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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.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for horror violence, some sexual content and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:2005-Summer

Box Office: $32,000,834

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.

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Release:

Oct 25, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • House of Wax tells the story of a group of friends who fall prey to a sinister plot while passing through a small town on their way to a college football game.
  • Source: Warner Home Video
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for House of Wax

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    141 - 153 (sorted by date)
    Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
    Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
     
     

    The camera is like a loving captive of Hilton's assured smirk and self-aware demeanor. It's as if she's acting while watching herself on an internal monitor.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
    05/04/05
    Phil Villarreal
    Phil Villarreal
    Arizona Daily Star

    The film does everything that teen horror flicks are supposed to do, but Hilton undermines it all by not even trying to act.

    Full Review Source: Sean the Movie Guy | comment Comment
    05/04/05
    Sean McBride
    Sean McBride
    Sean the Movie Guy

    Hilton runs the gamut of emotions from A to A-minus, and the others look desperate to forget that this dazzlingly dumb debacle will be on their resumes.

    Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
    05/04/05
    Peter Travers
    Peter Travers
    Rolling Stone
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Sadism is the only thing House has going for it

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    05/04/05
    Sean O'Connell
    Sean O'Connell
    Filmcritic.com

    how seriously should any film be taken when it has Paris Hilton and her lacy red lingerie in a supporting role?

    Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    05/04/05
    Andrea Chase
    Andrea Chase
    Killer Movie Reviews

    A museum of gory, joyless, easy shocks.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    05/04/05
    Gregory Kirschling
    Gregory Kirschling
    Entertainment Weekly

    Slasher-lite

    Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
    05/03/05
    Scott Nash
    Scott Nash
    Three Movie Buffs

    First-time director Jaume Collet-Serra lingers over the victims at lengths discomfortingly gratuitous even by slasher standards. But he also demonstrates a droll touch.

    Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
    05/03/05
    Benjamin Strong
    Benjamin Strong
    Village Voice

    That's hot.

    Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
    05/03/05
    Ed Gonzalez
    Ed Gonzalez
    Slant Magazine

    Delivers what its fans come for--gore, violence, a little sex, lots of wax.

    Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
    05/02/05
    Harvey S. Karten
    Harvey S. Karten
    Compuserve

    Though delivering the basic goods, this is a routine, unexciting reimagining of the 1953 classic House of Wax, itself a remake of the superb 1933 Mystery of the House of Wax

    Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
    04/29/05
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    The characters are about as intelligent as their waxen alter-egos, making it impossible to care too much about what happens to them.

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    04/28/05
    Scott Foundas
    Scott Foundas
    Variety

    Characters are rote and unremarkable, plot devices predictable and the camera cheats by sticking close to actors so a viewer cannot see from where the next shock will come.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
    04/26/05
    Kirk Honeycutt
    Kirk Honeycutt
    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
    141 - 153 (sorted by date)
    Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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