Horrorfest 2010: House of Wax

I am developing a theory about the old, classic horror stars and it goes like this: they're both friendly and scary at the same time. That's why they're so effective. That's why kids identify with the classic monsters, like I did when I was little.

Guys like Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and both Lon Chaneys were both frightening and totally accessible at the same time. Part of this was because of the kinds of stories they starred in -- it was no mistake that the likes of the Wolf-Man and Frankenstein's monster were both sympathetic and horrifying. But, these actors embodied that tragic gap between identifiable and foreboding with something that's missing in a lot of horror flicks these days -- humanity.

Later on, others took on these roles, and as I was watching HOUSE OF WAX today I was thinking part of the reason it works so well is that Vincent Price is an actor who can be simultaneously likable and horrible. If he wasn't, the movie wouldn't work as well.

HOUSE OF WAX is the story of wax sculptor Henry Jarrod (Vincent Price) who operates a wax museum specializing in showing historical scenes. This is much to the chagrin of his business partner (Roy Roberts) who would rather see a museum with the kinds of chambers of horrors in competing museums that rake in the money. But, Jarrod thinks of himself as an artist and won't stoop to the levels of exploitation and pandering.

It's in these early passages that we connect with Vincent Price. It's funny, his name is so synonymous with horror that it seems odd to talk about how vulnerable and sympathetic he seems here, but he does. Sure, his obsession with his wax statues starts to get a little creepy even early on, but that can easily be overlooked as part of the eccentricities of a great artist.

In any case, it's important that we sympathize with Jarrod because his entire museum is quickly destroyed by his business partner who decides if he can't make money off of a chamber of horrors, at least he can make money off of insurance. So he burns the place to the ground. This guy's a total dick -- he floats his insurance scam idea by Jarrod, who turns it down, and then acts on the scheme within seconds of bringing it up! Almost before Jarrod can even say, "No thanks," the business partner is already busy throwing matches around and pouring kerosene on wax figures -- RIGHT IN FRONT OF JARROD! There's a struggle, the business partner escapes, and Jarrod is presumed dead, burnt alive with his wax creations.

Before the business partner can cash in fully, however, he and his mistress (Carolyn Jones) are both found dead -- murdered by a mysterious, creepy, hideously disfigured mad man who chases a witness to one of the crimes throughout the streets of turn of the century New York before she gets to safety. This is our heroine (Phyllis Kirk) who eventually unravels the mystery of these murders and the identity of the scarred killer.

Around this same time, Jarrod is revealed to still be alive -- he's in a wheel chair and can't use his hands to sculpt anymore, but he is nevertheless building a new museum with the help of his assistant, the deaf-mute giant Igor (Charles Bronson motherfuckers!). This time he's going all out with the museum, ditching his classy artsy-fartsy image and going straight for the blood and guts, complete with the creepiest chamber of horrors he can come up with. Interestingly, one exhibit features a wax figure of the dead body of his own ex-business partner, meticulously posed in a recreation of his own murder. Hmmmm. . . .

Our heroine visits the museum and begins to think a wax figure of Joan of Arc looks a little too lifelike, specifically resembling her old pal, the murdered mistress -- right down to her vacant ear piercing holes. What wax sculptor would bother to go into that much detail, she wonders? Maybe one who can't sculpt anymore and is just killing people and posing their dead bodies? Spoiler alert: that's one possibility.

The movie is notable historically as being one of the first big budget 3D films from a major studio, in this case Warner Bros. Since I saw it on DVD I didn't have a chance to check out the 3D effects, but there are a few scenes that are clearly staged specifically for 3D audiences, including a carnival barker who bounces balls off a paddle directly into the camera and a row of can-can girls who kick right in the audience's faces. Without the 3D, these moments linger a little too long, but the movie doesn't suffer from this stuff as much as some other 3D flicks I've seen over the years (FRIDAY THE 13th 3D and JAWS 3D, I'm looking at you guys).

Anyway, the movie is a good little thriller with killer production values, a good central performance from Vincent Price, and a creepy reveal in the last act that is well played enough that it might make you jump despite how obvious it is.