All
things considered, HOUSE OF WAX ($20) is more of a melodrama with
horrific flourishes, than a flat out horror movie. However, what firmly
roots HOUSE OF WAX in that particular genre is the presence of
horror move icon Vincent Price, who is always fun to watch. For those not
aware that there was an early version of the story, 1953’s HOUSE OF
WAX actually reworks the story told in MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM,
which Warner Bros. released in 1933. Unlike its predecessor, HOUSE OF
WAX goes with a turn of the century period setting, which gives the
film a different esthetic and a decidedly more creepy style than the
original.
HOUSE
OF WAX tells the story of Professor Henry Jarrod (Price), an eccentric
sculptor and operator of a wax museum. Unfortunately for Jarrod, his
unscrupulous partner decides that he wants to recoup his investment in the
wax museum through arson, which leads to Jarrod being burnt and crippled
in the fire. No longer able to sculpt because the fire ravaged his hands,
Jarrod turns those duties over to pupils, as he sets out to open a new wax
museum. Just as Jarrod prepares to reopens his wax museum, a grotesque
killer begins a series of murders, after which the victim’s bodies
mysteriously disappear. The cast of HOUSE OF WAX also features
Phyllis Kirk, Frank Lovejoy, Carolyn Jones, Paul Picerni, Roy Roberts,
Angela Clarke, Paul Cavanagh, Dabbs Greer and Charles Bronson, who is
billed under the name Charles Buchinsky.
Warner
Home Video has made HOUSE OF WAX available on DVD in a proper
1.37:1 full screen transfer. HOUSE OF WAX was originally shot in
WarnerColor and released in 3D, so the movie doesn’t look quite as good
a "flat" Technicolor movie from the same period. There are times
that the image appears rather grainy and there are other odd quirks
because the film was photographed to create 3D effects. The image appears
fairly sharp and offers better than average definition. Colors are pretty
well saturated, but don’t have the appeal of hues created with the
Technicolor process. Flesh tones seem a bit flat and in the case of
Charles Bronson’s makeup- appear somewhat less than human. Blacks appear
pretty accurate and the whites are fine. Shadow detail is decent, although
some dark sequences are decidedly and intentionally murky. Digital
compression artifacts are not a cause for concern.
HOUSE
OF WAX comes with a perfectly fine Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack that
decodes to standard surround. The soundtrack demonstrates a bit of
background hiss during quieter passages, but it otherwise free from
surface noise and other audio anomies related to age. David Buttolph’s
atmospheric musical score is the primary component of the stereo surround
mix, being nicely spread to the outlying channels. However, there are one
or two occasions where the music climaxes and it becomes just a bit
distorted. As for the dialogue, it is pretty crisp and always completely
understandable. French and Spanish language tracks are also encoded onto
the DVD, as are English, French, Spanish Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese,
Bahasa, Thai and Korean subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as some truly fine
supplemental features. On side one of the DVD is newsreel footage of the
film’s premiere and a theatrical trailer. However, side two contains the
real meat of the supplements- namely the original 1933 version of the
story MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM. Starring Lionel Atwill and Fay
Wray, MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM is a little creaky in places, but
is actually a whole lot of fun. MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM comes from
the only surviving two-strip Technicolor source left in existence- Jack
Warner’s personal print. The transfer has a number of blemishes and
scratches, as well a few registration problems, but for the most part the
presentation is more than acceptable. The lurid color scheme of the
two-trip Technicolor process is well rendered and creates a nice
atmosphere for the film. MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM is both a great
cinematic curiosity and a significant horror genre entry, thus making it
something that every movie buff will want to see at least once.
HOUSE
OF WAX is an enjoyable little scare-fest featuring horror genre icon
Vincent Price. The film’s presentation is satisfying, although not
perfect due to aspects of its original production. Additionally, I am sure
that many would like to have seen it offered in some form of 3D- perhaps
high definition will make that type of presentation somewhat more
practical than it is now. However, Warner has gone the extra mile with the
DVD by including MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM, thus making the disc a
must own for horror movie fans. One final note: I certainly
hope that Warner will someday issue DR. X (another exceedingly rare
two-strip Technicolor horror movie) on DVD, perhaps with THE RETURN OF
DR. X- another rare horror movie featuring screen legend Humphrey
Bogart in a rare genre appearance.
