Vincent Price is by far my favorite actor of all time with Jeffrey Combs coming up in second. I have always been drawn to the way he looks and the very unique voice that he has. I first ever saw him in his role in House of Wax back when I was young kid and just starting to watch horror films with my grandfather. I think I either saw it on TCM or AMC back when they played films without commercials if I am right. From then I was hooked on his roles as the victim and most notably as the sinister bad guys he brought to the screen especially as Egghead from the 60's Batman series. Enough of my history with Vincent Price films and lets get into this autopsy!
House of Wax follows Henry Jarrod (Vincent Price) a great sculptor who is partners with a man who is not so much a fan of the wax museum they own and just want to get out and do something else. Instead of waiting a couple of months to be possibly bought out by an anxious investor he decides to burn down the museum and collect the insurance money. Things go bad and Henry is horribly injured by the fire and is no longer able to sculpt. Henry hires an brute sidekick to help him get what he needs to open up his museum once again. Meanwhile there is a phantom killer going around on a killing spree and new figures start showing up at Henry's museum with the likeness of those who have recently been killed by the unknown killer.
For those who may not know this is actually a remake of a 1933 film entitled the "Mystery of the Wax Museum" which is a great film as well, but I like the 1953 version just a bit more because the way Vincent Price handles the character of Henry. This is one of those films that has a revenge plot to it and a good old classic horror plot as well that makes for mixed feeling when it comes to how I felt about Henry and the other characters involved. On one hand I feel bad for Henry because of what he has went through and all that he has lost, but then on the other hand it's very twisted and diabolical of how he gets his new wax statues. In the end of course I still go for any character Vincent Price plays because of how he does it and I like most villains and monsters in these types of films.
The main two characters I really liked the most in this film was that of Henry Jarrod played by Vincent Price and that of Igor played by the awesome Charles Bronson. The other characters were great as well and did have great actors and actresses behind those characters but I really found myself only really wanting to see what Henry and Igor were up to. Charles Bronson did a fantastic job as the sidekick of Vincent Price, he played well as this silent brute. One actress I actually also wanted to bring up was that of Carolyn Jones who most people know as Moritica Addams from 60's television show The Addams Family, but in this film she plays a much more air-headed role that I was glad to see die off by the hands of the killer. She's a great actress but that character just drove me nuts because of the way she talked and this laugh she would do.
Now when it comes to the presentation of this film I can strongly say that it is top notch and well worth the upgrade from the older DVD release. The picture very well cleaned up and just looks excellent with great detail and a great color palette that is correct to what it should be. I really like that when they show the wax statues you can see that much more detail that was put into them when they were made. Now sadly I cannot properly comment on the 3D version that is on here due to not having a 3D compatible TV, which sucks because I would of loved to of seen the scene with the paddle ball guy! If you are a fan of this film I think this will be very pleasing to watch in HD. Along with the great presentation there is also so really cool features that include the original 1933 film Mystery of the Wax Museum which was available on the older DVD release, but that means you won't have to hold onto that old DVD!
Overall this is a fantastic film and really shows how the 3D gimmick should really be done! Also it is one of the finest films to come from the master of the macabre Vincent Price! If you have never seen this film or want to get your son r daughter into old school horror I suggest you pick this release up because it is worth every penny spent!
I give this film and release a solid 5 out of 5 scalpels!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Andre De Toth
Lead Actor/Actress: Vincent Price
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Blu-ray Release Year: 2013
Theatrical Release Year: 1953
Time Length: 88 mins.
Rating: GP
Region Code: A
Release Company: Warner Bros. Home Video
Website:
www.warnervideo.com
Vincent Price is by far my favorite actor of all time with Jeffrey Combs coming up in second. I have always been drawn to the way he looks and the very unique voice that he has. I first ever saw him in his role in House of Wax back when I was young kid and just starting to watch horror films with my grandfather. I think I either saw it on TCM or AMC back when they played films without commercials if I am right. From then I was hooked on his roles as the victim and most notably as the sinister bad guys he brought to the screen especially as Egghead from the 60's Batman series. Enough of my history with Vincent Price films and lets get into this autopsy!
