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Wax
Museum Double Feature
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House
Of Wax
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8 |
Mystery
Of...
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6 |
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6 |
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Review by Lyle
Horowitz |
Vincent
Price was at a crossroads before production began on House
Of Wax:
accept the offer to star in this Warner Brothers remake of 1933's
Mystery Of The Wax Museum or return
to the U.K. to begin working on stage again. Luckily, at least
for genre fans, Price chose to accept the role as the mad, murderous
sculptor in director Andre De Toth's beloved film.
Price (Fall Of
The House Of Usher, The Pit And
The Pendulum) plays Professor Henry Jarrod, an artisan devoted
to rendering famous historical figures in wax down to the finest
detail. When his greedy business partner burns down their wax
museum to collect insurance money, Jarrod's hands — along with
other parts of his anatomy — become horribly disfigured. He
later resurfaces for the launch of his own wax museum. The grand
opening coincides with the sudden disappearance of some dead
bodies from the city morgue. Price plays a dual role of museum
proprietor by day, cloaked, Phantom of the Opera-like monster
by night. Look
out for a young Charles Bronson (billed as Charles Buchinsky,
his real name) in his first credited role as Jarrod's menacing
deaf-mute assistant, Igor.
House Of Wax is one of those
rare cases in which the remake surpasses the original. (The
same can be said about John Carpenter's 1982 version of The
Thing.) Where House Of Wax
succeeds is that it has aged well. Price, as always, is topnotch.
The supporting cast does a nice job, but nothing special. (Halfway
through the film there's the original "intermission" card —
missing from the VHS version — that was shown in theaters. Neat-o.)
The
movie
was originally filmed in 3-D, which unfortunately can't be replicated
for home video. Its origins as a 3-D production are readily
apparent by the numerous objects periodically thrust 'at' the
audience, most notably during the antics of a paddle-ball wielding
publicity barker (Reggie Rymal).
On side B of the disc is the original Mystery
Of The Wax Museum.
The story is almost identical to House
Of Wax
other than the fact it involves a reporter for a newspaper covering
the missing bodies. Lionel Atwill is excellent as the lead,
and Fay Wray is also very good as Charlotte Duncan. In my opinion,
this version features a better supporting cast but House
Of Wax
has the edge due to Price's participation. The film, one of
the earliest horror movies ever shot in color (albeit by a crude
process), should prove an interesting curiosity for genre fans.
For
the price tag on the disc (some e-tailers are offering it for
as low as $13) it's definitely a worthwhile DVD purchase. House
Of Wax
is an excellent classic horror film, and Mystery
isn't bad either, despite its numerous flaws.
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Warner DVD delivers a decent transfer for both films. House
of Wax, finally restored to its original 3-strip Technicolor,
still has noticeable grain on the print. The audio is very good.
Mystery of the Wax Museum, taking
the age of the film into account, has a passable transfer. It's
not awful but the sound really isn't that great — although they
seem to have eliminated the constant hisses and pops from the
original VHS master. The print has very noticeable grain and specs.
Both films are presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
There are hardly any extras on the disc other than a theatrical
trailer for House of Wax and vintage
newsreel footage from the film's premier. 8/26/03 |
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