Post by phantomparticle on Jul 9, 2021 0:27:25 GMT
6 hours ago Salzmank said:
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.)
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.)
I agree. Mystery of the Wax Museum is a dark nightmare compared to the high gloss of House of Wax and no one can equal Lionel Atwill for sheer depravity. I like both films (saw House of Wax in '53, but without the 3D. It made me a life long horror movie fan).
The unmasking scene is better handled in House of Wax. In 1933, Fay Wray tears the mask away from Atwill's face and he simply stands there looking ashamed, like a kid caught stealing candy. In the remake, Phyllis Kirk has the sense to scream and faint dead away, after which the movie kicks into high gear for the finale.