"House of Wax is not a good movie but it is an efficient one, and will deliver most of what anyone attending House of Wax could reasonably expect, assuming it would be unreasonable to expect very much." Roger Ebert CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "This movie gives it to you, as no movie has in some years." Stephen Hunter WASHINGTON POST "More gleeful, more deliciously sick, and cleverer than most." Eugene Novikov FILM BLATHER "House of Wax is suspenseful, well-paced and, other than Hilton, capably acted." Chris Hewitt ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS "With a minimally talented cast, it focuses on the most ludicrous, repulsive aspects: Paris Hilton, the slaughter and melting wax." Susan Granger MODAMAG.COM

"Paris Hilton really sucks in "House Of Wax". But not as much as she did in her infamous unauthorized porn flick." Marty King THE MOVIE PAGES "I wanted to see Paris Hilton die early and painfully. Nothing else really mattered." Willie Waffle WAFFLEMOVIES.COM "I wanted to see Paris Hilton die early and painfully. Nothing else really mattered." Willie Waffle WAFFLEMOVIES.COM "...the 2nd best Paris Hilton film I've seen this year." Michael A Smith NOLAN'S POP CULTURE REVIEW "Paris Hilton's performance in "House of Wax" is the best since her infamous porn movie 'exposed' her lack of talent." Richard Surfield THE MOVIE PAGES

The Inside Story

"Gosh, I have to admit it: it’s more enjoyable than I thought to watch Paris die." Audrey Rock-Richardson TOOELE TRANSCRIPT-BULLETIN UTAH

