Waxwork (1988)

Director:

Anthony Hickox

Writer:

Anthony Hickox (writer)

Release Date:

17 June 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Stop On By And Give Afterlife A Try.

Plot:

A wax museum owner uses his horror exhibits to unleash evil on the world.

Plot Keywords:

Wax Museum | Evil | College Life | Brought Back To Life | Evil Doll

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Zach Galligan	...	Mark
Jennifer Bassey	...	Mrs. Loftmore
Joe Baker	...	Jenkins
Deborah Foreman	...	Sarah
Michelle Johnson	...	China
David Warner	...	Waxwork Man
Eric Brown	...	James
Clare Carey	...	Gemma
Buckley Norris	...	Lecturer
Dana Ashbrook	...	Tony
Micah Grant	...	Johnathan
Mihaly 'Michu' Meszaros	...	Hans (as Mihaly 'Michu' Mesza)
Jack David Walker	...	Junior (as Jack David Warner)
John Rhys-Davies	...	Werewolf
Nelson Welch	...	Elderly Man

Also Known As:

Reise zurück in der Zeit (West Germany)

Runtime:

95 min | 97 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Italy:VM14 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2009) (uncut) | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #29208) | West Germany:18 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Vestron Pictures

Trivia:

In the shooting script, Johnathan is staring at an exhibit of Jason Vorhees from the Friday the 13th (1980) movies. When Johnathan tells Lincoln about it looked like the same Jason mask from the movies, Mr. Lincoln asks Johnathan: "They made a movie about the Jason killings?" In the film, there is no Jason Vorhees display and Johnathan instead stares at an exhibit of the Phantom of the Opera.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sarah is in Mark's attic, she looks at a book of the Marquis de Sade in a trunk and it glows with white light. When Sarah looks up, hypnotized by the book when it glows, her left hand runs up to the top of her dress. However, in the very next shot, Sarah's left hand is suddenly down and it runs up to the top of her dress all over again.

Quotes:

Gemma: What's happening tonight, guys?
Tony: Nothing. I gave up drinking.
Sarah Brightman: The third time this month?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1990)

Soundtrack:

It's My Party

Decent teen horror movie.

The teen comedy horror genre isn't exactly popular with the critics. But people watch them because, well, they can be fun. And that's just what this is. Nice, neat fun.

It's especially impressive considering it's from a first-time writer/director, Anthony Hickox, who later went on to make decent werewolf TV movie "Full Eclipse" in 1993. Here he gives his own homage to a wide variety of horror movies. You've got your werewolf movie (the very first waxwork, incidentally), your vampire movie, mummies, zombies and an trashy period piece about the Marquis de Sade ... all of these are in waxwork museum along with brief appearances from aliens, Jack the Ripper and more.

At first I expected it just to be a "Dr Terror's House of Horror" style piece with six different stories involved, but it turns out the film has more than enough original ideas to keep itself going. It all ends with every waxwork piece in the place coming to life for a final battle. Which is nice. The actors playing the teenagers all give fairly decent, entertaining performances and you have notable cameos from the likes of Miles O'Keeffe, John Rhys-Davies (as the werewolf), David Warner and Patrick Macnee (who was in "The Howling"). The script is pretty well structured and very little about the storyline is disappointing.

All in all, this is among the most entertaining movies I've seen in a while, and I'd recommend it if you're after an ninety minutes of light-hearted, slightly twisted enjoyment.