House of Wax
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Movie Reviews of House of Wax
Movie Review: Grab Your 3-D Glasses for This One!
Summary: 5 Stars
Vincent Price's "House of Wax" (1953) is a striking 3-Dementional movie adaptation of Lionel Atwell's classic "Mystery at the Wax Museum" (1933)- the '33 flick is on the reverse side of the 2003 DVD. As an emergent technological wonder, the 1953 version used interlocking 35mm camera filming on mirrors from 45-degree angles to make the movie. At the theater, the dual projection system showed its startling effects to 3-D glasses wearing viewers.
This macabre tale of beauty, death, and evil psychosis features spears thrown towards you, paddle balls slapped at you, doors open upon you, blood flung on to you, and (just before the closing credits) a young Charles Bronson's wax head thrust at you... all in frightening 3-D. Phyllis Kirk, the beautiful heroine, is chased through the rainy midnight streets of 1902 New York City by the murderer madman (Price) his sliding gape always close behind her- clip-clop. Her first visit through the dark and fearsome museum, featuring cadavers waxed into history's evil people, is equally gripping. As the wax begins to pour towards her you will feel her fear.
You'll want to grab your 3-D eyewear for this horror classic. If you don't have 3-D glasses red and blue, or green, cellophane will suffice (one color for each eye).
There is no foul language and only implied nudity is this fun flick. This 2003 DVD version is very clear and well presented.
The House of Wax's demented mad man, still in love with beauty, who is willing to kill any to make his wax displays is very frightening and will be entertaining for all horror film aficionados. This is a movie you will want to show, particularly to the new generations of horror fans, at Halloween parties.
Movie Review: a brilliant horror film
Summary: 5 Stars
Vincent Price gives a brilliant character study {even though he probably didn't mean to} of a man pushed into insanity when his life goes up in smoke, literally. as the film opens we see Jarrod {Price} at work, his greedy partner later arrives. after happily going over his plans for more sculptures, Price is in for a shock when his partner asks how much insurance the place is worth. the guy later sets the place on fire, and gets into a fight with Jarrod. The man escapes, leaving Jarrod to watch his "family" melt away and the museum going up in smoke. Jarrod, presumed dead, is actually alive. His assistant is a mute man named Igor {played by the action movie legend Charles Bronson in a very early role}. Jarrod is now wheelchair bound and he plots revenge on his assistant; but soon he begins to use dead bodies as wax sculptures. The "incredibly real" look to them amazes many except the woman played by Phyllis Kirk. The opening night of Jarrod's new museum is memorable for the paddleball man scene...hamming it up as the barker. Jarrod's face isn't real {he made one to look like his old face; his real one is hideous due to all the burns}. dressed all in black, he has a memorable street chase scene where he strolls around as if he were Quasi Moto from the Hunchback film. Vincent's radio peer, Frank Lovejoy, co-stars as the policeman on the case of several murders in town {the victim's likenesses all amazingly appear the next day as wax figures in Jarrod's museum}. Paul Cavanaugh, Paul Picerni, Angela Clarke, and Roy Roberts also make appearances. Carolyn Jones {Morticia Addams} has a memorable role in the beginning of the film. this is the role that forever linked Vincent with bad-guys, villains, and horror.Movie Review: My favorite Vincent Price Flick
Summary: 5 Stars
The 3D aspect was there and if it weren't for the mention of it in the intro I would not of known why things were sometimes thrown towards the camera. I am sure back in the day it would of blown people away and it sounds so great in a time of simple movies trying to do new things.
I have watched a lot of Vincent Price movies lately and I have to say first this is far by my favorite I have seen right now. I kept thinking to myself about the time this movie was made and how much work was done with the mannequins and even the fight scene at the very beginning of the movie in a burning building. Price's acting shined for me in this movie and I find it strange how I have seen some of his movies with nothing going for it yet Vincent Price is always the shining piece in it. For me the most annoying part was the blonde hair woman at the beginning (whose name escapes me right now) kept doing this laugh that made my spine tingle not because it was scary but more because it was rather annoying. That is a minor gripe for me which is really nothing next to such a great movie. For the price I am glad I bought this one even though I found myself wanting to see more I am still happy with it.
The special features are not really there but the disc is double sided so you get the older version on the other side. Though I did not enjoy the older version since I watched the Price version first I just could not get into it. The audio and visual content was also disappointing to me in the Price version with somewhat grainy video and with the audio sounding somewhat muffled. The overall experience for me was seeing one of the all time great horror masters (actors) outdoing himself in my opinion once again.
Movie Review: House of Wax
Summary: 5 Stars
Vincent Price delivers his first starring role within the Horror genre as Prof. Henry Jarrod, a crippled but talented wax museum sculptor who was scarred by a greedy business partner years earlier. Jarrod continues his work in a brand new exhibit, but when his recent additions begin bearing striking resemblances to bodies that have gone missing from the morgue, the police decide to settle in on the wayward wax museum! HOUSE OF WAX represents one of Price's finest performances, and while he still hams it up as only Price can, he is not as over the top or eccentric as he would become in later roles. What stands out more than anything else here is the incredible set design and props, ranging from the cold, fog strewn streets of the chase sequences to the lavishly dressed museum and its sinister boiler room. In the most startling and atmospheric sequence, the suspicious Sue Allen sneaks into the wax museum after hours, where all of the creations appear to follow her with their eyes as she sneaks around the darkened exhibits and shadowy corridors. The scene ends with the brilliant reveal of the killer as she struggles to escape, which serves as the defining moment in the film. While HOUSE OF WAX has plenty going for it, it is not without its faults. The uneven tone mixes straight horror with many goofy moments in both the acting and plot, but the most distracting elements are the unnecessary filler scenes that were added to exploit the gimmicky 3-D filming experience (most notably the paddle ball barker and can-can dancers). Outside of these minor quibbles, the film stands out as an excellent Gothic Horror classic that is staple viewing for all genre fans!
-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies
Movie Review: PURSED ....... {possibly pursued too}
Summary: 5 Stars
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!