Evengyny
Thanks for the memories!
Vashirdfel
Simply A Masterpiece
Juana
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
daoldiges
I've seen this movie in both 2-D and 3-D and highly suggest waiting until you have the opportunity to experience it its original 3-D if possible. If that's not an option for you then it's still worth checking out even in 2-D, it just won't be as fun. It offers lots of good and then some not so good elements. The leading lady is a bit bland and some of the supporting characters acting is weak. However, the story is solid and interesting, Price is excellent, the sets and score are engaging, and it's kind of fun seeing an early Bronson role. I have to admit that I never really found this film actually scary, but I still enjoy it quite a bit.
dragunov-52990
House of wax brought something new to the world, 3d filming(not actuall 3d with special glasses). The movie was so intense and misterious for 1953 the ending will leave you breathless and shocked but as we could see and learned that most of pre 60's horror movies had a good ending. Vincent Price is playing a very misterious role in this film, he has to portray the modern and calm yet obsessed with wax figurines, serial killer, calculate in every way.
The two friend(portrayed) actresses played a + and - role. The + was the woman who was thinking straight and didnt chase the boys and didnt really cared how she looked and the - was her friend wich was exact opposite. Overall a great movie
Leofwine_draca
Unlike so many other horror films of the period, HOUSE OF WAX spares no time in cutting to the action. Ten minutes into the film and you have a terrific fight in a burning building, which traditionally doesn't happen till the end of a film like this. The speedy pace of the film is just one of the many, many factors in its favour, and works so that it is never boring.HOUSE OF WAX is essentially a remake of the 1933 classic, MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM, given a fresh breath of life by the advent of the 3D craze of the early '50s, enlivened by films such as CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. And indeed, there are many moments in the film where the 3D process works wonderfully; in fight scenes, things fly towards the screen, and the standout moment comes when a man playing some balls-on-elastic game knocks them repeatedly towards the camera, which must have been quite startling to an audience at that time.Along with the camera trickery, HOUSE OF WAX boasts an impressive performance from a youngish Vincent Price, in a role which helped to make his name synonymous with the horror genre. He would appear in countless flicks later on in the '50s, like THE FLY, THE TINGLER, and THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. He's perfectly cast as the silky-voiced proprietor of the wax museum, caring for his creations as if they were alive, but becoming a scarred maniac after a fire destroys them all (and there is a certain element of sympathy to be had with Price too; after all, he's been hideously crippled in a fire and his life's work has been destroyed - how would you react?).Price is supported by a fleshed out, capable cast of screaming heroines and butch heroes, the usual bunch you expect from these sort of films. Down in the cast list is also a young Charles Buchinsky, better known these days as Charles Bronson, who went on to star in loads of crime thrillers in the '70s like DEATH WISH. HOUSE OF WAX seems strangely old-fashioned when placed with other atomic monsters and sci-fi flicks which filled cinemas at the time, from INVADERS FROM MARS to WAR OF THE WORLDS and more. The genteel type of horror - crimes are hinted at but never shown explicitly - gives the film a certain kind of charm, and you can't help but think that those who die deserved it anyway (especially the incredibly annoying blonde haired woman who later starred as Morticia in THE ADDAMS FAMILY!).However, the lavish sets and costumes, good special effects (Price's makeup is certainly memorable), melodramatic music, and exciting fight scenes which literally burst to life on screen, helped in no small measure by the 3D process, make the film a very enjoyable watch. Two classic horror images also come from the film - a scarred Price hunting the streets in his fedora and cape; and the scenes showing wax models slowly melting, their eyes popping out and heads dropping. HOUSE OF WAX is definitely a minor classic of the genre, and a lot of fun for nostalgia buffs and Price fans alike.
Edgar Allan Pooh
. . . HOUSE OF WAX in perhaps the most ironic movie of all time. Prior to 1953, all big films served the dual purpose of providing entertainment and history lessons with "redeeming social value." BIRTH OF A NATION. The first BEN-HUR and MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. Then, in 1939, GONE WITH THE WIND, of course. HAMLET. Countless biographies, such as Emile Zola, the "great" Ziegfield, and Madame Curie. Then along came television, and everything changed. Everyone wanted to stay home to watch AMER1CAN BANDSTAND, DEATH VALLEY DAYS, and HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA for free on their expensive new home machines, rather than waste money on gas, concessions, and movie tickets to see "the same old, same old." (The "concessions" in the family Frigidaire were far cheaper, and Jiffy Pop was just a few years away.) Hollywood had to come up with something new, and they did, starting with HOUSE OF WAX: the so-called "3D" film, which continues to break the budget of every American family with spoiled kids right up to this very day! The crowning irony is that HOUSE OF WAX still is the best 3D flick of all time, especially with its paddle ball gimmick. Even more ironic, is spells out Hollywood's sinister game plan, to replace solid Western Civilization history lessons with Cheap Thrills. During the prologue of this story, Vincent Price's character represents Golden Age Hollywood, all about quality and worth. But when unprincipled rivals cut into his bottom line, this wax house proprietor sinks immediately to the bottom of the barrel to become a monstrously-deformed crass serial killer, only "in it for the money." Never before or since has a major America Industry been so honest about its evil intentions. So kudos for HOUSE OF WAX, the best 3D flick ever, as well as the most honest film in history!
