Critic Reviews
House of Wax (1953) Rank 3 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (38) reviews
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Reviewlets (Brian Robert Hischier)
A remake whose superior quellenforschung is reviewed here, this film should still be watched on its own terms---terms which are spelled out for the viewer during the opening title sequence. The film will be sensational, artless, acted out with great ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Reviewlets (Brian Robert Hischier)
filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
One of the great horror classics, House of Wax gives us the inimitable Vincent Price as the owner of the titular House of Wax and its gruesome Chamber of Horrors... only how does he get his subjects to look so real? Originally in 3D, this is still a ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
A series of murders and disappearing bodies seem to be tied to the opening of a new wax museum by a wheelchair-bound artist (Vincent Price).
This remake of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM jettisons a lot of the subplots of the original; in their places are ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
UpcomingDiscs.com (David Annandale)
The plot of both films is identical: a meticulous sculptor of wax figures has his life and work destroyed in a fire set by an unscrupulous business partner. Years later, now confined to a wheelchair and deprived the use of his hands, the sculptor is back ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at UpcomingDiscs.com (David Annandale)
Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
The colors are so vivid that the images leap out at you even though the film is presented in two dimensions. The picture transfer is terrific, and it makes the film a delight from beginning to end. There is a real illusion of depth created by the ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
Nick Schager Film Project (Nick Schager)
Price brings a touch of creepy class to this otherwise middling B-level horror story. ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Nick Schager Film Project (Nick Schager)
Hollywood Reporter (--)
The makers of "House of Wax" display momentary flashes of imagination, but the film is mostly a routine slasher flick aimed at the youth market. Its title leads you to anticipate a remake of the 1953 Andre de Toth 3-D horror classic about corpses turned ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Hollywood Reporter (--)
About.com (Staci Layne Wilson)
Vincent Price plays Professor Henry Jarrod, a nineteenth century whiz with wax who is driven insane when his partner burns down their gallery of creepy creations for the insurance money. Disfigured in the blaze and out for revenge on the world, Jarrod ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at About.com (Staci Layne Wilson)
Box Office Magazine
DVD Authority.com ("Fusion3600")
Professor Henry Jarrod (Vincent Price) has sculpted countless exhibits in his wax museum, which he runs with his partner. But when his partner proposes to burn down the museum in order to collect the insurance claims, Jarrod is shocked. The museum might ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at DVD Authority.com ("Fusion3600")
digitallyOBSESSED.com (Mark Zimmer)
When 3-D hit the scene in the early 1950s, it was initially viewed as a fad, mainly a gimmick to pull people in to novelty pictures. Recognizing correctly that that fad could not be a source of long-term profit for competing with television, the studios ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at digitallyOBSESSED.com (Mark Zimmer)
Channel 4 Film (--)
Price stars as Professor Henry Jarrod, a famed wax sculptor who "insists on reality" but is forced to adopt some ethically dubious - if not downright insane - working methods after he's horrendously burnt in a fire. Killing anyone who takes his fancy and ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Channel 4 Film (--)
Zombiekeeper.com (--)
The Story: A sculptor goes mad and starts killing people, only to use their corpes as historical figures in his wax museum.
Early 1900's, New York City, Henry Jarrod (Vincent Price) is hard at work in his museum sculpting historical figures. His ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Zombiekeeper.com (--)
DVD Verdict (Patrick Naugle)
A classic horror movie without the waxy ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at DVD Verdict (Patrick Naugle)
KQEK DVD Review (Mark R. Hasan)
When a greedy investor burns down the wax museum of his partner, the scarred sculptor returns with a taste for revenge, and gives the public what they want with realistic figures of gruesome tragedy. ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at KQEK DVD Review (Mark R. Hasan)
DVD Net (Vince Carrozza)
I like a good scare.
I don’t mean your new fangled self-conscious teenybopper targeted scare which couldn’t scare an adult if he was the most easily scared person ever to be scared, but a good old fashioned “let’s scare the pants offa that ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at DVD Net (Vince Carrozza)
Time Out (--)
One of the better 3-D epics (Warners' first, pioneering effort). Handsomely mounted and directed with great care, it nevertheless remains oddly lacklustre by comparison with the 1933 Mystery of the Wax Museum, despite being an often word-for-word remake. ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Time Out (--)
Popcorn Pictures Review
Professor Henry Jarrod is a sensitive sculptor who takes great pride in his work at his wax works museum. He refuses to bow to his partner's requests to make his wax models more disturbing in a bid to shock the crowds and attract more people. So his ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Popcorn Pictures Review
DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)
...the film is still a crowd pleaser, its dusky shadows, turn-of-the-century setting, menacing villain, and bizarre museum as creepy as ever. ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at DVDTown.com (John J. Puccio)
Cinema Laser (Derek M. Germano)
All things considered, HOUSE OF WAX ($20) is more of a melodrama with horrific flourishes, than a flat out horror movie. However, what firmly roots HOUSE OF WAX in that particular genre is the presence of horror move icon Vincent Price, who is always fun ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Cinema Laser (Derek M. Germano)
CultureDose.net (Jeremiah Kipp)
Hollywood Gothique
The enduring reputation of this 3D horror film almost seems designed to debase the definition of the word “classic.” Although entertaining and lavishly produced, HOUSE OF WAX is no masterpiece; if anything, its glossy beauty undermines the horror. A ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Hollywood Gothique
DVD Town (John J. Puccio)
The year 1953 was pretty scary for me. First, I was frightened by Martin and Lewis in "Scared Stiff," but only momentarily; and then I was frightened by "House of Wax," semi-permanently. I was in third grade.
The Martin and Lewis film was a comedy, ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at DVD Town (John J. Puccio)
DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)
A Vincent Price favorite, and probably the feature that propelled him in the direction of the horror genre, House of Wax is also the most famous release of the early 50s 3D phenomenon. It's a lively but corny production soaked in the terrific Warners ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)
eFilmCritic Reviews
SCREENED IN "NATURAL-VISION 3-D": Were wax museums considered creepy before this movie? Certainly, the visitors to Henry Jarrod's second wax museum are coming for the macabre, but so were the people seeing the movie, and that doesn't make the Coolidge ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at eFilmCritic Reviews
Eccentric Cinema
Vincent Price was at a crossroads before production began on House Of Wax: accept the offer to star in this Warner Brothers remake of 1933's Mystery Of The Wax Museum or return to the U.K. to begin working on stage again. Luckily, at least for genre ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at Eccentric Cinema
SEVERE SINEMA reviews
HOUSE OF WAX. 1953. Color. 88m. Directed by Andre de Toth (who was blind in one eye~preventing him from experiencing the film's 3-D effects). Starring: Vincent Price, Phyllis Kirk, Frank Lovejoy, Carolyn Jones (Morticia Addams from THE ADDAMS FAMILY), ...read the complete House of Wax movie review at SEVERE SINEMA reviews
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