Plot: What’s it about?
Lionsgate recently began restoring films from the old Vestron label. Vestron essentially was straight to video filmmaking. Titles include Chopping Mall, Blood Diner, and Return of the Living Dead 3. So far I have already reviewed both Blood Diner and Chopping Mall. I was excited to see what I was working with on Waxwork and it’s sequel Waxwork II: Lost in Time. This package represents a bit of a value by including both films in separate blu-ray disks. So, let’s get down to brass tacks!
Waxwork
Waxwork revolves around a group of teenagers that stumble upon a strange man that has opened a wax work, essentially a wax museum, in the middle of a residential area near them. Preppy rich kids China (Michelle Johnson,) Mark (Zach Galligan,) Sarah (Deborah Foreman,) and Tony (Dana Ashbrook) decide to visit the waxwork at midnight after an enticing invitation from the Waxwork Man (David Warner.) Upon entering they are greeted by a midget and a tall man in butler uniforms. They are told that they are welcome to enjoy the waxwork, so the group of teenagers begins to look around. Each exhibit has classic villains like the Wolfman, Dracula, the Mummy, and the Marquis De Sade. The exhibits are incredibly lifelike and some have victims and some do not. What the teenagers don’t realize is that if they walk past the velvet rope dividers they will travel through a dimensional gateway where they will encounter those characters that are looking for victims.
This first film is by no means perfect, but it gets enough right to be interesting and entertaining. There are some really interesting homages including a really fun throwback to Night of the Living Dead. The actors are good enough to make up for some of the clunky dialogue. Some of this can be forgiven when you realize that the first film was written in roughly three days and the actors were given some free reign to rewrite their own lines. One of the highlights is the beautiful Michelle Johnson as China who has an amazing scene with the movie’s Dracula. That sequence alone was worth the time to check out the movie due to some very colorful bloodletting. I enjoyed seeing Zach Galligan from the Gremlins series play the lead. It is also great to see David Warner as a villain, something he has done well for years in movies like Time Bandits. This movie in some ways has ideas that would be better explored by Cabin in the Woods, but carries its own weight by having a fun campy non-threatening feel to it. There also are some really interesting cameos from some very well-known British actors that are obviously slumming it. I would rather not reveal who the cameos are, but IMDB may blow your mind to see who decided to join in on the fun.
Overall, Waxwork is a fun, if minor, movie that kept me entertained from the beginning to the end. It is not exactly frightening, but it is enjoyable anyway. A little more editing could have made it even better and tightened up the pacing a little bit more. I can’t think of any reason to dislike the film aside from its overall ridiculous nature, which given its core audience I can’t imagine that being a problem. While it may not make my list of classic B-movies, it at least gets an honorable mention.
Waxwork II: Lost in Time
This is a great example of a sequel that far outdoes the original. It picks up directly after the events from the first film and goes into a wildly different direction. Whereas the first film was meant to be a quasi-horror film, this time it is a time-travel film.
(Warning: Spoilers ahead if you have not seen the first film)
Mark and Sarah have survived the first film and so has a severed hand. When the severed hand follows Sarah to her house and kills her step-dad, Sarah is put on trial for his death. In order to prove her innocence, Mark bails out Sarah and they go to his deceased uncle’s (Patrick Macnee reprising his earlier role)house. Upon arrival, he finds out that his uncle has a device that can open up the dimension walls. Thinking that the rules are the same as the first film, they try to find evidence that can prove her innocence by entering into the other dimension. What they don’t realize is that they are entering into a dimensional loop that will take them to different times and places.
This film is a lot more fun and ridiculous than the prior film. The homages are pretty enjoyable, with a truly fantastic homage to the film The Haunting with a cameo from Bruce Campbell. This scene alone was worth the price of admission but you also get spoofs of Alien and various other franchises. The film does have some of the pacing issues of the first, but it more than makes up for it with a fantastic final act of the film that has a battle that takes place across numerous different genres.
I am not going to pretend that I didn’t enjoy the hell out of this movie. It’s ridiculous but that didn’t stop it from being really fun.
Video: How’s it look?
Lionsgate and Vestron did a very good job on the transfer of the films using an MPEG 4 AVC codec of a new 2K restoration. The transfers look really good overall. This is similar in look and feel to the transfer of Chopping Mall or Arrow Video’s transfer of Society. I think this looks better than the other Vestron releases thus far. The second film in the series actually looks better than the first and has a cleanliness to the transfer that is in par with any of the better boutique labels, which comes as a high compliment for the newest old label in town.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The audio treatment of both films was pretty good. Vestron has presented a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo track that may not blow any systems away, but fidelity to the source material is very good. I was actually surprised by the effectiveness of the stereo track which has a lot more going on than I expected. Out of the Vestron releases that have come out so far, this is the most engaging and well done.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Waxwork
- Audio Commentary with Anthony Hickox and Zach Galligan– this commentary track is really enjoyable. These guys are obviously still friends and their banter is fun to hear.
- Isolated Score and Audio Interview with Composer Roger Bellon – this is an interesting track for anybody interested in composition for film.
- The Waxwork Chronicles (1080p; 1:22:17) – this is a fantastic piece with interviews with director Hickox, Zach Galligan, Bruce Campbell, Dana Ashbury, and several of the crew members on the film. This feature gives a good overview of both movies and talks about the aspects of the film that they enjoyed working on and the constraints that they faced due to their budget. This is as thorough a feature as I have seen for a film released by anybody. Vestron should feel really good about this feature.
- The Making of Waxwork (1080i; 24:05) is an archival feature with interviews and production footage from when the film was originally released.
- Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:02)
- Photo Gallery (1080p; 7:55)
Waxwork II: Lost in Time
- Audio Commentary with Anthony Hickox and Zach Galligan– This commentary is just as fun as the first one. Considering how wacky the movie is, it is really nice to hear their thoughts on it.
- Isolated Score and Audio Interview with Composer Steve Schiff– another discussion with a composer.
- Music Video (1080p; 3:50). – this hip-hop video is pretty hilarious.
- Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 3:03)
- Still Gallery (1080p; 7:17)
The Bottom Line
Waxwork/ Waxwork II: Lost in Time represents a pretty solid value and is probably my favorite of the Vestron releases that I have gotten to watch so far. While the first film is enjoyable, the second film is the real star here with an extremely enjoyable and strange foray into homages that left a dumb smile on my face for the duration. It didn’t hurt that one of my favorite actors ever, Bruce Campbell, makes a hilarious cameo in the second film. Lionsgate and Vestron have included a plethora of enjoyable and informative special features on top of two very competent transfers. Both of the audio commentaries with the director and star are really solid, as well. If you are not sure about the Vestron titles, most of them are available on budget DVDs in 4-packs with other Vestron titles. This is a solid way to rent the films prior to a purchase of the super cool Blu-Rays. If you are looking for a good entry point into the world of Vestron video, I would recommend starting here or with the hilarious Chopping Mall.
