Michael_Elliott 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.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews I haven't watched a lot of Italian horror. This is not my first exposure to Argento, though it is to Fulci. I understand that they both wrote it, and the effects supervisor directed this(for a debut, this is rather good; editing and cinematography are strong). This has a Gothic style and tone to it. It particularly comes through in the nice use of lighting and shadows. The score is excellent, dramatic and not loud. This is creepy and eerie, with several gruesome and terrifying situations. The plot isn't bad. This doesn't utilize its full potential, and part of the ending is a bit of a letdown. On the whole, this doesn't quite have the impact that it should, and I think it has to do with the script. In short, unrealistic dialog and characters that just don't stand out that much('cept the boyfriend dude... he's a major jerk, couldn't stand him, especially for the latter half; maybe he resembles the ideal for that country, I don't know), and aren't all that developed. Acting performances are nice enough. The FX are marvelous, other than the lousy CGI that is right out of the decade before this was made. There is plenty of bloody, gory violence and disturbing content, as well as a little nudity and sexuality in this(the eye-candy is pretty gratuitous). The DVD comes with a 5 minute featurette(entirely promotional, and it contains spoilers), a theatrical trailer and a 1 minute make-up gallery, all in English(while there is also a dub to that on the disc, I did not try it, I prefer subtitles; they do appear to be great, though, from what I did hear). I recommend this to fans of the genre. 6/10

iaido You can't help but go into Wax Mask with a little trepidation. First time director, written by an aged Luci Fulci and Dario Argento (who also produced), both of whom have had a less than impressive careers as of late. That said, Wax Mask is not a disappointment. It isn't a great film, but an entertaining one.The plot is liberally adapted from the classic Gaston Leroux story, also used for classic horror film House of Wax. A young girl sees her father killed by a metal handed maniac. Flash to 12? years later, she begins to work at a local wax museum that specializes in recreations of murders. We actually dont see much of the museum, just a few sculptures down one heavily draped hallway. A metal handed figure begins to go around town injecting and abducting prostitutes and children. All the while, the wax museum keeps a steady supply of figures that appear really lifelike. You know the story. A newspaper reporter begins to investigate the disappearances and takes a shine to the girl. Everything begins to point to the wax museum and its curator/mad inventor and his goons. The finale is ridiculous, but short enough to not ruin the film with its awkward turn.Stivaletti handles the film pretty evenly. You can tell he learned a lot about atmosphere in his years working for Argento, Bava, and Soavi, but Stivaletti doesn't showcase any revelatory talent, just competent skill. Italian horror films are always style first, general substance in the plot or performances is always secondary to the mood and movement. The film is paced well, and doesn't pretend that we all won't know who the killer is, after all this is well tread territory. The setting (early 1900's) and score are a welcome change, since Italian horror usually stays in modern times. Stivalletti makes use of heavy colours, POV, flashbacks, CGI, as well as old horror imagery like the gothic buildings, and a mad doctor laboratory with bubbling serums in tubes, and electrified levers. The lead actress is beautiful, sultry, wide eyed, and willing to take her top off. The hunky reporter is very lame and unappealing. He attempts to be suave, but he is just a dork. Miscasting him as the hero is the films real lowpoint. The curator is good, he doesn't overplay his part, not a drooling maniac, just threatening enough.Italian horror fans should find it a satisfactory film, nothing to astound you, but not overly disappointing, either. Other horror fans may be wary, but it does have a genuinely nice blend of old and new schools of horror. As far as Italian horror goes (where one must often not expect much in the acting and plotting department) it gets a B-. As far as standard horror it gets a C.

KrowbOy Sergio Stivaletti's wax mask is a hard movie to review because it has so many good things about it and so many BAD things also. The good things are...The movie is very visual which is cool, the make-up effects are awesome along with the computer effects, and it has some cool production design(especially the room where people are turned into wax creations). Now whats bad is...Most of the acting is bad especially the main female and good guy characters, the end turns into a weird terminatoresque finale, and some characters are not explained well (what happened to the bald guy with the scar) and the last minute/minute and a half is one of the worst endings i've ever seen.....what can i say i like this movie and yet i dislike it too.....still though it could have been better. But view it for the special effects(makeup and cg) and production design.