SPOILER WARNING: The following article gives away the entire story of 2005’s House of Wax so if you have not yet seen it and want to keep the film’s surprises preserved, proceed with caution before you read on.
I remember, in 2005, being just on the cusp of my ongoing obsession with the horror genre but having very little interest in seeing that year’s reimagining of 1953’s Vincent Price-led classic, House of Wax. This was mainly because I was not a fan of House of Wax cast member Paris Hilton, but the film’s pretty rude marketing strategy to promote the reality TV star’s death scene convinced me to give it a shot. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.
Granted, I was about 12 years old when I first saw Jaume Collet-Serra’s directorial debut from Dark Castle Entertainment about a group of friends who discover a wax museum with a shocking secret behind its realistic sculptures. However, after watching it a second time as a 30-year-old, I still think it is one of the best horror movies from an era that saw the genre at a pretty low point and believe even our own House of Wax review judges its admittedly simple plot too harshly, ignoring its more entertaining and even unsettling elements. Well, I will proudly be the one to defend what I think is a horror movie remake that does not suck with the following points.
The Twin Theme Lends To Some Amusing Storytelling
Out of our obligatory crew of young, doomed road-trippers, House of Wax places the most focus on Carly (Elisha Cuthbert) and her twin brother, Nick (One Tree Hill cast member Chad Michael Murray), who point out that their parents labeled her as the good twin and him as the “evil” one. This rivalrous dynamic is actually matched by the film’s antagonists — a mechanic named Bo and his formerly-conjoined artist brother Vincent, both played by Brian Van Holt.
The film’s cold opening hints that their parents favored one brother over the other due to his erratic behavior, which we assume would be Vincent because he is the one covering people in wax until it is revealed that Bo had the behavioral problems. We also learn that there is more to Nick than he lets on when it is discovered that he took the wrap for his friend Dalton’s (Jon Abraham) grand theft auto and comes through for his sister when Bo holds her captive. There are not many slasher movies that would bother to relate the villains to the victims like this and I appreciate House of Wax for the effort.
Damon Herriman Is One Creepy Scene-Stealer
Another one of the more underrated aspects of House of Wax is the performance by Damon Herriman. You may better recognize the Australian actor from the Justified cast as Dewey Crowe or for the times he played Charles Manson in both Netflix’s Mindhunter and 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Credited as “Roadkill Driver” but revealed to be Bo and Vincent’s other brother, Lester, at the very end, Herriman basically shows up to make sure the overused slasher movie trope of the creepy redneck gets crossed off the list. However, with his discomforting glances toward Carly, concerning dialogue, and love for his bowie knife, the actor makes his brief time on screen something truly intense and memorable.
The Waxing Process Is Deeply Unsettling
Speaking of intense and memorable, I will never forget the scene that reveals how the titular House of Wax’s sculptures look so authentic: there are fucking people underneath them! We witness Vincent’s “sculpting” process performed on Carly’s boyfriend, Wade, played by Jared Padalecki right before co-leading the Supernatural cast made him a Scream King.
Wade is drugged with some chemical that keeps him immobile, but alive, as Vincent blasts him with hot wax that conforms to his skin and traps him inside once it dries and he is placed on display. I have seen my fair share of great slasher movies but few that imagine a more unimaginably horrifying way to go than this.
I Think This Is Easily Paris Hilton's Best Performance
I mentioned earlier how my knowledge that Paris Hilton’s character does not survive House of Wax convinced me to check it out in the first place. What I did not mention before was that her performance in the movie as Paige actually led me to change my then-low opinion of the heiress, too.
I am not necessarily calling her performance anything special but I do not believe it is at all worthy of the vitriol most critics spewed at her in response. You know who agrees with me? The late Roger Ebert, who said in his review of House of Wax that “she is no better or worse than the typical Dead Post-Teenager, and does exactly what she is required to do in a movie like this, with all the skill, admittedly finite, that is required.” I would say this movie is Hilton’s best acting work and, not to mention, her death scene is, indeed, pretty killer.
Elisha Cuthbert's Carly Is A Smart Final Girl
While not judged nearly as harshly as her co-star, I believe Elisha Cuthbert’s performance in House of Wax deserves more love. In fact, I think her character is one of the better-written modern horror movie Final Girls for her time.
Carly is not without her mistakes but she compensates for them by also making the smartest decisions of any character in the movie, such as locking Bo out of his truck when she becomes suspicious of him, and she shows great resilience when she is forced to pry her superglued lips open. Many slasher movies are guilty of deplorable characters who serve no other purpose but to suffer the carnage for our enjoyment but there was never a moment I did not empathize and root for Carly.
The Final Act Is Spectacular
Another thing about House of Wax that my idol Roger Ebert agrees with me about is that the climactic final sequence is fantastic. The museum is an actual wax building that begins to melt when a fire breaks out while Carly and Nick are trapped inside with Bo and Vincent.
The house’s melting effects are mostly done practically and look amazing, which kept me on the edge of my seat while the brother and sister searched desperately for an exit. As far as I am concerned, this was a genius idea that could not have been executed better, and is the number one reason to call it one of the most underrated horror films of its time.
As For The Negatives...
Of course, I cannot ignore the things that keep House of Wax from being great, in my opinion. As I mentioned earlier, many bad decisions are made, such as when Dalton discovers Wade on display at the museum and tries to get him out of his wax casing. He has good intentions but he should have known to stop after noticing his friend’s skin came off with the wax.
Speaking of Wade, Carly does not seem too torn up when she discovers his freshly waxed-over body (which is easily the biggest flaw of her character). Yet, I was not bothered by these flaws like I was by the film’s first 20-30 minutes, which is an absolute slog to get through due to its forced character exposition and choppy editing choices that were frustratingly prevalent for the time.
Luckily, I am able to forgive House of Wax’s shortcomings because, as far as admittedly stupid slasher movies from the 2000s go, it was one of the most entertaining I have ever seen. At the end of the day, what more can you really ask for?
