Waxwork

Waxwork (1988) is a fairly obscure horror gem from the late 80s. I first saw this movie at the tender age of 7. Yeah, I know; maybe my parents were a little lax in letting a 7-year-old watch gory horror movies. But my older brother was 5 years my senior, making him 12 at the time. Since we did pretty much everything together back then, and my parents allowed him to watch these movies, they knew it would've been futile to try to stop me from watching them as well. For better or for worse, I was viewing fairly graphic movies at a young age. I'm fairly certain that Waxwork represented not only my first exposure to horror, but also to many subgenres of horror (I'll get to that in a minute), and for that, it will always hold a special place in my heart as a piece of nostalgic win.

In Waxwork, 6 teenagers are invited to a private midnight viewing at a mysterious wax museum. Despite the proprietor (David Warner) looking like an insane circus pedophile, resplendant in a purple and yellow big-top tuxedo, the kids find this to be an agreeable proposal. Dressed to the nines, and looking like nothing so much as a group of 80s douchebags and cheap hookers, the high-schoolers arrive at the museum. Things are a little off from the get-go, as the kids are greeted by a dwarf butler (Mihaly Meszaros) with Eastern European accents so thick as to be unintelligible. And Mr. Purple-and-Yellow is nowhere to be found. Undeterred, the kids blithely venture into the museum, where dioramas depict grisly scenes of terror featuring such greats as the Wolfman, Dracula, the Marquis de Sade, zombies, and mummies. The kids soon discover that each diorama is a portal into a realm of terror, where souls are collected in a ritual to summon a demon apocalypse. Can Mark (Zach Galligan) and Sarah (Deborah Foreman) stop the ritual before it's too late?

The genius of Waxwork lies in the script from first-time screenwriter and director Anthony Hickox. By utilizing the idea of the diorama portals, Hickox transforms Waxwork into a series of horror vignettes, tapping into and paying homage to some of horror's greatest traditions, movies, and subgenres. The creature costume and make-up effects are incredibly detailed, reportedly requiring 8 solid weeks of 18 hour days from effects artist Bob Keen. But this film was not built on effects alone. Each vignette not only features a different aspect of horror tradition, but it is steeped in that tradition as well. Camerawork, lighting, and music are all altered for each diorama scene to really bring these worlds to life.

Waxwork is fun and unique while still being awesomely 80s. Before Netflix, I had despaired of ever again seeing this obscure movie that had influenced me so much. Thanks Netflix! Waxwork stands the test of time.

Storyline & plot: 9/10

Cinematography & effects: 9/10

Music & mood: 9/10

Performances: 5/10

The Reverend says: 8/10