Waxwork
Director: Anthony Hickox
Cast: Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, David Warner
Waxwork 2: Lost in Time
Director: Anthony Hickox
Zach Galligan, Monika Schnarre, Martin Kemp, Bruce Campbell
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
Lionsgate’s new Vestron Video Collector’s Series rolls on with a two-pack of often overlooked cult classics. Waxwork and Waxwork 2: Lost in Time were released in 1988 and 1992, and quickly gained a small (but very loyal) fan base due to their horror homages, gory effects, black slapstick comedy, surprising list of well-known actors, fun stories, and able direction by Anthony Hickox. These not-quite-anthologies were horror spelled with a capital F U N, and I am so glad to see them get a proper Blu-ray release. If you’ve already seen these movies, then chances are you like them, and so huzzah, this two-pack comes out October 18th. Be sure to get it. If you haven’t seen these wonderfully weird movies, keep reading, because you have been missing out on something cool for far too long.
In Waxwork, perpetual bad guy David Warner plays, well, a bad guy who opens up a horror-themed waxwork in the middle of 80s suburbia. Sounds cool, right? Well there is a catch — the attractions come alive if anyone enters their roped-off scene, then that unfortunate person is sucked into another dimension to play out that scene until they die at the hands of the monster in question. If all the monsters get to kill someone, then they will come to life for real and the world will be plunged into darkness. As for the last few victims needed, they come in the form of a group of typical 80s teens, including Mark (played by Zach (Gremlins) Galligan) and Sarah (played by Deborah (Valley Girl & April Fool’s Day) Foreman). Well wouldn’t you know it, one by one the teens are pulled into the other dimensions to play with some of the classics of horror cinema, such as vampires, werewolves, zombies, and even the sadly little used now days, Egyptian mummy. So in effect, Waxwork is almost like an anthology of sorts, with little mini horror movies sprinkled throughout a larger story. Not only is that pretty darn cool, but keep an eye out for extended cameos by John Rhys-Davies and Patrick Macnee. And if that wasn’t enough, this is the first time this movie has been released unrated. For years, gorehounds that knew of this movie lamented the fact that it was heavily butchered by the overzealous MPAA, well now they can howl with joy because all the missing red stuff has been returned to the movie. That alone might be worth picking up this two-pack, but wait, there’s more.
In Waxwork 2: Lost in Time, the heroes who survived the big showdown at the end of the first movie are now on trial for multiple counts of murder and other criminal shenanigans. In order to escape their fate, Mark and Sarah (now played by Monika Schnarre) use a magical doodad to travel to other times (thus the subtitle) and places to get the supernatural evidence to prove their innocence. The anthology aspect of the first movie is adhered to here…at least at the start. There a wonderfully dead-on take of Robert Wise’s The Haunting. Not only is this bit hilarious, but cult icon Bruce Campbell plays the ever inquisitive parapsychologist in this segment, and Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Marina Sirtis can also be seen here. Then there is a quick stopover in Alien territory, and then a far-too-long stay in generic Meadville world, where the majority of this film is set. Yes there are still some good fun to be had here, including a cameo by David Carradine, but honestly the movie does tend to drag a bit in this overlong section. There’s some nice time/horror movie jumping at the climax that does liven things up once again, with takes on Dawn of the Dead, Jekyll and Hyde, Nosferatu, Godzilla, and more. If only the entirety of this sequel was like this. That said, Waxwork 2 isn’t bad, it’s just the lesser of the two movies.
On to the extras on this double disc Blu-ray set from Lionsgate. For Waxwork, there is an audio commentary with writer/director Anthony Hickox and actor Zach Galligan. There is also the isolated score and an interview with composer Roger Bellon. Then there is a collection of six featurettes called “The Waxwork Chronicles” on all sorts of things, that altogether run over one hour and twenty minutes. That’s almost as long as the feature film. There is a vintage, twenty-four minute making-of segment. The ever present trailer and still gallery are also found here.
For Waxwork 2, it starts off as a bit of déjà vu all over again, with an audio commentary with writer/director Anthony Hickox and actor Zach Galligan, and an isolated score and an interview with the film’s composer, this time being Steve Schiff. While there are no featurettes, there is a circa 1992 rap music video that was made for the movie. Hey, that’s something, right? What could follow that up, other than the movie’s trailer and still gallery?
Waxwork and Waxwork 2 are movies made by a horror fan for other horror fans to enjoy, and it really shows. The amount of references, the nods and winks, and the jokes only a fan would get are all evident here. So since I am a big horror nerd, I can easily recommend both these movies and this two-pack from the Vestron Video Collector’s Series. Here’s hoping Lionsgate continues to do good work with this series.