It doesn't take much of a brain to work out that films such as "House of Wax" aren't aimed at sophisticated audiences who may just be looking for cast performances bordering on those which are generally recipients of Oscar nominations or of an Academy Award. No, films such as "House Of Wax" are made for a target audiences. Those who love the thrill of horror or having the crap scared out of them. Films like this are pretty much designer stories with designer casts and sometimes that's not such a bad thing, particularly if you have a total dislike for some like, well take Paris Hilton for example, there must be millions of people all over the world who'd love to get their hands around her neck and throttle the living daylights out of her. Unfortunately, most if not all of us are law abiding citizens and we could never resort to fulfilling our fantasy, but at least if you go see "House Of Wax", you will get a great deal of pleasure out of seeing a very frightened, whimpering Paris Hilton cop it right through the brain. And yes, I did say brain. Of course, seeing Paris killed off is only one of the highlights in this passable 'B' grade horror flick which many are passing off as a remake of the Vincent Price classic. Pardon me! A remake of an early fifties film. Come off it, half the world wasn't even concieved then so you'd have to be a 'baby boomer'ot a bit of an old fart to even remember it. In those days, makers of horror films relied on psychological terror to scare the living bejeevers out of audiences by using the power of suggestion. It was a simpler world then and terror was in a different realm. Today many films in the genre that "House Of Wax" falls into, rely on outright distasteful tacticts or cruelty to scare or confront their audiences. Be honest, you have to agree, some of these films have you thinking that whoever wrote them has to be one 'sick little puppie'. Right! So is "House of Wax" a remake of the 1953 Vincent Price classic? Not really. According to the production house its a re-imaging of the original. "House of Wax puts a modern spin on the slasher movies of the 1970s and 80s,” says producer Joel Silver. "It’s a rollercoaster ride that taps into our most primal fears of being hunted down and trapped, and then thrusts you into a nightmarish scenario where nothing around you is real and escape is not an option." But did we really need another 'wax' story about a couple of sicko's who kidnap unsuspecting people and turn them into wax figures? "There’s something really fascinating about wax figures. They’re unsettling, they’re kind of creepy, but you can’t stop looking at them. We loved the idea of a wax museum with real people encased in wax, so we used that as a jumping-off point and created a totally new story that takes the concept to a truly terrifying level," says Silver. And that's about where the resemblance to the original ends. As in the original, the wax figures have real humans inside them. You can imagine then how back in 1953 this would have really scared cinemagoers. By todays standards it's a bit too tame for audiences. The screenplay for the Dark Castle Entertainment production of "House Of Wax" was written by twin brothers Chad and Carey W Hayes. "Chad and Carey created a truly original story with interesting character dynamics and unique set pieces," says producer Susan Levin. "The horror genre traditionally favors stories about strong women in peril who kick ass. Our film puts a twist on that convention with our protagonists, a sister and brother who are at odds at the beginning of the story and have to come together to fight for their survival." "Horror movies are typically about external forces that change your life, and either you deal with them, or you try to escape," director Jaume Collet-Serra explained. "If you try to escape, you usually die, but if you confront the situation, you usually survive. In this film, we have a brother and sister whose biggest problem isn’t the deadly crisis they’re facing, it’s their own relationship. They have to not only find strength in themselves; they have to confront the issues between them, learn to trust each other and work together as a team to defeat the killers." For the 'girl on the run' the team chose that delicious dish Elisha Cuthbert who most will remember from the TV series "24". "Elisha is incredibly talented," Silver says. "She’s got great strength and range, from intense drama to broad comedy, and we knew she’d be perfect for Carly, a character who is extremely focused on her goals and her future, and then suddenly finds herself battling for her very survival." She also has a very attractive chest which stands out on many occassions during the film. "Carly is different from any other character that I’ve played," Cuthbert says. "She doesn’t really care about clothes or style; she’s focused on her career more than anything else. Then suddenly she’s fighting for her life. Her brother Nick likes to play the tough guy; he’s been in fights before. But Carly has never been in a fight, let alone a nightmare situation like this. She’s not Lara Croft, she’s just going on adrenaline." Playing opposite Cuthbert as her bad-ass brother Nick, is Chad Michael Murray. "Chad did a great job of bringing elements to his character that let you know that beneath the tough guy front, he really cares about his friends and his sister," director Jaume says, "and you know he’s going to step up to the plate and fight to protect her." Producer Susan Levin notes that "Chad and Elisha created a really convincing brother-sister bond. You can feel the tension and history between the characters, and at the same time, it brings a strength and depth to their connection." Of his character Nick Jones, Chad Michael Murray muses, "I think Nick is the kind of kid who had a lot of potential when he was growing up, but he was never good enough to compare to his over-achieving sister. Eventually he rebelled, started to get into fights and became this hard guy, even though it’s not who he really is. The challenge for me was to bring a vulnerability to him that exists beneath his anger and frustration." Paris Hilton joined the cast to play Carly's best friend Paige. "Paris was very excited and committed to coming in and working really hard," Silver says. Director Jaume agress with Silvers assessment noting, "Paris did her homework. She came in eager to learn and worked very hard on creating her character, finding the right voice for Paige and figuring out how she fits into the group." And what did Paris Hilton think of her first major film role which results in a gruesome death for her character? "It was a challenge to show real fear, to go to a place where I was really scared. And doing my death scene was definitely hard. I had the bruises to prove it! But I think I have the coolest death scene in the movie. It looks awesome." Hilton also revealed, "When I met the rest of the cast we all got along so well, it was like we had been friends forever." Every slasher film has to have an evil, sicko bastard in it, but in the case of "House of Wax" there are two bad guys and Brian Van Holt plays them both. He says it wasn't easy playing the role of twins. "It took a lot of effort to tap into the dark side and really commit to these characters," Van Holt admits. "It definitely took a toll on me. But to have an opportunity as an actor to push it to that level was a lot of fun." Crew Bytes "HOUSE OF WAX" was .......
directed by Jaume Collet-Serra ["House of Wax"]; screenplay by Chad Hayes ["The Dark Side of the Moon"] and Carey W Hayes ["The Dark Side of the Moon"]; costume design by Graham Purcell ["Manganinnie", "An Indecent Obsession", "The Right Hand Man" and "Siam Sunset"]; production design by Graham 'Grace' Walker ["Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome", "Dead Calm", "The Island of Dr Moreau", "Pitch Black" and "Gothika"]; edited by Joel Negron ["True Lies", "Enemy of the State", "Gone in Sixty Seconds" and "Pearl Harbor"]; director of photography Stephen F Windon ["The Wonderful World of Dogs", "The Postman", "The Patriot", "The Tuxedo" and "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid"]; original music by John Ottman ["Eight Legged Freaks", "Trapped", "Cellular" and "Hide and Seek"] produced by L Levin ["Gothika"]; Susan Levin ["Ghost Ship", "Cradle 2 the Grave" and "Gothika"]; Joel Silver ["Lethal Weapon 2", "Die Hard 2", "Hudson Hawk", "The Last Boy Scout", "Assassins" and "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang"] and Robert Zemeckis ["Back to the Future I, II & III", "What Lies Beneath", "Cast Away", "Matchstick Men", "Gothika" and "The Polar Express"]. Casting About "HOUSE OF WAX" stars .......
Elisha Cuthbert ["Dancing on the Moon", "Old School", "Love Actually" and "The Girl Next Door"]; Chad Michael Murray ["Megiddo: The Omega Code 2", "Freaky Friday" and "A Cinderella Story"]; Paris Hilton ["Sweetie Pie", "Nine Lives", "Wonderland" and "Raising Helen"]; Jared Padalecki ["A Little Inside", "Cheaper by the Dozen", "Flight Of The Phoenix" and "Cry Wolf"]; Jon Abrahams ["Scary Movie", "Meet The Parents", "Texas Rangers" and "My Boss's Daughter"]; Robert Ri'chard ["Light It Up" and "Coach Carter"]; Damon Herriman ["Chipman", "The Big Steal", "Call Me Mr. Brown" and "Son of the Mask"]; Andy Anderson ["Soledad", "Black and White", "Garage Days" and "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid"] and Brian Van Holt ["A Very Brady Sequel", "Windtalkers", "Basic", "Black Hawk Down" and "S.W.A.T."] as Bo/Vincent. What It's All About

"... doesn’t look down upon its target audience... House both treats and terrorizes while legitimizing itself next to other slasher classics." Kevin A Ranson MOVIECRYPT.COM

Six friends on a weekend getaway to a college football match, find themselves camping out overnight in an isolated spot after being forced to take a detour off the highway. In the darkness of night an intruder shines his headlights at the group but when confronted by them he retreats into the surrounding woods. The group awake the next morning to find their vehicles have been disabled. Two of the group accept a lift from a stranger to the nearest town Ambrose, home of Trudy's House Of Wax. Here Carly and Wade discover that all the inhabitants of the town are wax figures. What they don't know, but will soon discover is, underneath the wax are real humans and that they will be the next victims of a psychopathic killer who hunts them down one by one. The Verdict "I didn't go to "House of Wax" to see Academy Award winning performances, I went to have the shit scared out of me. On serveral occassions "House Of Wax" did just that! "House Of Wax" is noteable for a number of reasons, the most oustanding being you'd have to be a sick f**k to imagine some of the 'inhumane' material that makes its way on to the screen. However, if you're a fan of the genre you'll probably find the film entertaining enough. A spectacular ending is the films saving grace, but it's the sheer delight in seeing Paris Hilton killed off that is the "House Of Wax" high point. Recommended to fans of the genre and anyone who hates Paris Hilton. The latter should ensure healthy receipts at the box-office! If gore, cruelty and inhumane behaviour aren't to your taste, then give this one a wide berth." The Cast

Elisha Cuthbert Chad Michael Murray Brian Van Holt Paris Hilton Jared Padalecki Jon Abrahams Robert Ri'chard Dragitsa Debert Thomas Adamson Murray Smith Sam Harkess Damon Herriman Andy Anderson

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Carly Jones Nick Jones Bo/Vincent Paige Edwards Wade Dalton Chapman Blake Trudy Sinclair Young Bo Dr Sinclair Young Vincent Roadkill Driver Sheriff

The Crew Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra Story by Charles Belden Screenplay by Chad Hayes & Carey W Hayes Produced by L Levin/Susan Levin/Joel Silver/Robert Zemeckis Original Music by John Ottman Director of Photography Stephen F Windon Film Editing by Joel Negron Casting by Mary Gail Artz & Barbara Cohen Production Design by Graham 'Grace' Walker Senior Art Director Brian Edmonds Art Direction by Nicholas McCallum Set Decoration by Beverley Dunn Costume Design by Graham Purcell Run Time 113 minutes Rated ma15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - Warner Bros - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved