Before you’ve even read this review you will have decided whether or not you are the kind of person who would want to go and see a film called House of Wax.

From the same people who brought us Gothika and Thirteen Ghosts and starring a young cast of vaguely familiar twenty-somethings pretending to be teenagers, this one ain’t gonna break any new ground in the horror genre. But taken on the level it’s aimed at, does House of Wax provide a suitably trashy yet fun shlocker?

Carly (24’s Elisha Cuthbert) is on the way to a football game with her friends (including the over-exposed heiress Paris Hilton). After deciding to camp out for the night they wake up to discover one of their cars has been tampered with. They manage to get to the closest town and find help from the garage owner. The town also possesses an eerie House of Wax. Not only are all the figurines made of wax, but the entire place is. But there’s something decidedly realistic about all those wax figures. Cue carnage.

House of Wax comes amid a busy year for horror. With no grand pretensions and ruthless efficiency it emerges as one of the most solidly enjoyable genre offerings for a while. Unlike last month’s Cursed, no sacrifices have been made to receive a lower rating and unlike last month’s Ring 2, the film does make some sort of sense. It’s best to watch House of Wax as if you were visiting a drive-in with a bag of popcorn and cup of coke in front of you. This is trash, through and through.

The cast are all uniformly average. Elisha Cuthbert is probably the best, but she’s given little to do other than run and bleed. Paris Hilton is predictably, yet compellingly awful. One of the key questions many people will want to know before paying their five quid, is does Paris bite it? Well, the answer, as already promoted in many reviews, is a bloodthirsty yes. Warner actually sold t-shirts in the states with the words ‘See Paris Die’ to get sick youths in. Her death was actually cheered in many screenings and I was surrounded by a healthy stream of laughter as she got viciously murderlised. It’s one of the film’s highlights and may be one of the feel-good cinematic moments of the year.

One of the film’s major shortcomings is that it overdoses on gore as a replacement for suspense. While three couples did leave when I saw the movie, it would probably be because of the violence rather than the scare-factor. I’ve no problem with violence in a horror movie, but it’s nice if it’s supported by some genuine chills as well. The direction is bland, showing none of the flair or style that was put into the similarly plotted Texas Chainsaw remake. One thing which is admirable however is the sheer energy of the film. While many teen slashers are content in making things easy for themselves, House of Wax does put a lot of effort into it, making it a rare movie that actually gets better as it goes along.

The finale is excellent. A massive fiery destruction of the House of Wax is a visually satisfying spectacle. It may not be scary but it’s fun to watch, kinda like the whole movie. Don’t get me wrong this is a stupid movie where people act stupidly. But it does exactly what you would expect a movie called House of Wax to do... and what’s wrong with that?

House Of Wax website





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