The Waxwork

Ahhh the Waxwork. I was overjoyed to see this in the free Fearnet movies selection because it has a special place in my heart. It had me at the little German dwarf butler saying......."Velkom to zee Vaxwerk!

The formula itself is familiar. A gang of well-to-do 80s teens looking for a good time....their search for fun leads them to accept am invitation to a "private midnight showing" at the friendly neighborhood Waxwork....they split up....get murdered.....dumbasses!

However...this flick breaks the formulaic mold of the cliche wax museum horror movie ...where of course...people are killed, coated in wax, posed, and put on display. No, no; this is much more creative.


The group tours the silent creepy wax museum, which coincidentally seems to be limited to scenes of people being murdered or tortured, yet rather than "have fun" or "talk to each other", they take in the scenes in silence.


One-by-one they each become entranced by an exhibit and step over the display rope...only to find the scene become real around them. This is what makes the Waxwork an original.

Victim #1 (his name is probably something like "Chaz" or "Trevor"), ends up in the woods being chased and bitten by a werewolf. Another victim becomes a lady in Count Dracula's court, and is invited to eat a meal of guts with them...that is really my favorite scene. She discovers who's guts they are....this guy's! whooo-hahahah (check the leg). I won't describe all of the fantasy but I will say that it is enjoyable.


Much like the Matrix or a Nightmare on Elm Street, the remaining teens realize that if you remind yourself that these evil spooks are "not real", they can't hurt you. Two manage to escape the parallel dimension, but then the German Midget and Waxwork host go on to bring the wax creatures to real real life. Another battle ensues and the nightmare ends....or does it? You'll have to find out in Waxwork II (which I wish had a catchier title like: "Back 2 da Waxwork")