SCARY MOVIE!!!!. Review on House of Wax Movie

House Of Wax

In order to attend one of biggest college football games of the year, a group of six

friends decide to go on a roadtrip. They end up spending the night outdoors, but in the morning they find that their car wont start. So they head to the only town within miles and there, they have to fight to survive as a mysterious killer wants to turn them into wax sculptures.

So House of Wax isn't really big on plot. It's got your normal set-up that deals with extremely attractive boys and girls ending up in a bad situation. Some live, some die. If you've seen a horror film in the last 30 years, you know how it goes. The characters all have their own little quirks and back stories that really play no role in the film, but let's talk about them anyway. Elisha Cuthbert as Carly is the star and therefore, most likely to live. She is planning on moving to New York soon, but her boyfriend, Jared Padalecki as Wade, is a little hesitant. He's a small town boy and not sure if moving to New York is the best idea. Carly's brother Nick, as played by Chad Michael is the bad guy of the group. In and out of trouble with the law, but as we find out, maybe not such a bad guy. He's there with his best friend Dalton (Jon Abrahams) whose only real purpose seems to be to videotape things. Carly's best friend Paige (Paris Hilton) is there as well, with her boyfriend Blake (Robert Ri'chard). Paige is pregnant and not sure when she should tell Blake. So as I said, their back stories mean nothing, but I suppose it helps to have something...

First to I have to warn you, there will be spoilers in the rest of the review. First to enter the town are Carly and Wade. They're a nice couple who only want a fan belt, but end up in a world of trouble. They're the first to enter the House of Wax and the first to feel some of the pain. When Wade gets attacked, I was thinking, OK, standard horror film, nothing too graphic, but still scary. Then Carly gets taken by one of the bad guys and has her lips glued together. OK, that's something new, but still, nothing too extravagant. Then Nick and Dalton wander into town looking for Carly and Wade. And that's when the movie really takes off. Now, this is maybe an hour into the film, so up until now, we've had a few thrills and one attack but nothing too special. Nick finds one of the bad guys and is talking to him, right on top of Carly. Carly manages to free herself enough to poke a finger out of a grate, near where Nick and Bo (one of the bad guys) are talking. Bo notices, Nick doesn't. Bo snaps Carly's finger off. Right then and there I knew this movie had just taken a turn towards serious brutality. I can't remember the last time the female star of a horror film had something that bad happen to her without warning. A lot of horror films advertise brutality but tend to go for the same kind of thrill where you start to see something happen, but then they shade it from you. These days horror films are starting to become more violent but House of Wax really takes it up a notch. If it was just Carly and her finger, OK, no big deal, but it just gets more and more brutal from then on out.

Acting is clearly not a high priority for director Jaume Serra. The members of his cast are better known for their looks and ''hotness'' than their thespian skills. Elisha Cuthbert fares the best, getting to kick some in ways that her ''24'' character was never able to do. Chad Michael Murray is effective when he's being sullen and antisocial. Then there's Paris Hilton, who was obviously hired for reasons that have nothing to do with her ability to recite dialogue. To be fair to Hilton, she can recite her lines with more conviction. Serra has lots of fun at her expense, but I have to wonder if she gets the joke or is merely the punchline.