Unfair ratings just because of Paris..?

I haven't watched the original yet, but this one I first watched probably just right after it was released, on DVD, when I was just a pre-teen kid. It really scared me back then but I cant seem to stop watching it. It's quite fascinating. I must have watched it at least 10 times and still gives me the creeps. I believe "House of Wax" is so much better than most people consider it to be. For me, I think it deserves at least a 7.0. I also like "Orphan" also by Jaume Collet-Serra. In my opinion, those are the two of the most satisfying horror movies in recent memory.




"You can't fight her - no one ever got the better of her. Never, never. She was beaten in the end, but it wasn't a man, it wasn't a woman. It was the sea!"

To be honest, when I saw House of Wax was added to Netflix I thought, "this will be a great horrible movie to make a review to!" But little did I know that the movie was ACTUALLY good! I loved just about every second, there were a couple scenes where I was like "well, that execution could have been done a helluva lot better!", but overall it was a great flick. I'm even planning on buying the DVD to have to rewatch. I don't care that Hilton's in it, she did a pretty damn good job for someone with nearly any acting skills! Literally, nobody could've done that role any better, I bet you that.

Just a side note: this film is a remake of "Tourist Trap". They are almost exactly the same movie; it's a reimagining, except for being a lot closer to the original than, say... The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I'm guessing they decided to call it a remake of House of Wax simply because it was more well known and generated more interest/ticket sales. It's not much of an original film, but slashers were never meant to be original.

As for the film itself, I think it's pretty highly underrated in the genre(though 5.3 is actually fairly good for a slasher film). Paris is a fairly decent, believable actress and yeah, much of the criticism is focused on bashing her. Had a less hated celebrity taken the role and performed exactly the same way, reviews probably would've been more favorable.

Well Paris did a number of legit movies, but you could tell she was doing it more for fun, exposure, and more money, than actually trying. She didn't do terribly, but she went for roles within her scope. The doomed blonde chick isn't exactly a tough reach. At least she died like she lived, on her knees

One problem they had with Paris performance was that some audiences cheered when her character was killed.

Haven't seen this in ages so I don't remember: does she say "that's hot" in this?

That and it being an early 00s remake are the two main reasons behind some the of less stellar ratings in my opinion. Every remake gets it's share of hate.

I always felt imdb ratings skewed a bit low in general. I doubt anybody rated it low just because Paris was in it. She did alright and anybody who disliked her to that extent likely avoided the movie entirely. I'd sooner chalk up the rating to young Paris fans watching it, thinking it was "gross", not liking that Paris wasn't in it that much and not liking that she was killed.

But the rating seems reasonable enough. I gave it a 6.

Also, the plot isn't based on the 1953 "House of Wax" (which isn't the original, it is itself a remake) but on "Tourist Trap".