Time: 88 Minutes
Age Rating: PG
Cast:
Vincent Price as Professor Henry Jarrod
Frank Lovejoy as Detective Lieutenant Tom Brennan
Phyllis Kirk as Sue Allen,
Carolyn Jones as Cathy Gray
Paul Picerni as Scott Andrews
Director: Andre de Toth

I had heard about House of Wax, mainly that it was one of the classic Hammer horror films (alongside the likes of Dracula, The Mummy and Frankenstein). Outside of that (and the fact that it was remade in the mid 2000s), I didn’t know a whole lot about the movie before going in, but it turned out to be quite good. 

House of Wax was a lot of fun, an entertaining 50s horror classic that is campy and cheesy, but still has its moments of tension. It plays out like a standard slasher and its story is by the numbers, but it’s still a solid thriller, and is paced very well over its short runtime. The movie is at its best whenever Vincent Price is on screen. The rest of the characters however are kind of boring, and so the movie sinks a little when it just focuses on them. 

This is the first time I watched Vincent Price in a horror movie, and he delivers a compelling, charismatic, magnetic and delightful performance as the villain. He is so entertaining and has such a great presence, again, the movie lights up whenever he’s on screen. The rest of the cast are fine, but don’t stand out as much.  

House of Wax is directed very well by André De Toth. It is beautifully shot and has some wonderfully effective and haunting sets. The practical effects are also really great and grizzly, and feel ahead of its time. The movie does well at generating a creepy atmosphere and unnerving feeling. Partway through, you can tell that it is very much a movie that implemented 3D and takes so many opportunities to have things fly at the camera to a comical degree. I’m not sure it actually added anything beneficial to the film, but it was charming to see. 

House of Wax is a gloriously campy and fun horror classic, directed well with a creepy atmosphere and effective makeup and sets, and led by a magnetic and entertaining performance from Vincent Price. Definitely worth watching if you are a fan of horror.