House of Wax (1953) vs House of Wax (2005)

I haven't seen the ’05, but I have seen the ’33 Mystery of the Wax Museum and far prefer it to the ’53 House of Wax, which—notwithstanding Price—I find overlit and pretty darn dull.

The ’33 isn’t perfect, but it’s got fantastic early Michael Curtiz direction, the lovely Fay Wray, Lionel Atwill at his looniest, cool early technicolor, and a better script.

Also, as William K. Everson pointed out, the ’33’s then-contemporary setting actually makes it spookier and more atmospheric than the ’53: When we move from the sleek ’30s streets to the creepy wax museum, it seems like terror is intruding on the everyday. By contrast, the ’53’s Victorian streets are just as sinister as the wax museum, making the museum feel like no big deal. (Also recommended: Doctor X [’32], also directed by Curtiz and starring Wray and Atwill, to which Wax Museum is something of a spiritual sequel.)