Oh-so-delightfully creepy.
House of Wax (1953)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 31
Fresh: 29
Rotten:2
Average Rating: 7.2/10
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
Genre: Horror/Suspense
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... 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 devoted wax figure sculptor for his museum in 1910s NYC. When his financial partner, Sidney Wallace (Paul Cavanagh), demands more sensational exhibits to increase profits, Jarrod refuses. The vengeful Wallace torches the museum, leaving Jarrod for dead. Miraculously, Jarrod survives (though his hands and legs are rendered useless) and builds a new House of Wax with help from threatening deaf-mute sculptor, Igor (Charles Bronson). The museum's popular "Chamber of Horrors" showcases recent crimes like the murder of Wallace, a victim of a cloaked, disfigured killer along with his fiancée, Cathy (Carolyn Jones). When Cathy's friend, Sue (Phyllis Kirk), visits the museum she makes a discovery that leads to the horrifying truth behind the House of Wax. With gasp inducing (and tongue-in-cheek) 3-D scenes like the museum fire, paddleball man, and can-can girls, de Toth creates an atmospheric film which stands up as a horror classic in 2-D as well. [More]
Starring: Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones
Starring: Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones, Charles Bronson, Paul Picerni, Roy Roberts, Angela Clarke, Paul Cavanagh, Dabbs Greer
Director: Andre De Toth
Director: Andre De Toth
Screenwriter: Crane Wilbur, Charles S. Belden
Producer: Bryan Foy
Composer: David Buttolph
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Reviews for House of Wax
An extremely effective "unmasking" scene at the climax ... stands as one of the great shock moments in horror cinema.
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.
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.
A film in which just about every technical and dramatic gambit has been judged to near perfection.
Dimly we foresee movie audiences embalmed in three-dimensional wax and sound.
De Toth brings off one classic sequence with Kirk fleeing through the gaslit streets pursued by a shadowy figure in a billowing cloak.
Price brings a touch of creepy class to this otherwise middling B-level horror story.
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.
Despite Price's presence this is little more than a footnote in American horror cinema.
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