A Review of House of Wax: Slasher Films Essay Example

truth is eventually exposed, as the killing happened on a large scale. Vincent's ambition is to create complete people, something he cannot achieve, by taking what he perceives as perfection in others (people). The killings do not happen on a specific date but occur when lost travelers stumble into their town.

Contrary to horror movies like Friday the Thirteenth and Halloween where killers only strike during a specific time of the year, Bo and Vincent's killing spree in this movie has no personal motive but rather targets a group of young girls and boys who were unlucky enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Similar to classic horror films, the group is methodically eliminated one by one, each death unique. The first victim, Wade, is not directly killed but rather rendered immobile with a cut Achilles' heel before being turned into a wax figurine. While Bo orchestrates the evil, Vincent takes charge of carrying out the murders using knives on both Dalton and Blake but opting to take Paige's life by launching a large javelin-like weapon directly into her forehead.

Vincent is portrayed as a resourceful murderer who employs various components to execute his kill plans. Bo and Vincent strategically eliminate or take prisoners when the optimal moment arises and place the victims in positions akin to a chess game. Tampering with Wade's vehicle's fan belt resulted in the need for assistance and displayed their calculated tactics. The perpetrators employed a single act of distraction to initiate their schemes, dividing the circle of friends, rendering them more vulnerable to attack.

Another pair of cunning twins, Carly and Nick, proved to be the killers' downfall,

which they hadn't foreseen. In House of Wax, Carly serves as the Final Girl character, while the movie's plot focuses on both her and her brother Nick's survival. The movie's underlying theme centers around Carly's survival and Nick's sacrifices as they both make it out alive. Bo and Vincent's story runs parallel to Carly and Nick's. Carly is portrayed as the typical good girl who excels academically, while Nick is seen as the "evil twin" who has a criminal record and has been expelled from the football team. As children, Carly and Nick drifted apart because their parents favored one over the other. This caused a rift between them.

Bo and Vincent share a similarity in their upbringing, despite having distinct experiences. While Bo was restricted to his high chair, Vincent was given more freedom. The film portrays a scene at the start where Bo is forcefully placed in his chair while Vincent receives a tender kiss on the cheek. These experiences shaped the twins’ reliance on one another, a survival strategy that Carly and Nick also adopt. The narrative also explores the dichotomy between nature versus nurture by showcasing how both sets of twins faced unequal treatment and grief, but varying outcomes emerged based on their reactions. As a result, the movie ultimately poses the question of which twins are better.

Carly and Nick were each other's lifeline in House of Wax. Despite several instances where Nick rescued Carly, she ultimately killed Bo and Vincent in defense of Nick, resulting in her survival. This aligns with the Final Girl theory often seen in horror films. These movies typically feature a killer who randomly murders multiple

victims within a day, far from civilization and without any help.

The typical horror movie killer tends to use weapons such as blades, chainsaws, cleavers, and blunt objects to bring violent and bloody deaths to their victims. The film House of Wax follows this trend closely as the killer stalks the victims, inflicts injuries, and covers them in wax until they die in a helpless state with no chance of survival. Bo and Vincent, the killers portrayed in the movie, struggle with intense identity issues stemming from their past as Siamese twins.

After their father's operation, Vincent was left with half of his face deformed while Bo had minimal physical damage. Consequently, their mother, who worked as a wax artist, crafted wax masks for Vincent to wear. In contrast to common slasher movies such as Freddy and Jason where the antagonist is often visible, the killer in House of Wax remained concealed for the most part, indicating the likelihood of a solitary perpetrator.

The killer is revealed as a twin brother team later in the film. Their wax masks symbolize Vincent's infatuation with wax and his emotional scars from hiding his deformities during childhood. He reflects his agony onto his victims by trapping them in a wax prison, symbolizing the prison he wears every day. Vincent's passion for art is later shown to be a genuine love and talent manipulated by his brother Bo to fuel his anger. Vincent's love for art perverts the perception of him as a killer to that of a victim of his brother's rage.

The House of Wax killer's preoccupation with producing ideal people in everyday life is readily apparent in

his victims and artworks. This murderer also bears the typical slasher trait of being virtually immortal, remaining undaunted despite being abused, stabbed, beaten, and so forth. It is only at the end of the movie, after multiple attempts to defeat them, that the heroes Carly and Nick ultimately succeed in killing the villains. Moreover, what makes the House of Wax killer distinct from other slasher villains is that he received assistance from his brother in locating his victims.

House of Wax targets young adults and teenagers aged seventeen to twenty-two, whose interests align with those of college students aged seventeen to twenty-three. The majority of the cast and identified audience fall within this age range. The film follows a group of friends on a road trip to a college football game.

The issues of pregnancy and sex, as well as accelerated reaction to plans, are represented through the relationship between Blake (Robert Ri’chard) and Paige (Paris Hilton), and Wade’s (Jared Padalecki) proposal to Carly (Elisha Cuthbert). These themes resonate with young adults, ranging from teenagers to college-aged audiences. Additionally, the film appeals to pre-teens who are attracted to the celebrity cast, as both Nick (Chad Michael Murray) and Paige (Paris Hilton) are popular figures in today’s pop culture and frequently appear in gossip magazines. However, the film does not fully embody the “final girl” theory.

