Sonia Lafont (the beautiful Romina Mondello) had witnessed the brutal murder of her parents as a child. Now, she's a troubled adult who goes to work as a costume designer for wax museum proprietor Boris Volkoff (Robert Hossein), whose exhibits tend towards the macabre. While this is going on, a maniac is running around incapacitating and abducting various unfortunate people.
Set in early 20th century Paris, this 1990s update of the "Mystery of the Wax Museum" / "House of Wax" story was co-scripted by Lucio Fulci, who was intended to direct, but he died a few weeks before shooting was to begin. So, Sergio Stivaletti, the reliable makeup effects veteran for Italian genre cinema, stepped in on short notice. And he does a pretty good job with this directorial debut, making this a slick and solid modern Gothic. While the script is overall routine (including the twist ending), Stivaletti infuses this with so much atmosphere and so many macabre visuals that it rates as agreeable entertainment. The cast is capable (Riccardo Serventi Longhi is a helpful newspaperman, Gianni Franco the requisite police inspector on the case, etc.) and the music by Maurizio Abeni is wonderful. But, given Stivalletis' background, the effects ARE often the real appeal of this movie. They're quite entertaining to watch.
If you love Italian horror, this movie is one I would definitely recommend.
Seven out of 10.
Set in early 20th century Paris, this 1990s update of the "Mystery of the Wax Museum" / "House of Wax" story was co-scripted by Lucio Fulci, who was intended to direct, but he died a few weeks before shooting was to begin. So, Sergio Stivaletti, the reliable makeup effects veteran for Italian genre cinema, stepped in on short notice. And he does a pretty good job with this directorial debut, making this a slick and solid modern Gothic. While the script is overall routine (including the twist ending), Stivaletti infuses this with so much atmosphere and so many macabre visuals that it rates as agreeable entertainment. The cast is capable (Riccardo Serventi Longhi is a helpful newspaperman, Gianni Franco the requisite police inspector on the case, etc.) and the music by Maurizio Abeni is wonderful. But, given Stivalletis' background, the effects ARE often the real appeal of this movie. They're quite entertaining to watch.
If you love Italian horror, this movie is one I would definitely recommend.
Seven out of 10.