Home :: DVD :: Horror :: General  

Classic Horror & Monsters
Cult Classics
Frighteningly Funny
General

Series & Sequels
Slasher Flicks
Teen Terror
Television
Things That Go Bump
House of Wax

House of Wax

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 >>

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Wax Nostalgic
Review: Saw this last summer at NYC's Film Forum with bona fide 3-D goggles--lots of fun! Of course, there's the famous paddleball man, who throws balls out at the audience, but my favorite 3-D moment was when evil henchman Charles Bronson ran THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, from us, towards the hero as he attempted to chase after Vincent Price. That was unexpected and struck me as quite hilarious as suddenly the bottom of the retreating Bronson is in your face.

Vincent Price stars as a genius wax sculptor making incredibly lifelike models who gets horribly disfigured when a fire destroys his museum. Since he can't sculpt any more, he does the next best thing--and I'll leave that to your fertile imagination. Suffice it to say that murder victims pop up in the most disturbing "displays". I always like when Vincent sports his goatee like he does here, and he's one of those rare performers who is always appealing, even when playing a villian, or perhaps especially so.
Remember your childhood Vincent Price days, and wax nostalgic at the Wax Museum!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Inspiration for FREDDY!?!
Review: Scared the hot dogs out of me when I was a kid, watching it in the basement matinee of a nearby church. Not a "Price"-less film, which makes it all the better! I believe this was Wes Craven's inspiration for Freddy from "Nightmare on Elm St" films, whether on a conscious/subconscious level. From the charred flesh, wide-brimmed hat and off-center walk - it's Freddy! Wax on, Wax off...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This is classic Vincent Price, the type movie he did best.
Review: Somehow I managed to talk my mother into taking me to this movie when I was in third grade, primarily because I had never seen 3D.

We went, and it scared the heck out of me. I didn't sleep well for almost 3 weeks .

After a few years had passed, I saw this movie again on television and began to appreciate what a classic it is. If I can manage to catch it on TV, I rarely miss a chance to watch it.

Interestingly, the first time I saw it, the person sitting next to me had used Lifeboy Soap, and each time I have smelled that particular soap over the last forty years, I have first had a wave of uneasiness come over me, before I remembered why.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: GREAT! But where's the DVD??? :(
Review: Still waiting.... I don't buy VHS tapes.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: PURSED ....... {possibly pursued too}
Review: The girl's never without her purse , err ....Phyllis Kirk that is! Just kidding but she does have that habit of clutching the darn thing to death. BUT what a find {!} and what a pair of screamers - this girl can hit the high notes correctly in this Great Double Bill [more later] version of this great clunker [never fails] in the remake Vinnie the P. [with apologies to Cassandra, err ... Elvira, Mistress of the Dank, err Dark] all is set for a great rollercoatser ride, PITY the DVD isn't in 3-D [was televised that way some time ago ..... ] HOWEVER, two plusses .... the hero's flawless caps, AND Carolyn Jones [later Morticia] - [sigh!] incredible waist-line [beats Scarlett O'Hara!], and then there's Charlie B. as the deaf mute, err sensory impaired hunk WITH eyeshadow and the full schmear ... one can go on forever - this is great stuff!!!!

BUT

The ORIGINAL? Side two - when Technicolor or 3 strip color was in its infancy ... now here's something - the Main Gal is a woman of her own circa 1933 [she refers to the "S" word!!} ... great costumes! AND holds up perfectly against the remake with Vinnie [the remake's set in 1900 - the USA original in 1932???] - perfect homage to Lange and Murnau all those great shadows, but the remake [1953] recreates some of the original shot-by-shot - no fair .... {original has this GREAT art-decco set!}

THIS ONE's a MUST for every horror fan [especially BABE Phyllis Kirk]

NOW why are we waiting for a DVD version of 'PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE'? Double bill the Karl Malden version with the Bela Lugosi .... please!

