House of Wax

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2:17

House of Wax

R

2005

1h 47m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

27%

Tomatometer

161 Reviews

44%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

A gang of college friends, including Wade (Jared Padalecki) and his girlfriend, Carly (Elisha Cuthbert), are en route to a school football game when they wind up with a flat tire in a ghost town. They are forced to seek help in the only place that's open: the local wax museum. Once inside the spooky and seemingly abandoned building, they find the works on display are not quite what they seem -- and the group soon discovers it's being hunted by the insane twin brothers who run the museum.

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Critics Consensus

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

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Jamie Russell

BBC.com

May 24, 2005

3/5

Makes up for its idiot plot with a gallon of gore.

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Stephanie Zacharek

Salon.com

May 14, 2005

Filled with the usual contemporary horror staples, most notably lots of rusty torture implements and cellphones that tend to scurry mischievously out of reach just as the villain bears down on his prey.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

May 14, 2005

2/4

Her demise is spectacularly gruesome, gory and bloody and the filmmakers even throw in an entirely too obvious gag about the hotel heiress' penchant for letting herself get recorded on video tape.

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David Day

Horror Movie Talk

Sep 23, 2025

6/10

Unfortunately, House of Wax has a seemingly unlimited supply of rope to hang itself with. There is a tremendous amount of extraneous details that force us to wade through this 113 minute slog with no real rhyme or reason behind their inclusion.

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Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

Feb 7, 2024

3/5

Despite its annoyingly angsty teen dialogue and incomplete thematic elements, House of Wax successfully expands the legacy of The Wax Works story with interesting ideas and entertainingly grotesque moments.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 22, 2023

3/5

Better than it has any right to be, its brutality and absurdity help elevate what could have been a rote rehash.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 4, 2026

Can't recommend this movie!

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James W

@RT62675415 Jul 17, 2026

It deserves to be rated at least 75%. It’s a great film!

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Thomas H

@TLHadley Jul 17, 2026

Though it’s not a perfect film, it is enjoyable and a fun time. Acting was hit or miss throughout, but the concept was right on point. Surprised it took me so long to watch it.

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Josie N

@RT45492148 Jul 12, 2026

Classic horror with a great soundtrack.

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lo

Jun 9, 2026

i thought this movie was great, i watched it a long time ago when i was younger and thought it was really scary. and now when i watch it it still gives me that feeling. the eerie ness of the movie and the thought of being alone in a town is so scary. the soundtrack is really good too. this movie is solid and the style of it is really nice. would recommend

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Raziel T

@RT12506642 Jun 3, 2026

It's the most 2005 movie ever. Paris Hilton's character exists to take her pants off, and all characters beside the two final survivors are there for just some more kills to count. Ultimately, it's not a bad watch, the cinematography is pretty great and the effects still hold up despite their age - and the atmosphere was actually fairly solid too. It was just...a bit lacking in character and some scenes were questionable.

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Jaume Collet-Serra

Director

Elisha Cuthbert

Carly Jones

Chad Michael Murray

Nick Jones

Brian Van Holt

Bo

Paris Hilton

Paige Edwards

Jared Padalecki

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Synopsis

A gang of college friends, including Wade (Jared Padalecki) and his girlfriend, Carly (Elisha Cuthbert), are en route to a school football game when they wind up with a flat tire in a ghost town. They are forced to seek help in the only place that's open: the local wax museum. Once inside the spooky and seemingly abandoned building, they find the works on display are not quite what they seem -- and the group soon discovers it's being hunted by the insane twin brothers who run the museum.

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Producer: Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, Susan Downey
Screenwriter: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Dark Castle Entertainment
Rating: R (Language|Horror Violence|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 6, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $32.0M
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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