The Waxwork movies aren’t great, though the first one was very entertaining, and although the sequel wasn’t quite as good, they do make for a nice Saturday night double-header especially for fans of horror.
Waxwork/Waxwork II: Lost in Time
(1988/1992)
Genre(s): Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction
Lionsgate | Unrated/R – 97 min. / 109 min. – $39.97 | October 18, 2016
Date Published: 11/04/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIES — 3.0/5 |
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Waxwork (1988) — 3.5/5
Plot Synopsis: Inside the wax museum, a group of teenagers (including ZACH GALLIGAN, DEBORAH FOREMAN and MICHELLE JOHNSON) are aghast at the hauntingly life like wax displays of Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy and other charter members of the horror Hall of Fame. Each display is perfectly grotesque, yet each is missing one thing… a victim! Admission the Waxwork was free, but now they may pay with their lives! One by one, the students are drawn into the settings as objects of the bloodthirsty creatures. They are now part of the permanent collection. Quick Hit Review: Waxwork is an insanely fun horror-comedy with the flare that reminded me of the great episodes in Tales from the Crypt and with some relatively sharp writing, this is a entertaining Saturday night type of flick even if the performances weren’t that great, though having David Warner as the main antagonist is always a plus. Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992) — 2.75/5
Plot Synopsis: Having escaped the fiery destruction of the original Waxwork, Mark (GALLIGAN) and Sarah (MONIKA SCHNARRE) face another grueling ordeal in Waxwork II: Lost in Time, when Sarah is accused of murdering her stepfather. Fleeing through the doors of time in a desperate search for proof of her innocence, the two lovers find themselves caught in the eternally recurring battle between good and evil. Together they must stop one of the most powerful and demonic figures of all time — Lord Scarabus (ALEXANDER GODUNOV). Quick Hit Review: This sequel attempts to re-create the insanity of the original, and to a certain extent it succeeds, and yet outside of a couple sequences, such as the homage to The Legend of Hell House and The Haunting with a cameo appearance by Bruce Campbell, there’s little here that’s lively and it didn’t help Deborah Foreman’s Sarah was replaced by Monika Schnarre who didn’t quite have the charisma by comparison. Still, fans of classic movies will find some moderate interest even if the plot isn’t compelling. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.25/5 |
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This 2-disc release comes with a semi-glossy slip cover. The interior cover is reversible, one side for Waxwork, the other Waxwork II. Waxwork — 4.5/5 The Waxwork Chronicles (1:22:17; HD) is a 6-part making-of documentary focusing on the origins of both projects, shopping the original script around, casting and other elements. This features new and archival interviews from members of the cast (Galligan, Campbell, Carradine, Schnarre, etc.) and crew (Hickox, etc.) as well as some behind-the-scenes footage. The Making of Waxwork (24:05; SD) is an older featurette with BTS footage and on-set interviews. Also included is the Theatrical Trailer (2:02; HD) and a Still Gallery (7:55; HD). Waxwork II — 2.0/5 Isolated Score with Audio Interview with Composer Steve Schiff for those interested in motion picture scores (as I am). The Theatrical Trailer (3:03; HD), Music Video (3:50; HD) and Still Gallery (7:17; HD) round things out. |
VIDEO – 3.5/5 |
| Both movies are presented in their original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfers. Neither are what I would call incredible looking or anything yet detail at least look decent, albeit not entirely sharp, and colors are generally bright. There were a few instances of dust marks so it’s not pristine, with a hint of natural film noise and/or grain, however I doubt the film has ever looked better. |
AUDIO – 3.5/5 |
| Both are accompanied with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo tracks and as with the video, I wouldn’t call either robust nor fantastic, however they do sound decent enough with clear dialogue throughout and when the action does pick up, so does the depth. I didn’t notice much in the way of pops or hisses so these are clean sounding lossless tracks. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5 |
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Overall, the Waxwork movies aren’t great, though the first one was very entertaining, and although the sequel wasn’t quite as good, they do make for a nice Saturday night double-header especially for fans of horror. This 2-disc Blu-ray released through Lionsgate as part of the Vestron Video series offers a nice selection of bonus material along with good video/audio transfers. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.