House of Wax (2005) - Appreciation for Collet-Sera's horror debut

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A nubile young female is naked and covered in running wax on this eerie and sexually charged poster for Jaume Collet-Sera's House of Wax

A teenage outing strands in a small, deserted town, which has been made by Siamese twins - in wax ...

 

House of Wax is written by brothers Chad and Cary W. Hayes (The Conjuring (2013)) and directed by debuting, great Spanish filmmaker Jaume Collet-Sera (Non-Stop (2014)). It is a remake of the 1953 3D hit of the same title, which seems to only maintain one thing from the original: The culminating wax fire!

The story has several narrative holes, SPOILER and the otherwise cool ending, in which the entire house melts, gets a unnecessary third brother twist added to it, an obvious ploy to entice audiences for a possible sequel. But the special effects are cool and gruesome, the town is cool, and House of Wax is a fun film to watch, even if Collet-Sera doesn't manage to impress as a great director yet here.

 

Related post:

Jaume Collet-Sera: The Shallows (2016) or, Stuck on a Rock 

Non-Stop (2014) or, The Text Messaging Terrorist! 

 

Watch short red carpet interviews with the film's young stars at its premiere here

 

Cost: 40 mil. $

Box office: 70 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2 times its cost)

[House of Wax premiered 26 April (Los Angeles) and runs 113 minutes. Shooting took place from May 2004 - ? in Australia. A massive fire destroyed most or all of the Warner Bros. studio in Queensland, Australia, and resulted in a 2006 negligence lawsuit to the tune of 7 mil. $. The conclusion is not readily found online. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release Kingdom of Heaven, to a 12 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 32 mil. $ (45.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 5.3 mil. $ (7.6 %) and Spain with 3.3 mil. $ (4.7 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. The film reportedly earned more than 42.1 mil. $ on VHS/DVD rentals. Collet-Sera returned with Goal II: Living the Dream (2007). Chad Michael Murray (Colors of Love (2021)) returned in Home of the Brave (2006); Elisha Cuthbert (The Girl Next Door (2004)) in The Quiet (2005). House of Wax is rotten at 26 % with a 4.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of House of Wax? 

The Shallows (2016) or, Stuck on a Rock

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Star Blake Lively, with a shark fin protruding ominously from the sea in the background, looks ready to take action - and great in a bikini - on this poster for Jaume Collet-Sera's The Shallows

A beautiful blond medical student from Texas has gone to Mexico in a fit of grief and doubt concerning the direction of her life, but she now has to learn the hard way that it is unadvisable to surf alone in unknown waters ...

The Shallows is written by Anthony Jaswinski (Killing Time (2002)) and directed by great Spanish filmmaker Jaume Collet-Sera (House of Wax (2005)).
It is a well-oiled high-concept shark thriller, which has unfortunately exorcised some heart in its narrative in favor of its slender concept. Held together with its well-shaped star Blake Lively (Hick (2011)), who does well but is ridiculously hot and is utilized for her full visual thrill here, the film leaves a somewhat shallow impression, (no pun intended). - An impression of a filmmaker giving himself a creative dare coupled with visual showing off, rather than of well-earned gasps and terror.
But The Shallows is exciting on its way, and Marco Beltrami (Little Evil (2017)) sometimes cuts a menacing score. There are visually impressive elements, - one involving a buoy attached to concrete blocks, - although the CGI shark and jellyfish still sometimes appear somewhat fake. It isn't as good as Collet-Sera's best to date, thrill-ride Non-Stop (2014), and it is far from a match for its sub-genre's eternal classic, masterpiece Jaws (1975). But The Shallows is worth seeing for fans of shark movies.

Related post:

Jaume Collet-Sera: Non-Stop (2014) or, The Text Messaging Terrorist!

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 17 - 25 mil. $ (different reports)
Box office: 119.1 mil. $
= Big hit (returned at least 4.76 times its cost)
[The Shallows premiered 21 June (New York) and runs 86 minutes. Louis Leterrier was hired to direct but dropped out in 2015. Filming was supposed to take place in the Gulf of Texas but the filmmakers were denied a film permit there for safety concerns. Shooting instead took place in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, from October 2015 - January 2016. Lively reportedly did many of her own stunts. The film opened #4, behind holdover hit Finding Dory, fellow new release Independence Day: Resurgence and holdover hit Central Intelligence to a 16.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd week and grossed 55.1 mil. $ (46.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were China with 15.2 mil. $ (12.8 %) and France with 4.1 mil. $ (3.4 %). Collet-Sera returned with The Commuter (2018). Lively returned in All I See Is You (2016). The Shallows is certified fresh at 79 % with a 6.49/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Shallows?