House of Wax (2005)

A group of unwitting teens are stranded near a strange wax museum and soon must fight to survive and keep from becoming the next exhibit.

Director:

Jaume Collet-Serra

Writers:

Charles Belden (story), Chad Hayes (screenplay)

Stars:

Chad Michael Murray, Paris Hilton, Elisha Cuthbert

5 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Elisha Cuthbert	...	Carly Jones
Chad Michael Murray	...	Nick
Brian Van Holt	...	Bo
Paris Hilton	...	Paige
Jared Padalecki	...	Wade
Jon Abrahams	...	Dalton
Robert Ri'chard	...	Blake
Dragicia Debert	...	Trudy Sinclair (as Dragitsa Debert)
Thomas Adamson	...	Young Bo
Murray Smith	...	Dr. Sinclair
Sam Harkess	...	Young Vincent
Damon Herriman	...	Roadkill Driver
Andy Anderson	...	Sheriff

Storyline

Six friends are on their way to a football game. They decide to camp out for the night and continue driving the next day. The next day the friends find that they're having car troubles, so two of the friends accept a stranger's ride into a small town named Ambrose. The main attraction in Ambrose is the House of Wax. Except something is not right in this town, the wax figures are so realistic and the whole town is deserted - except for two murderous twin brothers. The six friends must fight to survive and escape from being the next exhibits in the House of Wax.

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Plot Keywords:

wax | group of friends | twin | brother sister relationship | beaten to death | 

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Taglines:

Prey. Slay. Display.

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for horror violence, some sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Australia] Warner Bros [France]

Country:

Australia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 May 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wax House, Baby

Filming Locations:

Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,077,236, 8 May 2005

Gross USA:

$32,064,800

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$68,766,121

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, Dark Castle Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Names mentioned in the script but not the film are the roadkill collector (Lester), and Carly and Nick's last name (Jones). Chad Michael Murray (Nick), in a radio interview, was shocked to hear his character finally had a last name, and said that it was an ongoing debate on set.

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Goofs

When Carly and Wade first enter the town, they pass a movie theater marquee. The name of the movie that's airing is incorrect and grammatically wrong. The movie is listed as "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?" The true title is "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?"

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Quotes

[first lines]
Trudy Sinclair: You are being such a good boy. Would you like some more cereal, sweetheart? Here you go.

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Crazy Credits

Random letters in the end credits of the movie begin to melt down from the screen as they appear. Also, some pairs of letters are joined, just like Bo and Vincent when they were born.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD features an alternate opening: A young woman, Jennifer (Emma Lung), (the woman who is sculpted into Miss Ambrose) is stranded on the road after her car breaks down. As she calls a towing company, Bo's truck drives up. She tries to signal him, but gets no response. Then, the truck speeds up. Jennifer tried to run, but Bo grabs her by the neck and throws her face-first into her windshield, instantly killing her.

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Connections

References House of Wax (1953)

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Soundtracks

Automatic
Written by Brothers Conti (Tyler and Taylor Conti), Michael Carney, Andrew Duncan and J.L. Munson (Poet Name Life)
Performed by Brothers Conti
Courtesy of 143/Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing

User Reviews

Not bad for a remake (which isn't saying much I know)

The words 'remake' in combination with the name 'Paris Hilton' should be enough to make me puke, but when I caught this movie on TV late at night I noticed this movie wasn't so bad as I thought it would be. Unfortunately I could not finish this movie entirely so I rented it later on and I must say, I was pretty surprised. Of course it isn't anywhere near Oscar material but compared with other remakes you can do a lot worse than this.

As you already might know, this movie is a remake of the original House Of Wax from 1953 (which was also a remake of an earlier I've been told), starring the legendary Vincent Price. As with all horror remakes, the original cast was removed and replaced by a group of adolescent bimbos who get lost and get killed for no reason etc. I have not seen the originals so I can only judge this movie on it's own merits.

Once you ignore the predictable and cliché story (group of young people get stranded and lost etc.) and focus on the overall mood and seting you'll be in for a pleasant surprise. The wax house itself and all the dolls are well made and the suspense is nicely built up. Only the ending is a bit lame but did not stop me from enjoying this movie.

Like I said, for a remake you can do a lot worse than this.