All
things considered, HOUSE OF WAX ($20) is more of a melodrama with
horrific flourishes, than a flat out horror movie. However, what firmly
roots HOUSE OF WAX in that particular genre is the presence of
horror move icon Vincent Price, who is always fun to watch. For those not
aware that there was an early version of the story, 1953’s HOUSE OF
WAX actually reworks the story told in MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM,
which Warner Bros. released in 1933. Unlike its predecessor, HOUSE OF
WAX goes with a turn of the century period setting, which gives the
film a different esthetic and a decidedly more creepy style than the
original.
HOUSE
OF WAX tells the story of Professor Henry Jarrod (Price), an eccentric
sculptor and operator of a wax museum. Unfortunately for Jarrod, his
unscrupulous partner decides that he wants to recoup his investment in the
wax museum through arson, which leads to Jarrod being burnt and crippled
in the fire. No longer able to sculpt because the fire ravaged his hands,
Jarrod turns those duties over to pupils, as he sets out to open a new wax
museum. Just as Jarrod prepares to reopens his wax museum, a grotesque
killer begins a series of murders, after which the victim’s bodies
mysteriously disappear. The cast of HOUSE OF WAX also features
Phyllis Kirk, Frank Lovejoy, Carolyn Jones, Paul Picerni, Roy Roberts,
Angela Clarke, Paul Cavanagh, Dabbs Greer and Charles Bronson, who is
billed under the name Charles Buchinsky.
Warner
Home Video has made HOUSE OF WAX available on DVD in a proper
1.37:1 full screen transfer. HOUSE OF WAX was originally shot in
WarnerColor and released in 3D, so the movie doesn’t look quite as good
a "flat" Technicolor movie from the same period. There are times
that the image appears rather grainy and there are other odd quirks
because the film was photographed to create 3D effects. The image appears
fairly sharp and offers better than average definition. Colors are pretty
well saturated, but don’t have the appeal of hues created with the
Technicolor process. Flesh tones seem a bit flat and in the case of
Charles Bronson’s makeup- appear somewhat less than human. Blacks appear
pretty accurate and the whites are fine. Shadow detail is decent, although
some dark sequences are decidedly and intentionally murky. Digital
compression artifacts are not a cause for concern.
HOUSE
OF WAX comes with a perfectly fine Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack that
decodes to standard surround. The soundtrack demonstrates a bit of
background hiss during quieter passages, but it otherwise free from
surface noise and other audio anomies related to age. David Buttolph’s
atmospheric musical score is the primary component of the stereo surround
mix, being nicely spread to the outlying channels. However, there are one
or two occasions where the music climaxes and it becomes just a bit
distorted. As for the dialogue, it is pretty crisp and always completely
understandable. French and Spanish language tracks are also encoded onto
the DVD, as are English, French, Spanish Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese,
Bahasa, Thai and Korean subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as some truly fine
supplemental features. On side one of the DVD is newsreel footage of the
film’s premiere and a theatrical trailer. However, side two contains the
real meat of the supplements- namely the original 1933 version of the
story MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM. Starring Lionel Atwill and Fay
Wray, MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM is a little creaky in places, but
is actually a whole lot of fun. MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM comes from
the only surviving two-strip Technicolor source left in existence- Jack
Warner’s personal print. The transfer has a number of blemishes and
scratches, as well a few registration problems, but for the most part the
presentation is more than acceptable. The lurid color scheme of the
two-trip Technicolor process is well rendered and creates a nice
atmosphere for the film. MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM is both a great
cinematic curiosity and a significant horror genre entry, thus making it
something that every movie buff will want to see at least once.
HOUSE
OF WAX is an enjoyable little scare-fest featuring horror genre icon
Vincent Price. The film’s presentation is satisfying, although not
perfect due to aspects of its original production. Additionally, I am sure
that many would like to have seen it offered in some form of 3D- perhaps
high definition will make that type of presentation somewhat more
practical than it is now. However, Warner has gone the extra mile with the
DVD by including MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM, thus making the disc a
must own for horror movie fans. One final note: I certainly
hope that Warner will someday issue DR. X (another exceedingly rare
two-strip Technicolor horror movie) on DVD, perhaps with THE RETURN OF
DR. X- another rare horror movie featuring screen legend Humphrey
Bogart in a rare genre appearance.