Tuesday, April 21, 2009

House of Wax (2005)

Image Hosted by PicturePush - Photo Sharing
I have to say, the first reason I watched this crazy movie which had such a yucky image of a face covered in wax was due to the fact that Chad Michael Murray and Jared Padalecki had a role in this.
It must be the first movie I have seen the duo since Gilmore Girls; in which they played love rivals. In real life however, these two hunks are actually best friends which should not be a surprise for them to collaborate in a movie.

This movie seems to boast of a star-studded cast; a bunch of young stars which includes the name of Elisha Cuthbert and even Paris Hilton.
Image Hosted by PicturePush - Photo Sharing
That was also one of the reason which made me decide or thought to watch this movie.
When I sat in the seat inside the cinema, all of a sudden, it became like "What was I thinking?"
I expected it to be a gruesome and horrifying movie filled with gross and disgusting scenes; and boy was I right.

The whole movie started with a scene of a kitchen with a mother boiling wax on the stove and a quiet boy sitting in his chair eating. Then a father comes in and brings an indignant boy to which both parents lament on his behavior compared to his obedient brother in the chair.

Then the scene switches to a bunch of traveling friends on their way to a football match; then somehow their path derailed after one of them decides to take a shorter route.
This is all so typical in all these teen-flick-thrillers; the bunch of people traveling and the wrong route taken to end them in somewhere else which will lead them to their graves.
I think all the movie makers should try some different ideas sometime instead of stirring our boredom as we anticipate whatever that is going to happen so accurately.
What is the fun of watching a movie when we can predict what is going to happen next, right?

Back to the predictable storyline, they realized it was the wrong route and since it was getting dark, they came across a sign which says House of Wax and they soon found a site nearby and decided to set up their camp.
At night, they found a truck with its headlights on shining at their camp and no matter what they do, the truck won't budge; even when they threw something and broke one of the headlights.

The next morning, they had some technical problems (fan belt or something) and a couple who were actually on cold war decided to go out together to search for a mechanic or a place who could help them with their issue and they came across a weird looking guy who offered to give them a ride, while he tells them the story of the House of Wax.
Image Hosted by PicturePush - Photo Sharing
When the weird guy brought the guy into the place, the girlfriend who waits outside got down from the truck and noticed the missing headlight and immediately suspected something amiss.
She tried to warn her boyfriend by honking and when boyfriend sensed something wrong and attempts to go out to his girlfriend, he was knocked out. Girlfriend has to attempt an escape but was caught and tied up with her lips sealed with glue.
At the same time, boyfriend was actually embalmed with wax by another weird guy and girlfriend was getting freaked out.

The others, worried, goes on a search for them and when they found them, they realized that the guy earlier was already turned into a wax figure like all the others. Although he was still breathing and alive, when the others tried to save him by tearing the wax, they realized that the wax had melted with the skin and tearing at the wax was actually directed at the skin; and their action ended up killing their friend. Poor Jared Padalecki, I couldn't take it at this scene as I couldn't bear watching how they tore his face apart.
UGH!

It dawned upon them that the whole town didn't have any living residents except these 2 weird guys and that all of them were wax figures.
The two insane brothers had been murdering all of the people over town to make 'realistic' wax figures. One of them even stumbled upon a newspaper clip which mentioned the father of the two brothers who was actually a doctor and he tried to separate his newborn Siamese twins at birth and in the process, he actually caused one of his sons to be disfigured.
Image Hosted by PicturePush - Photo Sharing
They set fire to the house; killing the two brothers in the process and the two twin siblings managed to escape while all their friends have died in one tragic way or another in which I do not think is necessary to be mentioned anymore. I leave that to your imagination or you can choose to watch the movie.

As they drive away in a police car which came to their rescue, the sheriff informs them that there is actually three brothers, and we see a man waving at the police car when the curtains are drawn close.

Interesting movie?
I find the twist rather predictable from the start to the end, but that's not to say it is such a bad movie.
They did a good job at the realistic portrayal of the wax figures and how they embalm a human being with wax. It was creepy, and I hate it that Jared Padalecki is the first one to die in the movie.
Both the guys were actually having that crew shaven cut and only one escaped alive towards the end, take a wild guess.

Overall, another teen flick but at least it's no longer about a mad murderer out to kill for no reason or about some devious beast/monster trying to get at them.
A refreshing idea of wax and some dysfunctional family which led to their demented minds in the brothers.
I would say it's interesting, and for the guys, at least you have Elisha Cuthbert or Paris Hilton to look at in the movie; one of them died as well anyway.

No comments: