In Defense of House of Wax (2005)

 

    I was 24 years old when the remake of House of Wax was released in theaters but if you want to get technical, it's the remake of the remake of the original film from the 1930's but lets not get lost in the smallest of details. I discovered horror movies as a child in the early 1990's through the wonderful VHS tapes at my local Family Video and watching the Friday the 13th marathons they used to do every Halloween on TNT. I was introduced to the best era of horror with the Halloween and Friday the 13th franchises and other hits like Monster Squad and the classic Universal Monsters and then in the mid 90's we seen another explosion in horror as we were introduced to Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. We also got a lot of standalone movies as well but as we got into the late 90's and early 2000's we seen a change in the horror genre, I like to refer to it as the MTV style of making films where we got the popular music, pretty faces and fantastic bodies and the end result is the soul of the horror genre was slowly starting to vanish. I know I'm writing in defense of a movie and I'm not trying to wander off topic but this is important to talk about, a lot of horror movies became by the formula and lost its soul and that is something I will always complain about when discussing the horror genre.

    I'll admit that a lot of the late 90's and early 00's horror are not my favorite but I always find myself revisiting them because they have a certain charm, they have some elements that work and they always remind me of my younger days. I've owned House of Wax (2005) since it came out on DVD and it's a favorite of mine and earlier this year I upgraded it to blu-ray and decided to revisit it during October and like always I had a good time and a smile on my face. I talked about the film and I started to notice that the majority of the people had a negative reaction towards the film and outright hated it, this baffled me a little bit and got me thinking about the film. I'm honest enough to admit that this film will win no awards and it does nothing ground breaking for the genre, the acting is mediocre and the story is by the numbers. I love this film even with all of its issues and problems and like many films I believe this one will eventually get a 'Cult' following but it will always have people running it into the ground. That's the primary reason I decided to revive Honest to Blog and defend this film which I have loved for over 15 years, I'm not alone in that group either and I hope to get more people to give this film a chance and maybe they'll discover some love for it.

    The cast of this film is really a spotlight of the year it was produced in and that's not a bad thing in my opinion, I love the fact that we have a Pre-Supernatural Jared Padalecki playing the doomed boyfriend of Carly Jones played by the gorgeous Elisha Cuthbert. We don't get a whole lot of insight to their relationship in this film but we're not watching that type of movie, we do know their relationship is stressed by her twin brother, Nick Jones, played by Chad Michael Murray. Nick is a bit of a troubled youth and is joined on the trip by once again playing to the formula, his stoner buddy, Dalton Chapman, played by Jon Abrahams. We round out the group with the typical formula of the 'Token Black Guy' Blake Johnson played by Robert Ri'chard. We also get the formula with 'The Slut' Paige Edwards played by none other than Paris Hilton, once again the casting is a reflection of the era and at one point Paris Hilton was relevant in the world of Hollywood. The cast is young and attractive and like any other venture into the horror genre we know that bad things are going to happen to them, typical horror formula but it works to perfection here.

    The plot is simple and to the point, the group of characters are on their way to a football game and they take a shortcut, they experience vehicle trouble and end in the clutches of a murderer played to creepy perfection by Brian Van Holt, who pulls double duty playing twin brothers, Bo and Vincent. We also meet the typical creepy redneck Lester who is plated by Damon Herriman, his character does little to the story and is really only there for a reveal in the final moments of the movie.

    We got our group of characters we're following along with the 'Big Bads' of the story who are elements of chaos and we are treated to a fun ride, this is a very superficial movie on the surface and I'm aware that is where it begins to lose people. I know very few people who have seen this film or even enjoy it and a lot of it comes back to making jokes about Paris Hilton, she's not the best actress but she does good in this role and lets all admit it, she's easy on the eyes. She also has some of the most memorable moments of  the film in my opinion from her jaw dropping strip tease to the sheer brutality of her death scene. I want to know why more people don't remember the sheer brutality in this film because even I had trouble watching some of it, the scene where Wade has his ankle cut in the room is brutal followed by being drugged and covered in hot wax. That type of stuff scares the literal hell out of me on so many levels, the scene where Dalton discovers him in the museum and tries to peel the wax off of him and takes off layers of skin, no fucking way. The gore in this film is why I've always held this movie in such high regards, the kills are awesome and always shown on screen like when Dalton tumbles down the stairs and Vincent takes a pair of scissors and takes his head off. The scene where Bo attacks Carly and straps her to the chair and proceeds to super glue her lips shut, it's brutal to watch her pry them open and try to warn her brother and when she gets her finger chopped off, it's fucking brutal and hard to watch. I'll go back a little to Paige and her epic death scene and chase and this is why I always champion the performance of Paris Hilton in this film, she's amazing and when she takes that pipe through the head, absolute perfection for a horror film death.

    I love the look of this film as well from the off the road camping area to the discovery of the ditch full of dead animals, then we get the mysterious town and the absolutely stunning House of Wax design where the entire building is crafted from wax. I guess it's the little things like that I enjoy while watching a film like this, the design of the mask that Vincent wears is so creepy as well and the fact that it's made from wax made me smile. I really think that people need to give films like this a chance because there's a lot more to it than on the surface, I know a lot of people don't really look at films as deep as I do but that's a different topic for another day.

    House of Wax (2005) 4/5

    Defense of the Film- A solid entry into the horror genre in an era with a lot of forgettable films and while aspects of it are cheesy it delivers in other areas, the brutality and gore of the killings is a highlight and while the characters are mostly one dimensional they are attractive and pretty.

The Gifted TV Series: Thoughts and Opinions

               The general feeling is that everything is saturated with comic book material these days and that's a true statement but people instantly condemn shows and movies for that reason alone and they couldn't be more wrong. These properties and characters have decades of stories and events to pull from and that fact alone makes it easy to adapt these stories and characters for the small and silver screen. It's a process that hits a few speed bumps with the latest being Marvel's Inhumans  which debuted recently as well, The Gifted is set within the Marvel Universe as well but it feels more real to the world and that helps me to understand and feel compassion for the characters. I don't want to trash a show like Inhumans because it has a great cast but fails in a story that pulls the viewers into the world. I didn't have that experience when I watched the pilot episode for The Gifted as I was pulled into this world where being a mutant is essentially the same as being a terrorist, the characters are flawed and compelling and when they focus on the villains of the show you can relate to them as well. That's a difficult balance to pull off on a show or even a feature length movie but it's an element of the show that gets me invested even more, The Gifted is set in the same universe as The X-Men but they haven't established a timeline to connect it to the movies, we got the reference that both The X-Men and The Brotherhood have vanished. It's a risky element to go with in a show like this but it raises the stakes because there is no safe haven for mutants and they're forced into basically a modern day 'Underground Railroad'.

                 The show revolves around The Strucker Family who seem to have a normal life until the one child is bullied and his mutant abilities kick in for the first time, the mutant gene is triggered by fear or pain. Andy Strucker is being beaten and verbally assaulted by a group of bullies and his powers kick in and he has no control, he is rescued by his sister, Lauren, who is also a mutant and that begins the conflict of the show. The father, Reed, is a successful prosecutor who locks up mutants for their crimes and he has to come to terms with his own children being mutants and he's forced to look at his decisions.

                  I'm not going into a full blown review but that's the essential basis for the show and it brings another story arc into play as well, The Mutant Underground, and their struggle to aid and assist mutants in a world that basically fears and hates them more than anything. The show begins with this group but in my eyes they are the secondary element to the arc of this show, the family drama is a dynamic I love and blending it into this world is awesome and full of potential. The idea of family stretches into the ranks of The Mutant Underground as well where we meet familiar characters if you grew up reading the source material. Thunderbird, Blink and Polaris are the standout characters along with the character of Eclipse who was created for the show but pulls a lot from the character of Sunspot.

                     The decision to have these four characters on the frontlines of The Mutant Underground is odd on paper but to see them come to life is something amazing, the effects and use of their individual powers is also pretty good. The first episode introduces us to the character of Blink played perfectly by Jamie Chung, the look of the character has similarities to the comic boon counterpart which I love. A lot of times when these type of characters are adapted for television or the big screen they are drastically changed and represent no aspect of the character other than the name. The character of Thunderbird is also introduced in the pilot episode as well played by Blair Redford, this character is infamous for being killed off shortly after his introduction in the comics. I'm sure the television adaptation of this character will not go in that direction as he's a leader within The Mutant Underground. We see a glimpse of his tracking ability along with strength and the comment he's pretty much bulletproof, we also get a character who's loyal to his friends but understands that everyone needs help at the same time when he meets The Strucker Family.


                    I'm not going to lie when I say the character of Eclipse played by Sean Teale is in my opinion the weakest part of the show, there are moments when he comes across as a strong character and vital part of The Mutant Underground but his decisions and actions are questionable at best. I'm not trashing the character because there are elements that work but his writing is all over the board and by the end of the fourth episode it's a real mess. I just hope they don't stretch out his storyline with The Cartel because it felt so forced and cheesy and took away from the episode and made me care less about his character.

                    My favorite aspect of this show so far is the introduction of the character of Polaris played by Emma Dumont, she's a loose cannon and not scared to use her powers either. She's the love interest of Eclipse on this show and if they focus on the relationship between these two there's a lot  of potential for character development. Her reaction when he is shot by an officer during the rescue of Blink in the pilot episode is pure rage and control over her ability, we've seen her locked up the majority of the first four episodes which has limited the use of her abilities but we've got to see her personality grow. I'm waiting to see if they confirm her as the daughter of Magneto in this world as her abilities are very similar to his and she has in a way took up his mantle ensuring the safety of mutants. She seems to be the key member of The Mutant Underground and is responsible for saving a lot of the people that are now an active part of the group, I'm looking forward to seeing her story arc grow and her relationship with Eclipse to be expanded upon as well.

                          The Gifted is a show that introduces us to a world set in the X-Men Universe but it's so much more than that, we see a world where there are no heroes left to protect the mutants but a group that is largely viewed as criminal. The Mutant Underground is bringing the mutants together but they have no idea how to properly function as a team, we see glimpses of a team coming together but the characters are green and never come together as a proper force. It seems with Polaris in the mix they may function better as a team but I have a feeling her own issues will get in the way, that's a dynamic to the character that I love. The Strucker Family is a wildcard in this universe as the two children are beginning to learn and understand their respective abilities, the looming threat of Sentinel Services adds a great villain to this world of characters. I've been a fan of the X-Men world since I was a young kid and to see a live action show set in the universe is something I've wanted for years. They treat the characters and stories with great respect and adapt them to a world similar to our own, it makes for a compelling show and set of characters.

Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments Season 2 Episode 1- The Guilty Blood Review

                 A pretty cast mixed with cheesy writing was the biggest complaint I read about the first season of Shadowhunters, I'll be honest upfront and admit that I've read maybe half of the first book and my first real introduction to this world was the forgettable movie from a few years back. I had no expectations going into the first season and I enjoyed it, the story was good and the characters were relatable and it had all the elements of the various genres that I love. The first season had a light tone through the majority of the episodes but in the last couple the tone changed and the darker tone is carried over into the first episode of the second season, The Guilty Blood.



                

        If your taking the time to read this I'm going to assume you've watched Season 1, if not beware of spoilers..........


                The main character Clary went through a lot of changes in Season 1 and it looks like this season is going to be difficult for her as well, the revelation of the man she fell in love with being her brother is still a focus point for most of this episode. She feels a loyalty to Jace because he's family and this extends to the main core of the group as well, Alec, Isabelle, Simon and Magnus and it's their the need for loyalty ends. The new leadership within The Institute quickly makes the decision on Jace which divides the core group from the people in charge, the element of them going rogue was present through Season 1 with little consequence but that looks to change this season. I for one would like to see Clary rebel against the people in charge where if she comes up on the losing end that nothing with will be forgiven, it raises the stakes for her and her sometimes reckless actions.

                     The real standout character of Season 1 was Magnus Bane, Harry Shum Jr really brought this character to life and one of my friends who is an avid fan of the books said this take on the character was better than the books. The growing relationship between him and Alec was teased through Season 1 with various interactions and it paid off towards the end of the season, their interactions seemed a little forced at the start of the episode but towards the end their interaction fell more like a couple in my opinion. I also like the fact that Alec is growing more into his own this season instead of falling in line with orders as he did for the majority of Season 1, his main concern is the safety of Jace and he's willing to turn his back on his family. The character of Isabelle is sidelined for the majority of this episode, she knows her place is within The Institute but she does have a training session with Clary to help her understand how to escape. I'm curious to see what they do with her character this season because we never got a real good understanding of her through Season 1, the writing was all over the place so I'm hoping to see her more fleshed out this season.

                 I think this season will focus a lot on Jace after the reveal he was injected with demon blood while still in his mothers womb by his father, this episode shows he still holds his loyalty to Clary and his family. He is dealing with the fact that his father is Valentine, who is also the father of Clary and the biggest threat to the world, the focus with his character is where his true loyalties lie and it's teased that the demon blood will drive him to kill when he slaughters a nest of vampires along with their leader who surrenders. These actions are done in front of Clary and Simon and I think this will lead to Jace being a potential adversary this season, the episode ended with Jocelyn, the mother of Clary and Jace coming face to face with her son and attempting to kill him. Valentine takes the arrow for his son and Clary blocks her mother from taking another shot but this allows Jace and Valentine to escape.

Episode Score: 3.5/5

Notes-

Jocelyn working the new leadership to kill Jace will strain the relationship between Clary and her mother, she spent the first season doing anything to get her mother back only to be betrayed like this.

Valentine showing a human side taking an arrow for Jace, there may still be some good in him.

The Lightwood family is still trying to repair their legacy and it may cost them their children.

I really hope Simon isn't going to spend this season being secretly in love with Clary, he's a vampire now, own that shit.