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 ‘Wax’ Hilton doesn’t melt ‘House’ By Monique Bos Paris Hilton’s acting is not the most frightening aspect of “House of Wax,” and that’s good. Unfortunately, the slew of publicity the film received for casting the hotel heiress comes with a down side — which is not only that audiences have to watch Hilton’s wooden attempts to emote, but that her presence adds a comic (and slightly surreal) element to an otherwise fairly unrelenting stream of horror and suspense. The story centers on a group of six college-age friends in two vehicles who stop to camp in some woods en route to a football game. Initial clues that something is awry come in the form of a rancid odor that wafts over their camp and an unsettling encounter with a redneck in a pickup truck. In the morning, Carly (Elisha Cuthbert) literally stumbles onto (almost into) the source of the bad smell, while her boyfriend Wade (Jared Padalecki) discovers that his car won’t start because of a broken fan belt. Another “Deliverance”-style man in a pickup shows up and, despite their misgivings, Carly and Wade accept a ride with him to the nearest town. Their friends, eager to get to the game, depart but promise to meet up with them later in the day. The town, Ambrose, seems mysteriously empty of citizens. After escaping from the redneck, Carly and Wade check out the House of Wax, which is filled with wax people and intricate carvings by someone named Vincent. Eventually they encounter Bo (Brian Van Holt), who owns the local service station, and he tells them he has a fan belt at his house. While Carly waits in Bo’s truck, Wade goes inside to use the bathroom, checks out a suspicious room and doesn’t return. In the meantime, heavy traffic has thwarted their friends’ plans to see the football game, so they head back to the campsite. Blake (Robert Ri’chard) gives the keys to his SUV to Carly’s twin brother, Nick (Chad Michael Murray), with instructions for Nick and his friend Dalton (Jon Abrahams) to pick up Carly and Wade. In the meantime, Blake plans to have sex with Paige (Hilton). Split up so auspiciously, the characters are easy pickings for the villainous Bo and his twin, Vincent (also played by Van Holt). Not content with the museum, they have created an entire town of wax-covered corpses in lifelike poses. The screenplay, written by twins Chad and Carey W. Hayes, contrasts Nick and Carly, who grew up close and later drifted in different directions, with Vincent and Bo, born attached at the face and caught in mutual dependency and hatred. Unlike most critics, I didn’t think “House of Wax” was bad. Director Jaume Collet-Serra provides more substance and genuine chills than I’d expected, and although the first death happens relatively late, the film develops with enough suspense to retain interest. True, Hilton isn’t the only actor whose performance is lacking, but I think her presence in the film has caused viewers to take it less seriously than they would otherwise. I was pleasantly surprised — and scared — by “House of Wax.” |
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