Review: Waxwork (1988)
Directed by: Anthony Hickox
Starring: Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Johnson
Written by: Anthony Hickox
Music by: Roger Bellon
Country: United States
Available on: Blu-ray (Vestron Video), DVD (Lionsgate)
IMDb
For the longest time, I only knew writer/director Anthony Hickox as the guy behind one of the sleaziest and cheesiest of the Hellraiser sequels (Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth). By no means is that a movie I love, but, growing up, I saw it way more than any other entry in the series, and it was a frequent late-night cable watch for pre-teen me. Sure, a cenobite who flings razor-sharp CDs like a sloppy demonic DJ isn’t exactly scary, but I had Paula Marshall to help me through the schlock. I hadn’t seen Hickox’s best-known films, Waxwork and its sequel, until just a few years ago. As a result, they’re not laced with a whole lot of nostalgia for me and I don’t worship at their altar as many folks do. But regardless, the first film is a whole hell of a lot of goofy fun that offers a few surprises: (1) It’s way gorier than you’d ever expect considering the tone is fairly lighthearted on balance, and stuffed with silly humor. You’re introduced to the carnage pretty swiftly, as a werewolf (with a design that’s actually one of the better in the genre — also unexpected, since this isn’t a werewolf movie) rips a man in half. There are quite a few scenes of graphic violence, including head explosions, impalements, a leg gnawed to the bone by vampires, and other gooey bits of goodness. (2) The main characters are set up to be stuffy, preppy assholes that you might prefer died quickly, but they end up being endearing and well-drawn, especially the ones played by Zach Galligan and Michelle Johnson. Considering the screenplay was written in just three days, it’s somewhat amazing that the characters are among the most likable in horror. The time-restraints during the writing phase do show in the middle of the flick, when the story lingers too long on a couple of the “time portal” set pieces, namely a Count Dracula diorama and a segment featuring the Marquis de Sade. Neither villain is memorable or menacing (and, in fact, Dracula is played by Miles O’Keeffe, a notoriously bad actor who has been the frequent target of the MST3K crew); both sections have a distinct “runtime padding” flavor. Also the consequence of the chaotic writing process is the underlying motivation to David Warner’s waxwork curator, which is a messy, nonsensical stew of voodoo, Satanism, and magic, I guess. But, nonetheless, Hickox rights the ship during the climax, which provides a kinetic good time, as all the monsters face off against a bunch of old fogies who have been battling these voodoo forces over the decades. This review would be remiss if it didn’t mention this weird bit of IMDb trivia: “In order for director Anthony Hickox to get certain cuts of the film past executive producer Dan Ireland, he persuaded his brother to parade around set in tight, denim shorts. This tactic worked as most of the final cut was intact on completion of the picture.” I have no idea if this is true, but if so, I’m glad the other Hickox’s hot buns managed to keep the lyncanthropic dismemberments intact. Waxwork is an imperfect, but very entertaining film that perfectly embodies ‘80s horror.
Overall rating: 8 out of 10