More sreams!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great, but why no widescreen?
Review: The transfer looks great, but I wish it was in widescreen. This is one of my favorite Price movies, so it's great to finally have it out on DVD. I heard early rumours that this would also be released in the original 3-D version. That would have been a nice option, but maybe it's something Warner Brothers has planned for later. I also like the addition of the 1933 movie "Mystery Of The Wax Museum". No Price fan should be without this DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unforgettable cult movie !
Review: Think about the immortality and preserve the memories of your beloved friends in wax , free of the corruption and decadence avoiding their bodies become in ashes . But the mistery will go beyond this naif premise . This horror vision feeds the inner thoughts of Vincent Price to built that wax museum
Andre de Toth a master in the suspense and supernatural facts faced this film with all the available effects in that age and the result (believe or not) was a little masterful gem.
This film has kept its status level through the years and seems improving with the years like the good wine.
Vincent Price made a tour de force acting with this . A must for any viewer. Watch to Charles Bronson as his loyal mude servant .

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Terrific Double Bill
Review: This delicious double bill features "Mystery at the Wax Museum" and its remake, "House of Wax." Both tell the tale of a turn-of-the-century sculptor in a wax museum who develops an unusual attachment to his creations and becomes horribly disfigured when his partner sets fire to the museum in order to collect the insurance. Mad for revenge, the sculptor sets up a new wax museum, this time using the dead bodies of his murder victims beneath the wax glaze.

The best of the two great films is "Mystery at the Wax Museum" (1933). Among the many things it has going for it is Glenda Farrell as Flo Dempsey, a wisecracking, rapid-talking, saucy blonde reporter who suspects the nefarious goings-on and goes with gusto after her story. Farrell rated her own "Torchy Blaine" film series in the 30's and is ace here, providing lots of energetic fun. Also featured is exquisitely beautiful Fay Wray and a wonderful Lionel Atwill as Ivan Igor, the demented sculptor. The dialogue is sharp and vibrant, being pre-code. With the influence of German Expressionism, it's also great to look at with an early two-strip Technicolor process and interesting sets. Another fascinating aspect is the look at New York City in that period: Greenwich Village apartments with their skylights and fireplaces, and Times Square on New Years Eve 1933. The whole thing is a delight.

It's companion "House of Wax" is also a deliciously fun film, originally shown in 3-D, and worthy of a big bowl of popcorn and a rainy night. Vincent Price is priceless (honk honk) as the disfigured sculptor, Henry Jarrod, and gives one of his best performances. Also in the story are Phyllis Kirk as Sue Allen, a young woman who becomes suspicious of the sculptor when her roommate, Cathy Gray (Carolyn Jones), is murdered and a wax figure uncannily resembling Cathy turns up in Jarrod's exhibition. A very young Charles Bronson (listed in the credits as Charles Buchinsky) appears as Igor, a deaf mute, one of the professor's sinister assistants. The 3-D influences are still apparent throughout. A man advertising the opening of the new House of Wax, for instance, bangs away on elastic-tethered paddle balls in front of the building and in 3-D, these balls looked like they were coming right over the heads of the movie audience. With no blood and gore, only lots of atmosphere, it's also pure fun and not unpleasantly sadistic as some other Price horror films. Especially delightful is Carolyn Jones, best known as "Morticia" on "The Addams Family," as golddigger Cathy. She's a hoot!

This is a great combination. I only wish it was possible to see "House of Wax" in 3-D (as it appeared on the screen) through DVD, because that would make this double bill perfect.


Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Pretty Interesting!
Review: This is a very strange sort of movie, but pretty good. Vincent Price is a wax sculptor with a screw loose. Watch out for Igor! (Price's deaf/mute henchman played by a young Charles Bronson, still Charles Buchinksy) Him help master dip victims in hot wax and also try to chop someone's head off in guillotine. (as you've probably gathered, he isn't a very nice character) The paddleball guy is cool too. Not a bad movie...but watch it in the daytime with a close friend.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Classic!
Review: This is one of my favorite movies from my favorite horror actor of all time. I really prefer these older movies to the new slasher films. These are the ones that mess with your head and keep you up at night. This movie is pure genius; what an original storyline. Halfway through the movie, most people figure out the secret, but that does not make it any less enjoyable. This is a must-have movie for any horror movie buff.


<< 1 2 3 4 5 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates