Wax Mask - Movie Review
What do you get when Dario Argento wants Lucio Fulci to make an unofficial / illegal 90’s remake of House of Wax? The answer is an incredible mess with great breasts, ludicrous special effects, and even less plot than expected of the great Giallo masters.
Let’s take a step back. In the 1990’s, Dario Argento heard rumors about Lucio Fulci’s poor health. Fulci was extremely ill, but did his best to keep it secret from everyone. When Argento called on Fulci and saw the state of him, he was heartbroken. His rival and contemporary was fading fast. Argento wanted to throw the broke legend something that could help him finish his career / life with a win, a remake of the House of Wax. Did they have the rights to the original film for the remake? No, but when has that ever mattered in Italy? The two began work on the film together, but Argento had to delay the production until his own film, The Stendhal Syndrome wrapped. Now, it’s unfortunate for two reasons. One, The Stendhal Syndrome is a terrible film. Two, Lucio Fulci passed away before production began on Wax Mask. Here lies in the biggest problem with the production. Rather than direct the film himself, Argento gave the job to special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti. Anyone who watches late night TV knows that unless your special effects artist is named Stan Winston or Greg Nicotero, you don’t let them direct. Moreover, Stivaletti butchered the script, making what could have been a new Murders in the Rue Morgue into the Toxic Avenger.
The saddest thing about this whole situation is that this could have been an amazing film… if Argento had directed. Fulci is a legend, but in all honesty, he didn’t make good films. He made fun, nonsense movies that inspired more talented filmmakers after him. Argento revolutionized cinema by showing that you can create true dreamscapes within celluloid. This film, with its original script, could have been the next Suspiria. You can see it in the set design / dressing, the costumes, the lighting, all of it is on the precipice of greatness. Unfortunately, Stivaletti didn’t have such vision. He was a special effects artist and thus mangled the script in order to be able to show off his inventions. Don’t get me wrong, many of the special effects are gorgeous. For the time, I’d day say they were pioneering. The wax sculpture of Georgina stands out for hitting that uncanny valley of creepiness. If the wax figures were the focus instead of the steampunk terminator villain this could have been a groundbreaking return to victorian style horror. Instead, it’s mainly remembered as the last thing Fulci worked on. I think that’s unfair to Fulci, because the film that was made had very little to do with the vision he and Argento weaved together.
Normally I’d give plot points or breakdown story, but there’s nothing here to critique. It’s a mash-up of ripped off intellectual properties, including Phantom of the Opera, House of Wax, Terminator, Murders in the Rue Morgue and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. That last one is a joke, kind of—It’s the only other movie I could remember that every single actress is nude. It’s amazing how many women in the Victorian era had DD breasts. I’m not mad about it, but again, in a better film, the nudity could have been seductive and creepy. In this, it just feels exploitative for exploitation’s sake. I love naked women, men, and everything in between as much as any other guy, but I don’t like seeing anyone taken advantage of, much less a beautiful actress. There are a couple of times in the film that it appears to be truly uncomfortable for the actresses. Having been a stage actor for 13 years of my life, I know that look. It’s the look an actress gives to the stage manager, hoping they will get in the director’s ear to cut them a break.
It’s a gross film not due to the gore, but due to the waste of potential. If only Argento would have held onto this one. Perhaps it was too much to bear after losing Fulci? I don’t think that was the case as evidenced by Argento’s film follow up to Stendhal Syndrome, The Phantom of the Opera. Phantom had a bigger budget, a well-known cast, but looked amazingly similar to Wax Mask’s production. Its as if Argento delayed the production to save Fulci from himself. I’ve read that the pre-production was a mess of Argento and Fulci fighting over the script. Maybe it was always a mess? We will probably never know the truth. We will hear stories of course, but there is always a catch.
The History of Italian Cinema has always been more myth than fact.
I think it’s better that way.
