House of Wax (R, 2005)

common sense media says

Bloody slasher film is nothing like the original.


parents & educators say
  • 31% say violence is an issue

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this movie contains repeated gross-out horror images, including skin ripping off faces; bodies subjected to stabbing, chopping, and piercing; girls screaming and weeping; shotguns blasting; deer carcasses rotting; bugs crawling; even a finger being cut off with wire cutters. The killers keep fetuses in jars, blame their mother, and target boys and girls equally, though Paris Hilton is the only victim to strip to her red bra and panties and give her boyfriend (off-screen, but plainly indicated) oral sex. The killer superglues one girl's mouth shut, and she cuts it open so it bleeds and she can summon help; characters drink, smoke, and use harsh language.

Positive messages: Psychotic killers make victims into wax figures for their museum.
Violence: Brutal, bloody assaults on college-age victims.
Sex: Paris Hilton strips to underwear.
Language: Some strong language.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Characters drink beer and smoke cigarettes.

More on House of Wax

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the characters' extreme dimwittedness; and how, even for generic plotting, their willingness to explore sinister places and walk headlong into obvious trouble is remarkable. Initially at odds, Carly and her twin brother Nick learn to get along as their friends are killed off; families might discuss their display of sibling bonding, except that they are paralleled by the killer twins, once conjoined, now just thoughtlessly murderous. Families can also talk about the stereotypical representation of the villains as underclass and vaguely rural.

What's the story?

What's the story?
HOUSE OF WAX begins with a camping trip for friends Carly (Elisha Cuthbert) and Paige (Paris Hilton), their boyfriends, gentle Wade (Jared Padalecki) and lusty Blake (Robert Ri'chard), Carly's twin brother Nick (Chad Michael Murray), and Dalton (Jon Abrahams). Around the campfire, they drink, smoke cigarettes, act bored, and make out. The next morning, Carly falls into a pit of bloody, rotted fleshy muck, where a character named only "Roadkill" (Damon Herriman) tosses decayed carcasses. When Wade's Mustang mysteriously breaks down, Wade and Carly accept a ride in Roadkill's smelly pickup truck. They wind up in the small, forgotten town of Ambrose and a literal "House of Wax" (inside are wax figures, wax walls, wax furniture, wax floors), where the victims and eventual survivors are repeatedly frightened, caught in the dark, tied up, cut, and tortured.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
House of Wax is a remake of the Vincent price film in name and gimmick only; in all other respects it's a slasher film, in which pretty young people are horribly killed one by one. By the time they finally reach Ambrose, the film has already taken too long -- the first half's pacing is deliberate, as if the premise needs careful exposition, which it does not.

The climax is predictably bloody and brutal, as well as fiery (to underline the film's inconsistent religious iconography). Good twins Nick and Carly triumph over bad twins Bo and Vincent (both played by Van Holt, one with scarred, waxed over face, indication of his general sickness). Most alarming, the movie leaves open the possibility of a sequel.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Cast: Chad Michael Murray, Elisha Cuthbert, Paris Hilton
Genre: Horror
Run time: 105 minutes
Theatrical release: May 6, 2005
DVD release: October 25, 2005
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: horror violence, some sexual content and language

This review was written by Cynthia Fuchs
 
 

Review It

 

Review House of Wax





Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
 

What parents & educators say

14
Based on 13 parent & educator reviews:
  • 31% say violence is an issue

Most useful reviews by all members

iluvtheexorcist33
teen, 13 years old
 
Just gross
Violence: creepy guy with wax face kills people by ripping off their skin and pouring hot wax on them to turn them into wax people to put in his wax museum while they're still alive. Sexual content : Paris is shown in her underwear and bra.

