I'd really rate this more of a 6.5 out of ten, but I'm rounding up this time because in spite of a silly ending this movie is watchable all the way through. Set largely in turn of the century Italy, The Wax Mask is what happens when two legendary Italian giallo masters collaborate on an unofficial remake of House of Wax, rewrite the script to incorporate inspiration from the works of Gaston Leroux, and then offer the director's chair to a legendary practical effects master. Then add a little bit of cyberpunk Terminator at the end for funsies. It's a trip! The movie starts with the gruesome murder of young Sonia's parents in Paris before fast-forwarding to Rome, where the now grown up and stunningly beautiful Sonia is trying to get a job at the new wax museum in town. She gets the job along with a reporter boyfriend who has a distressingly bad haircut. She's got a lot more to be distressed about as the plot progresses, because this wax museum's proprietor knows more about her than she realizes. The English dub for this movie is all over the place, with some actors doing a great job and others hilariously not. Set designs are sumptuous, the musical score is wonderful, and most of the acting as over the top as you'd want for a movie with this subject material. Some of the dialogue is laugh out loud funny, especially one memorable speech where Sonia's blind aunt tells an unnecessarily specific story about how she got blinded. Overall, definitely worth a watch if you like Gothic style horror and appreciate cheese.
Review of The Wax Mask
