House of Wax (2005) #420

"House of Wax" is more than your standard, run of the mill slasher film. It's slick, stylish, and feels like it has a decent budget. Although it shares the name of the 1953 Vincent Price film, this movie is not a remake; the only real similarity between the the two films is that the antagonist wears a mask made from wax to hide their disformity. 

"House of Wax" may not be well remember due to the fact that it came out in 2005, a time when more grisly films like "Hostel" and the "Saw" franchise were drawing the bulk of attention in the world of horror. "House of Wax" did cast Hilton Paris, who was constantly in the spotlight at the time, as one if the young adults who falls victim to a gruesome death. If this helped or hampered the film at the time I really don't know, but watching the film now, she fits in perfectly with the rest of the cast. 

Overall, "House of Wax" is a fun popcorn thriller to watch on Netflix if you feel like a horror movie.

House of Wax (1953)

In the 1953 film "House of Wax", Vincent Price gets the chance to turn in a devilish performance as a deranged wax sculptor bent on revenge on those who profited from his supposed "death". Having a large portion of screen time, Vincent first appears as a sympathetic character who loses everything he ever cared about (his wax creations) and returns as the sly and devious killer who masks his deformities with a wax mask of his own. I was surprised at the level of violence that was in a film from this time period and the number of murders that Vincent's character made. The film is presented seriously and only one character comes across as cartoonish. The version I saw was in color and the production looked sharp and clean.