 
Great movie
This movie is really good. I saw it in movie theaters with a friend and was surprised at the fact that it was not extremely violent. From the tagline (pray.slay.display.)to what the movie was about, you would think it would be very brutal and bloody, well than you'd b wrong. The movie is violent and somewhat gory, but its nothing that horror fans haven't seen before, and everyone dies in like 30 minutes. The movie has violence and some gore (including brief scenes of torture), a breif strip scene, a naked manaquine, and some language. Overall I think parents should consider what their kids can handle before watching this movie. If they have seen other R rated horror movies than this should not be a problem (this is nowhere near as bad as High Tension, that movie should have been NC-17). If your kid really wants to see it, and they have seen other R rated movies (that were R for violence) than you should let them see it, you could do much worse than letting them see this.

meg31
adult
 
sure
it wasnt that bad. id let any teenagers see it. paris hilton is just awful. id rather no child see her strip. but the violence is not an issue for teens. and most teens have sex so i guess the sexual content is not a huge deal.

thecooldude1
teen, 16 years old
 
to much gory violence and language scary images and no nudity/sex but other than that Not for kids!

xxBlueEyedGurlxx
kid, 12 years old
 
Definatly not scary, just desturbing. Yes they do kill everyone and eat thier fingers but it's not scary...too me. A scary movie i saw was Drag me to h***. i felt like i had to sleep with a knife under my pillow after that.

EmilyB123
teen, 15 years old
 
i could handle this movie. The jump scenes were moderately intense and the bloody effects looked fake. Of course a lot of things to me are fake in horror movies. This movie was pretty good, but it wasn't a good horror film, if that makes sense. Good for ages 16 and up.

jsharpe
parent of 13 year old
 
GRUESOME VIOLNCE

krista0793@yah ...
teen, 18 years old
 
Scary so Scary
I think Chad Micheal Murry was so hot in that heck in every thing he does.I thought he was cool in the movie. And I thought it was cool when he saved his sister I thought he was so brave.

Totally500
teen, 15 years old
 
house of wax is scary
This is a very scary film with violence and gore that you will scream for

Seminolefreak
teen, 14 years old
 
Very well done film
My MPAA Rating, R: Brutal horror violence, grisly images, disturbing moments/images and language

@@@
parent
 
OUCH. Now THAT is REALLY, REALLY bad!!!
Unwatchable crap that cannot entertain or scare anybody. There is nothing good to say about the movie. The plot mainly revolves around the lives of the teenagers in it in the first half, and the second half is just not scary. You can see every horror scene coming.

Sillver
kid, 13 years old
 
Disgusting
I watched this when I was like 7 or something because of my brother peer pressuring me to. I HATE IT!! This movie left me soo scared for a very long time, I felt sick to my stomach after I watched it and the only thing that made me feel better was a little kids game my sister let me play. Anyway- sometimes I had a fear of getting out of cars or out of beds, afraid some maniac might snip the back of my ankle!! There's poles that go through heads, heads that get chopped off, fingers that get chopped off, etc.. Its stupid. Like all horror movies. Whoever gets pleasure out of things like this are obviously brainwashed. Of course I'm not that scared of this movie as much as I was before but I still am mad at my brother for making me watch it >.<

 
my favorite movie
house of wax is my favorite movie of all times. i'm not sure it would be good for kids yonger then 11. i'm 16 and still thought the movie was gross. alot of blood, carly[elisha] gets her finger cut off, doltin gets his head cut off by vincent, wade[jared padalecki] gets his a part of his face cut off, paige[paris hilton] gets a pole threw her head, blake gets a knife through his throat. but nothing to chad [murry] except he gets a knife through his leg at the end. so, its not for kids. but it's a very great slasher movie.

 
Great Slasher Movie
I watched this movie with my older sister (15). It was really good! But i really hated the part when the guy glues the girls my mouth, but it was a good scene at the same time.(:

 
YUCK!
Gross movie. With pipes giong through paris hiltons head, To being waxed alive, this movies gets more and more gorey each minute ]:

Dee R.
teen, 15 years old
 
HEY HEY HEY
THIS MOVIE IS GOOD I WATCHED IT WHEN I WAS 10, I LOVED IT EVEN THE WAX GUY!!!

 
Great Slasher Flick
This was a very good slasher flick. I give it 8.5/10. The acting was good (including Paris Hilton). I think this is acceptable to anyone in high school, as long as they have a strong stomach. The language is nothing worse than what they would hear at school (three or four f-words). The sexuality isn't that bad (a few pokes at the Paris Hilton sex tape). The movie's rated R for the violence, mainly. The language isn't that bad.

 
good
not for kids under the age of 16 but a very good movie

An independent voice for families
Age-appropriate reviews
 

vote now

Will you see House of Wax?


Already seen it? What do you think?

 

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors


About our rating system
ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age