Waxwork (1988)

Waxwork

Release Date: 1988

Rating: * * *

By John Engell October 24, 2012

7 more days till Halloween, Halloween, Halloween...Yours truly has been busy carving pumpkins and gorging myself on candy, and writing reviews of course. This treat I've been saving for just the right time.

                              (My 2012 pumpkin- Sam from "Trick 'r Treat")

A precursor to and perhaps a prototype of “Scream” and the savvy self-aware horror film, “Waxwork” (1988) stars Zach Galligan of “Gremlins” fame, in his second most recognized role. Galligan hams it up as Mark Loftmore, a wealthy prima donna who agrees to accompany his friends to the premiere of a new wax museum. David Warner (“The Omen”) lends some credibility to this budget production with his performance as the proprietor of the exhibit.

The waxwork features 18 scenes depicting the genre’s most storied characters. Incidentally each display has the ability to teleport any patron who ventures past its velvet ropes, to the place and time it illustrates. Two of the visitors quickly disappear including Tony, (Dana Ashbrook from tv’s “Twin Peaks”) who enters one of the sets in an attempt to retrieve his lost lighter and ends up in a dark wood, mauled by a werewolf, played by John Rhys-Davies AKA Gimli from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

The surviving pair, Mark (Galligan) and Sarah (Deborah Foreman who starred as Muffy/Buffy in the slasher parody “April Fool’s Day”) search for their friends to no avail and hesitantly leave the waxwork without them. They become increasingly concerned the following day when they fail to reach them. Mark swears he recognizes the waxwork man and decides to dig up his family’s dusty newspaper collection that details his grandfather’s death. The clippings lead the pair to the old man’s former friend, a crippled codger named Sir Wilfred, who spins a yarn about helping Mark’s relation collect pieces from the evilest people who have ever lived; artifacts that were long ago stolen by a man named Lincoln AKA the museum man. He apparently plans to use them in conjunction with the souls of his hapless victims, to bring his creations to life. Hope that wasn’t as convoluted to read as it was to watch and write.

Regardless “Waxwork’s” plot serves only as a means to an end, which in this case is a monster brawl in the museum between the resurrected villains and a geriatric army intent to stop them.
Kane “Jason” Hodder was responsible for stunts on "Waxwork" and apparently the film’s original script made numerous references to the Friday the 13th franchise and other horror mainstays, which were ultimately cut for legal reasons.

Still “Waxwork” was a pleasant surprise and thanks to Lionsgate it is now readily available. The company released the film as part of its infamous Horror Collection 8 Movie Pack earlier this year. More on that set next week!