo and Vincent bubble to the surface, resulting in a spectacular grand finale and total meltdown. [More]

Starring: Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Brian Van Holt, Paris Hilton

Starring: Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Brian Van Holt, Paris Hilton, Jared Padalecki, Jon Abrahams, Robert Ri'chard

Director: Jaume Collet-Sera

Director: Jaume Collet-Sera
Screenwriter: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes
Producer: Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, Susan Levin
Composer: John Ottman
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for House of Wax

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61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The 2005 remake doesn't hold a candle to the original.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
05/06/05
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

... doesn’t look down upon its target audience... House both treats and terrorizes while legitimizing itself next to other slasher classics.

Full Review Source: MovieCrypt.com | comment Comment
05/06/05
Kevin A. Ranson
Kevin A. Ranson
MovieCrypt.com

You'll be rooting for these people to get slaughtered out of sheer boredom.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/06/05
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

The unmistakable promise of a sequel in the last scene inspires more resignation than anticipation.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
05/06/05
Pamela Troy
Pamela Troy
culturevulture.net

Such a vile and despicable heap of trash that I pity any lucid person who will actually pay decent money to sit through it.

Full Review Source: Cinemaphile.org | comment Comment
05/06/05
David Keyes
David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org

This movie gives it to you, as no movie has in some years.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/06/05
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post

When the cast starts wondering where the roadkill is, someone says, 'Follow the smell.' Good tip: That's how you'll know where Wax is playing.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
05/06/05
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today

It delivers some bracingly nasty gore scenes, but there's no spark left in the run-scream-repeat formula, and a movie whose biggest draw is profoundly untalented hotel-fortune heiress Paris Hilton is in desperate need of some juice.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/06/05
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A very stupid, very nasty and very messy horror film.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
05/06/05
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star

Most alarming, the movie leaves open the possibility of a sequel.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
05/06/05
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

It's nowhere near as punishing as Rob Zombie's House of 1,000 Corpses, but it's increasingly tense and resourceful and, in the end, it gets the sick job done.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
05/06/05
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
Slate

Film lacks horror and originality.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
05/06/05
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

Wretched excuse for a horror flick.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
05/06/05
Jeff Shannon
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times

The debut feature from director Jaume Collet-Serra does two things rare in the horror genre: It takes its time and it actually gets better as it goes along.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
05/06/05
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

"Something's dead out there." Yeah, like this movie.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
05/06/05
Sarah Chauncey
Sarah Chauncey
Reel.com

None of it is staged with any panache.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
05/06/05
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

A standard-issue 'dead teenager movie.'

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
05/06/05
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Yet another teens-versus- hillbillies slasher flick.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
05/06/05
M.E. Russell
M.E. Russell
Oregonian

The movie would have been creepier if it had shut us inside the museum, and given us more creative wax-based killings instead of revisiting familiar slasher-flick stuff.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
05/06/05
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

A remake in title only, this House of Wax is mostly inspired by The Twilight Zone and the Friday the 13th movies.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
05/06/05
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
all

Latest News for House of Wax

September 23, 2008: Selsus.com: Cekici, seksi, zevkli ve urpertici bir korku. Opens in new window
More...

September 23, 2008: Cineteka.com: Quente, sexy, deliciosamente, assustador. Opens in new window
More...

November 30, 2007: Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga Adopt a Scary Orphan
Horror trends come and go, but through 'em all, one thing remains the same: Kids are creepy. More...

July 30, 2007: Paris Hilton Joins Bousman's Rock Opera
Remember how "Saw" sequel maker Darren Lynn Bousman signed a deal to do a musical called "Repo! The Genetic Opera"? Yeah, for Lionsgate. And you'll never guess who he just cast... More...

See All

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