Paris Hilton gets killed in the most poetic way in this film and that gains my respect right from the start. This horror flick is really not a remake of the classic Vincent Price horror film. The similarities are only in name and the fact that both films do feature wax museums.
Carly Jones (Elisha Cuthbert, THE GIRL NEXT DOOR) and a bunch of her friends are heading out on a road trip to see a big football game. Her boyfriend Wade (Jared Padalecki, CRY_WOLF) has a very combative relationship with Carly’s tough-guy brother Nick (Chad Michael Murray, FREAKY FRIDAY). Dalton (Jon Abrahams, PRIME) is a white guy, hip-hop wanna-be, who idolizes Nick. Also along for the trip are football fanatic Blake (Robert Ri'chard, COACH CARTER) and his girlfriend Paige (Hilton). Most of the cast is really just there to pad the body count.
As its getting late, they decide to camp out in the middle of nowhere. A big rusty pick-up truck rides up and shines its lights on them. It’s the kind of truck that only redneck killers drive in the movies. Of course Nick throws a bottle at the truck and breaks its headlight. The next morning, Wade’s fan belt is broken. Carly and Wade head to the nearest town, which seems pretty empty. They find Bo (Brian Van Holt, S.W.A.T.), the only mechanic in town, at a funeral. He promises them he’ll help them once things are wrapped up at the church. When he invites them back to his house for the fan belt, I think Carly and Wade should have gone the other way.
But this is a dead teenager flick and they can’t act in their best interests. Wade always goes and does things that question his tact and even his intelligence. The plot has some nice surprises, but like so many modern horror films it doesn’t know that gross stuff is not scary; it’s the fear of gross stuff that is terrifying. To its benefit, it gets in some nice chills, but then goes and totally breaks all logic the next moment.
The acting is just fine for a film of this nature. Lots of people liked to take pot shots at Hilton, because she’s nano-brained, but she does a perfectly fine job playing a nano-brained teen who is just buying time until she buys the farm. What the film does right is develop a nice central parallel between the good guys and the bad guys, but it takes too long to get there and never develops it as far as I would have liked.
Then comes the great set design. The House of Wax is actually made of wax. When a fire breaks out, the f/x and look of the melting structure are wonderful. The production team of Graham “Grace” Walker (production design), Brian Edmonds (senior art director), Nicholas McCallum (art director) and Beverley Dunn (set decoration) really deserve great praise for their original vision. For horror fans, the film will provide decent entertainment value. All others should just rent the real HOUSE OF WAX with Vincent Price. But if you want to have some sick fantasy fulfillment to see Paris Hilton get whacked then definitely catch this film. Don’t worry nothing that she’d miss was harmed in the making of this film.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
