House of Wax - DVD Review

Not nearly as bad as it could have or maybe even should have been, the latest remake from Dark Castle (Gothika, Ghost Ship) delivers a few thrills and could be just the ticket for this Halloween season if you're looking for a few things. Do you want to see Paris Hilton dancing in her underwear and Elisha Cuthbert in a revealing tank top for most of the running time? Check. Do you want to see one of those two lovely ladies get a metal pole through the head in a moment that made some audiences cheer when the film played in theaters? Check. Are you sick and tired of these PG-13 horror movies and want to see some truly gory glop, like decapitations, disfigurations, and worse? Check. Do you like lots of hot, dripping wax? Check, please.

House of Wax comes from a pretty well-cut formula - get pretty people together in a bad situation, pick one or two to live, brutally kill the rest - but it's how the wax gets poured into that formula that saves it from the trash pile occupied by so many of its peers. It's not one of the best horror movies of recent years, but it will probably fit the bill for your late night horror fix (although the complete lack of actual T&A, which used to be a horror staple, is disappointing, especially with Hilton and Cuthbert in the cast). Yes, the characters in House of Wax, as they explore the creepiest town ever, do some of the dumbest things imaginable ("hey, I wonder what's in this locked cellar") but that's part of the fun of movies like House of Wax - watching dumb, pretty people get what's coming to 'em.

Warner Brothers typically produces the best technical transfers in the market, especially for their new theatrical DVDs, but this house looks a little rundown. It's a fixer-upper, to say the least, as the shadows and gloom of this dark abode look surprisingly grainy. Compared to some horror movies, a typically mistreated genre, the 1.85:1 widescreen transfer looks good, but compared to the standard WB treatment, it could have used a new paint job. The audio transfer, in Dolby Digital 5.1 is a little closer to the WB standard, but awfully quiet in the rear speakers during the first half of the movie. When things get truly gloppy and gory, those speakers start bumping, but it's not a perfect surround mix.

There's no room containing an audio commentary by anyone in this house, but a few members of the cast do get together for an unusual (and, therefore, interesting) "B-Roll and Bloopers Video Commentary." On one half the screen, you'll see behind-the-scenes footage, and on the other you'll see Elisha, Paris, and others talking about that day's shooting. It's only about half an hour and it's a good idea for a film like this that might have led to repetitive or downtime-filled commentaries. Any other creative behind-the-scenes information is filled in with a few interesting featurettes, one cleverly titled "Wax On" about the design of the town and house, and the other not-so-cleverly titles "The House Built on Wax" about the very cool use of actual effects, creating a much different feel than CGI. The strong foundation of extras is filled out with a bit with the producer on "From Location: Joel Silver Reveals House of Wax," a gruesome alternate opening that's definitely worth seeing, an entertaining gag reel, and the trailer.

Hot chicks, quality kills, and stupid, pretty people finally learning that curiosity killed the frat boy - what more do you want from an escapist horror movie? House of Wax takes too long to get going (it runs almost two hours) but once it does start the fire, it's just silly, gloopy fun that never strives to be anything more than that. Don't expect horror perfection and you may be surprised at what you find in this creepy old house.