According to Carol J. Clover's final girl theory, the final person left alive to face the killer is typically a female. The theory posits that this character usually bears a unisex name, is a virgin, and shares a history with the killer. However, House of Wax breaks from this mold by featuring both

a male and a female survivor. As a result, the female survivor isn't given an explicitly unisex name. Nonetheless, "Carly" could potentially qualify as a unisex name if the final "y" is removed, thereby revealing the male name "Carl."

According to the Final Girl theory, the killers and survivors share some common history. They are both sets of twins with opposite personalities, where one twin exhibits socially acceptable behavior while the other displays bad behavior. Both sets of twins learn to work together to overcome their obstacles: Bo and Vincent learn to survive without their parents, while Carly and Nick learn to overcome the killers' plans. During the movie, Nick has to save his sister Carly, who is held hostage in a gas station basement with her mouth glued shut. Towards the end, Carly rescues Nick by picking up a baseball bat and killing one of the killers.

Carly's masculine trait is highlighted in this particular scene. As the tomboy character, she emerges as the dominant hero by aiding her brother and killing the last villain. Despite the presence of a male survivor, the plot follows the Final Girl theory in all its characteristics. The movie does not convey any misogynistic message or hatred towards women. Carly's survival was only possible due to her brother Nick's contribution, completing her as the other half.

Despite the Final Girl's victory against the villains, Carly received crucial assistance from her twin brother, Nick, in the House of Wax remake/sequel. The act of remaking an original film or producing a sequel always carries a level of risk. Once standards are established, surpassing them becomes difficult. House of Wax obtained an average box

office profit of approximately $32 million, a respectable outcome for an average movie. It targeted both male and female teenagers as its primary audience, contributing to its mediocre box office numbers. However, there may have been other factors that played a role in the film's overall success.

The validity of the film was impacted by the casting decision, which included Paris Hilton, a celebrity without prior acting experience. While some viewers were intrigued by the prospect of seeing Hilton onscreen, others were put off by doubts about her abilities as an actress.

It can be inferred that the film was intended for a teenage audience, as evidenced by the immature marketing ploy of Hilton's "Come See Paris Hilton Die..." t-shirts on the release date. Such advertising gimmicks would only appeal to those with a lack of maturity and the absence of adult themes in the movie further corroborates this conclusion.

Upon examination of House of Wax's awards and nominations, it becomes clear who the intended audience was. The film received seven nominations and won four awards, including two Teen Choice Awards for Paris Hilton and Chad Michael Murray. However, it was also nominated for a Razzie award in the category of worst remake.

The lack of success of House of Wax (2005) may be attributed to several factors. One possibility is that while a wax museum was featured in the movie, it hardly resembled its original release in 1953. In addition, there were no related trends within the horror genre during its release year, unlike the other horror films of 2005 such as Amityville Horror and Boogeyman which had no similarities with House of Wax. Ultimately,

the 2005 remake failed to live up to the success of its predecessor from 52 years earlier.

In accordance with Walter Evans' essay "Monster Movies: A Sexual Theory," the film puts forth the idea of "horrible and mysterious transformations" for both the villains and victims. The film introduces the twin-brother duo of Bo and Vincent as the antagonists, portraying their upbringing through a flashback. The parents favor one child over the other, clearly expressing their disdain towards the disfigured child. As House of Wax progresses, it increases the audience's curiosity about which brother will be the monster. By employing typical horror genre precedents for ideal monsters, it becomes evident that Vincent, with his facial deformity, would certainly fit that role. However, as the plot advances, it is revealed that Bo, the brother without flaws, is the mastermind behind all the evil schemes.

The text describes how Vincent is portrayed as an instrument of evil by Bo, who constantly taunts and exploits his insecurities and deformity. As a result, Vincent transforms from a favored son into an agent of evil, committing atrocities to create art and continue his mother's legacy. His artistry is revealed to have a subtle sexual characteristic, as depicted by an early image in the film of him applying extra wax to a female figure's chest. Ultimately, the villains in the story fulfill Evan's theory by turning their victims into wax figures.

The genuine anticipation of the alterations arises when Dalton confuses a missing friend, Wade, with a wax figure. During the unfolding of the scene, Dalton uncovers that the figure is actually Wade coated in wax. While futilely trying to

release his friend from the wax imprisonment, Dalton recognizes that each waxed piece holds bits of Wade's skin, baring facial muscles and stimulating streams of tears. It is clear that the transformation to wax is irreversible, and Wade is no longer salvageable.The unsettling understanding that the scattered wax figures in the town are truly past victims portrays a perilous depiction of the circumstances faced by the heroes. The melting/burning of the town and its cheery wax figures solidifies this potent image of metamorphosis, revealing the decomposing corpses beneath the exterior.

House of Wax attempts to break away from the mold of typical slasher films, but its success in doing so is subjective and dependent upon the audience's familiarity with the genre's history. The movie features well-developed characters and a complex plot, including backstory and identity issues for both heroes and villains. The reasoning behind the villains' continued evil is revealed in the movie's closing dialogue. Rather than sticking to standard slasher movie conventions, House of Wax includes unexpected twists, contributing to the genre's longevity and reinforcing the cliche of not judging a book by its cover - or in this case, a movie.