Besides the vats of molten wax, the only thing that links 1953’s House of Wax with Jaume Collet-Serra’s remake is a character named Vincent, who runs Trudy’s House of Wax with his brother in the abandoned town of Ambrose. There’s a book to be written about why the lower classes have become the boogeymen du jours of horror movies, because here we are again: A bunch of teenagers on their way to some vaguely specified event wind up in Hicksville and must fend for their lives against a family of rednecks.
Just as Marcus Nispel reworked Tobe Hopper’s legendary Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the MTV generation, Collet-Serra tricks out André de Toth’s classic, except this new House of Wax more accurately brings to mind David Schmoeller’s underrated Tourist Trap, in which a bunch of teens stumble upon a mannequin museum operated by two brothers, one a mysteriously masked freakazoid. Of course, Tourist Trap itself owed plenty to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and House of Wax, and what with all the inbreeding that ostensibly goes on in them thar hills, it’s almost fitting that all of these films share so much storytelling DNA.
Though not as exciting as Rob Schmidt’s unapologetically vapid Wrong Turn, House of Wax isn’t without strong visual ideas. Collet-Serra’s camera often lingers on his characters’ greasy faces in claustrophobic close-up, summoning a creepy contrast between the real and waxen bodies of the film. And inside a movie house that plays Robert Aldrich’s What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, the filmmakers encourage audiences to critique their roles as passive spectators.
Nothing is particularly fleshed-out, but it’s clear that Collet-Serra had a lot of fun making his House of Wax, from the ridiculous justification for the story’s horrors to the gorgeous spectacle of melting wax that closes the film, evoking a reverse entry into a mother’s womb. And as one sporto’s plastic blonde girlfriend, Paris Hilton is never cast in wax, but she does get impaled, and when she does, audiences may reply with a resounding “that’s hot.”
Image/Sound
Shout! Factory’s new 2K scan is from House of Wax’s original interpositive, which is in expectedly good condition, though the image does tend to get a bit murky during a few early, dimly lit scenes. Beyond the transfer’s pleasantly film-like textures, skin tones are natural-looking and there aren’t any crushed blacks on display. As such, this presentation walks circles around the prior Warner Home Video release. The film also gets a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track for this collector’s edition that strikes a nice balance between audible dialogue and John Ottman’s score. Those with a soft spot for mid-aughts bands like Interpol and My Chemical Romance will be happy to know that the soundtrack’s post-punk and emo cuts thump with just the right level of nostalgia-triggering intensity.
Extras
Among the extras ported over from House of Wax’s 2005 home-video release are a handful of featurettes on the making of the film, an alternate opening sequence, interviews with cast and crew from the electronic press kit, and various other odds and ends. New to this edition is a bunch of interviews with everyone from makeup effects artist Jason Baird to composer John Ottman and actors Robert Ri’chard and Paris Hilton. These are all short and insightful, but Hilton is the big get here, as she’s a good sport about House of Wax’s infamous “See Paris Die” campaign, chatting warmly about the film’s legacy and regaling viewers with a humorous story about wanting her character to meet her end in red stilettos. But considering how popular the film remains among a certain demographic, it’s almost inexplicable that we haven’t been gifted a contemporary audio commentary by Jaume Collet-Serra.
Overall
Jaume Collet-Serra’s remake of House of Wax is a nostalgia trip worth taking for fans of aughts horror, and it gets a loving Blu-ray release from Shout! Factory.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
