Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘House of Wax’ (2005)

Written by Scott Edwards 

Road trips seem to be becoming something of the past. I on the other hand love road trips, you get to take your mind off of real life for many hours and focus on the road. Taking a trip with your friends could make the event much better as well, since you will have good conversations and jokes around the car for many hours, but if you are like me, you run out of things to say in the first one. There is nothing wrong with hitting the road to go someplace, no matter how long it may take, and it is more of an adventure than getting on a plane with small seats.

Carly is at a crossroads with her boyfriend Wade as she wants to move out of the small town and head to New York City. Wade does not understand the appeal, but he does love Carly and will support her in any way that he can. Paige and Blake are about to embark upon some problems of their own as Paige has found out that she might be pregnant. Dalton, the fifth wheel is ready to party and with his new friend Nick getting out of jail, nobody knows what to expect for the weekend, only that they are ready to hit the road and get to the big game.

The group hits the road and while watching as the signs speed past them, Wade notices a sign for Trudy’s House of Wax in the next town. Thinking little about it, the group continues their trek, but when it starts to get dark, they need to find a place to set up camp so they can make it to the game in the morning.  While the group thinks that everything is great as they settle in for the night, a stranger approaches the camp and does not want to leave. But Nick will not be intimidated by anyone, especially since he just got out of the joint and sends a warning towards the stranger’s direction. The stranger leaves, but something peculiar happens in the middle of the night while the group is sleeping.

Waking up in the middle of the night, Carly thinks that she hears something, but nobody is willing to check. Not finding anything or anybody when looking, she goes back to sleep only to find that the group slept in very late and must get on the road as soon as possible. It is easier said than done however as Wade’s car has a cut fan belt and they will not be leaving until it is replaced. The group is bummed, but only Carly and Wade need to miss the big game in search for the belt and are helped by a local roadkill cleaner to get to town. With the town of Ambrose looking deserted, the two find the owner of the garage in the church putting a loved one to rest. Being able to convince the shop owner to get them the correct size fan belt, the two are ready to move on, but there is something more sinister happening in the town and the two will have to fight their way out after seeing what has happened to the other townspeople who have been turned into impressive wax sculptures. 

As horror movies go, this one is not half bad. Everyone looks for something to pick apart in movie, but this one does not really give you that much to be disappointed in. I loved the effects in this movie, specifically watching people being turned into wax figures and falling apart as time moves on. I really liked the shop keeper Bo in the movie, as he is the one keeping the town running, and as you get further into the movie, you find out why. Being displeased by those who disturb him, he is justified to take out his revenge on anyone that gets in his way. I kind of like that, even though it is a pretty disturbing way to torture your victims, but hey, you could be famous in a wax museum, so you got that going for you. Stay Scared.

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