Wax Mask
(1997)
reviewed by Black Gloves

WAX MASK was originally conceived as a collaboration between two of the Italian horror genre's best loved directors: Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento. They co-wrote the script for this adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel, and Fulci was to have directed the film. But sadly, this intriguing partnership was not to be -- Fulci died soon after starting work on the project, and the director's seat was filled instead by special effects supremo Sergio Stivaletti, with Argento producing. Although by no means a masterpiece, WAX MASK delivers enough thrills and spills to keep most Euro-Horror fans happy for ninety minutes -- although one has to suspend ones disbelief toward the end, as the plot becomes increasingly implausible.

It's Paris, New Year's Eve-1900, and things gets off to a gory start as we witness the aftermath of a bizarre double murder. A man and a woman have been brutally slain -- the man's severed hand lies on the blood splattered floor. The investigating police officers realise that his heart has been removed from the gaping wound in his chest. But there is one survivor: The couples' child had been hiding under the bed and witnessed the whole incident!

Twelve years later, in Italy, a brash young man accepts a bet to spend a night alone in a new, soon to be opened wax works museum. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a big mistake and his body is discovered the next morning, with a strange puncture wound in it's neck. The Museum is run by the mysterious Boris Volkoff (Robert Hossein). He hires a new young dress designer, Sonia Lafont (Romina Mondello), to design clothes for the strangely lifelike wax figures. Meanwhile, a mysterious black gloved figure is stalking the streets of the city attacking children with a hypodermic needle. When he is disturbed after breaking into a young girls bedroom and piercing her neck with the needle, a young news reporter called Andrea (Riccardo Serventi Longhi) notices the link with the death in the museum, and decides to investigate further.

The basic premise of the story is, of course, quite familiar from classic films like MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM (1933) and HOUSE OF WAX (1953) -- so it doesn't come as any great surprise when we find out exactly why the wax models look so lifelike. It turns out that Sonia was the little girl who, twelve years ago, witnessed the gruesome murder of her parents -- and when she sees a wax exhibit exactly reproducing the scene of the crime, she joins up with Andrea to investigate the shadowy Volkoff and his strange assistant.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable romp, and with its sweeping music score (from Maurizio Abeni) and lavish costumes, it brings to mind recent Hollywood horror extravaganzas like THE MUMMY. The difference being that, this being an Italian horror film, the sex and gore levels are significantly higher! Stivaletti has used plenty of modern CGI effects where appropriate, but thankfully, still chooses to use good 'old fashioned' make-up and models for the majority of the films gorier set pieces.

The Argento influences are apparent throughout: from the black gloved stalker, to the rather non-linear plot developments that occasionally leave you scratching your head. But Fulci fans might feel a bit disappointed, since this doesn't have the 'feel' of one of his films. One can only speculate what it would have been like had he lived to direct it. But, despite being a Fulci fan, I still enjoyed the film; the only slight reservation I had was the ''science-fiction'' ending -- I wont spoil it for everyone -- which pushes believability to its absolute limit. But this is a minor quibble. Basically, Stivaletti and Argento have produced a pleasing fantasy horror movie in the old style. Whether this is what Fulci had in mind though, we'll never know.

This all region disc from Dragon presents a reasonable transfer of the film, although a few scenes look a little sparkly, especially some of the night-time scenes. On the extras front, well, it's mainly the usual stuff you will have come to expect. You get a trailer (dubbed into German), cast and crew filmography's and a text interview with Sergio Stivaletti, which I found very difficult to read because the text is set against a rather fussy background pattern. Argento fans will also be interested in what Stivaletti has to say about his work on Phenomena. Finally, there is an extra treat for those who may be interested: Asia Argento look-a-like, Romina Mondello's filmography section also includes a page of nude photographs of the actress!

This is a fine directorial debut from Sergio Stivaletti -- fairly light weight, but never boring and definitely worth a look if your an Argento fan or a fan of Euro-Horror generally.