Admirable film.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The Wax Mask (1997) ** (out of 4) A masked maniac breaks into the home of a couple and brutally murders them but their young child survives the whole ordeal. Flash forward many years and this woman is now working at a wax museum when she begins to notice that several recent missing persons appear as "dummies" at the museum.THE WAX MASK comes from producer Dario Argento who had meant for this to be a comeback film for his rival Lucio Fulci. Fulci helped on the story and the screenplay and was set to direct it but he sadly passed away weeks before production. He was replaced by special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti who had worked on films like DEMONS, DEMONS 2, OPERA, THE CHURCH and many others.It's really too bad Fulci passed away because you can't help but wonder what he might have done with the material. As is it, director Stivaletti has created a good looking picture, which is obviously another remake of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM. Most people know the story from its remake HOUSE OF WAX but either way this here is a more sexual version and of course there's a bit more gore than average.The biggest problem with this movie is that the direction itself is somewhat lifeless as there's really no style to be found and I'd argue that there's no suspense either. The film at least looks good and we are given some pretty Italian ladies showing off their naked bodies, which is always a plus. The special effects are decent for what they are but at the same time you'd expect something a tad bit gorier than what we actually got.I would say that the atmosphere is spot on and you also really do feel as if the setting is authentic. The 1900 Paris is quite believable and I thought the director really captured the look and spirit of the time. Still, in the end, there's not enough going on in the picture to warrant its 98-minute running time.

If you know anything about Italian horror of the past few decades, then surely the names associated with this film will have some meaning to you. Written in big letters on the front of the VHS box is "Dario Argento presents...", and surely Argento's name means at least there is some attempted style and class injected into this film. Secondly, the director is none other than Sergio Stivaletti, the man responsible for the many gory FX of films like DEMONS, here making the transition from SFX man (although he did do the SFX in this film too - multi-talented, you see) to director. He does a good job, keeping the right mix of all the correct ingredients (somehow the analogy of a director strikes me as somebody stirring a stew and trying to get even qualities of the correct ingredients). Finally, partially responsible for the screenplay is Lucio Fulci, to whom this film is dedicated, as it was the last film he worked on before his death. His ghostly presence is noticeable in the gory proceedings and it's great to have him on board.While the film is essentially a remake of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (itself already remade in 1953 as HOUSE OF WAX), don't let that put you off. It almost rivals those two classics, becoming something of a classic in its own right. There are plenty of reasons for genre fans to enjoy watching, and even the dubbing is hardly noticeable these days. The acting is of a high calibre, from Mondello who adds depth to her role of the female lead, becoming more than just a pretty, screaming face. The perpetrator of the gruesome crimes is played by a memorably stony faced actor too, on the outside dignity and aloofness, on the inside a raving maniac. Especially sinister are the man's two servants, both twisted and perverted characters, one of whom ties a victim down, cuts her arms and lets pigs feed on her blood. He also indulges in some kinky games with a local prostitute. The only bland actor is the heroic male lead, but then again they usually are and there's no point breaking tradition.The plot has enough new twists and turns in the tale to keep fans of the original wax films interested. There is a healthy dose of Gothic atmosphere, and sumptuous costumes and sets, which really help to make the period believable. There is also a high level of gore and nudity (plenty of the latter) for exploitation fans to enjoy, the bloodiest moments being where a man has his hand ripped off, his throat slashed and his heart torn out...and these are just in the opening moments! Some clever CGI work is used effectively, while the SFX crew really did themselves proud with the gruesome make-ups. There's even a TERMINATOR-inspired monster on the rampage at the end of the film, except this is more chilling as it's made of bone instead of metal - yes, a living skeleton! THE WAX MASK is everything you could hope for a modern horror film and shows that if the effort is made, you can still make good, atmospheric period pieces like this.

This is a sorely-overlooked film that began as a project for the ailing Lucio Fulci (who died at the 11th-hour), and ended-up being the first film for Italian makeup-maestro, Sergio Stivaletti. While it is often daft, it is also so audacious and original in its reimagining of "House of Wax" that it inexplicably overcomes any of its weaknesses. Produced-by Dario Argento (as well as co-scripted in some areas), this alchemical-horror succeeds where the recent Hollywood-remake fails, and all on a $3 million-budget! That's catering for the recent "House of Wax", right? Its only major-downside--a minor one--is that Paris Hilton's murder isn't depicted here, which accounts for half the box-office of that version.It is difficult not to be won-over by the visual purity of this film, even with the problems of plot (common to Italian cinema, though much of this is explained-by a an emphasis on the "thematic"), and it is very-very entertaining and fantastical. One would assume that the alchemical-themes in the story were Argento's contributions, however, English horror-cineaste Alan Jones has written they are Stivaletti's, which is pretty amazing. For those who are familiar with the makeup-artisan's work in films by Argento, Soavi, and Lamberto Bava, you are in for a treat.While this film is definitely flawed, it succeeds in being a great romp for action, mystery, and naturally, gore. From a hardcore heart-ripping by mechanical-hands, to melting-cadavers, it is an original-contribution to bodily-defilement by the director and his makeup crew. With obvious expositions on nanotechnology and cybernetics, I was pretty creeped-out. Maybe it was me, but I thought a lot of the film had elements of the French silent serials like "Judex", or even "Les Vampiers". There are--of course--scenes that will make most Anglo-American audiences cringe, and you'll know them when you see them, but you knew you were watching an Italian genre-film, no? Yet, it is so very classical in its combination of Gaston Leroux and Jules Verne! One-remaining Fulci-subplot remains--it concerns a doppleganger of a main-character, and is oddly resonant with Stivaletti's-contributions. The familiar-theme of the misunderstood-genius, and the brutality of the human-condition creating monsters reminds one of Captain Nemo, or the Phantom of the Opera. But what this films really reminds-me-of is that many great Italian-filmmakers understand there is no line-between "high" and "low" art. This is often lost on us in North America, but it is common in mainland European culture. The alchemical themes are great too. Lucio Fulci, RIP.

"Wax Mask" was OK horror film and some parts of it was pretty creepy. But unfortunately there was lot of scenes that made me giggle. There was lot of parts that was meant to be scary but they ended up just funny. In the good parts the feeling was thrilling though and the plot was actually pretty good and nicely written, still there was some major problems with it. Especially the characters was so... dum... and cliche. Special effects was... hmm... OK, I think, because I have seen worse. But still "Wax Mask" was not a bad movie. It had it great moments... but the there just was too many of not so great moments too.