Waxwork Waxwork II Lost in Time Double Feature

Totally different than your usual slasher movie, the Wax Museum is deadly! If you cross the rope, you enter in that particular scene and if you're not careful, you become part of it! Read more

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I love this double feature soooo much. I highly recommend it to anyone who's looking for some easy entertainment. The first movie was chocked full of 80's cheesy goodness while giving a few moments of "Ew" with it's horror. Some of the cheesy moments were a bit too much though such as the pushing of the cliche phrase, "Oooh that's gotta hurt." haha The second movie on the other hand is my absolute favorite and I've already watched it three times since I've gotten it. Instead of going through different "worlds" by going into wax displays in a museum; Mark Loftmore and Sarah Brightman are traveling through periods in time. The second movie is an awesome combination of campy "horror" and comedy... at least until they get to the medieval time which then it turns more into a Fantasy film than the horror/comedy. Read more

Both movies are GREAT!! If you are into the 80's movies.....this is a must have to your collection!! It's kinda silly and corny, but, what else do you expect from the 80's....LOL!! I remembered seeing it when I was younger and it was just as I remembered!! Gotta love the 80's movies....where you don't really have to think!! Read more

Quick true story about the original "Waxwork" before I dive into the meat of my review: I went to a test screening of this film when I was in high school, circa late 1987/early 1988. I thought the film kicked all kinds of butt, and I remember filling out the little comment card at the end of the show ("What did you like about the movie? What didn't you like?") raving about the makeup and gore effects, and I probably told them that the blonde who played "China" was "freakin' hot" or words to that effect. (I have always wondered if that comment got back to her. "Hey babe, some geek in Jersey thought you were hot.") I don't recall if "Waxwork" ever got a legitimate theatrical release after that test screening, but when I rented it on VHS some time later, I was dismayed to find out that much of the kick ass blood and gore shots that I'd grooved on at the free preview had been edited. I am, however, happy to report that the version of "Waxwork" on the double feature DVD released by Artisan Entertainment appears to be that original, uncut version that I saw many years ago. (Though both films are in fullscreen, not widescreen...SIGH! I guess you can't have everything...) End of commercial. Okay then!! "Waxwork" is a mostly forgotten lil' gem of '80s horror comedy. The plot is pretty simplistic: in a nutshell, Zach Galligan of "Gremlins" fame and a bunch of his fellow spoiled, rich California friends get invited to a "preview showing" at a soon-to-be opened wax museum in their town, only to find when they arrive that they're destined to become part of the various sculptures. The "waxworks" of such famed evil doers as the Marquis De Sade, Jack the Ripper, Dracula, etc., etc. are actually portals to other dimensions, where the young cannon fodder becomes trapped as part of some sorta convoluted voodoo worshipping plot to unleash Evil on Earth and bring around the End of All Things, or something like that. So the story's ridiculous, but the various set pieces and segments featuring the "Waxwork" characters are like a sampler platter of some of horror's greatest moments, particularly the Werewolf segment and the scene set in a den of vampires (where blood literally paints the walls!!!). All Galligan cares about is rescuing his virginal, never-had-it-but-really-wants-to love interest from the grip of the Marquis De Sade, and by the time his godfather (Patrick MacNee of "The Avengers" no less!) and his merry band of British supernatural fighters arrive to save the day, you're either gonna be laughing your head off or you're going to be saying "I hate this movie." I personally would've preferred it to lean harder on the "horror" end and less on the "comedy" but when "Waxwork" gets nasty (as in the aforementioned Werewolf and Vampire scenes), it provides a decent amount of shocks and some killer old-school creature and gore FX. First time writer/director Anthony Hickox has become a genre veteran, having gone from "Waxwork" to films like the underrated "Full Eclipse," "Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth," and "Warlock: The Armageddon" to name just a few. Perhaps "Waxwork" is still a little rough around the edges but it shows that even at this early stage in his directing career, Hickox already had an eye for cool set pieces, interesting staging, and of course plenty of bloody action. "Waxwork" is an entertaining little time capsule that should bring a smile to the face of any '80s horror fan. They really don't make'em like this anymore. I found Anthony Hickox's 1992 sequel to be a bit of a let down. Zach Galligan returns (though the girl who played his love interest from the first movie has been recast) as the unlikely college aged hero "Mark," who saved his girlfriend "Sarah" from the evil Waxworks at the end of the first movie. Unfortunately one of the exhibits from said Waxwork - a severed zombie hand with a life of its own - follows Sarah home and kills her stepfather with a hammer, so she ends up on trial for his murder. The only way to clear Sarah's name is for her and Mark to use the "portals" again to travel through dimensions and hopefully bring back some evidence that will clear her name. So far, so good, and "Waxwork II: Lost In Time" starts off well enough, with the characters tripping through a series of quick set pieces inspired by classic horror movies; there's some hilarious bits inspired by "Frankenstein" and "The Haunting" (watch for Bruce Campbell's cameo in this one), and an "Alien" parody that even has a halfway decent looking monster. Unfortunately the film stops cold when both Mark and Sarah end up trapped in a Middle Ages setting, in a segment that takes up the bulk of the movie. Sarah is to be betrothed to the evil count Scarabis, and it takes for-freakin-EVER for Mark to save her from a lot of silly medieval doings. Alexander Godunov (aka "The Big Blonde Russian Guy from Die Hard") is pretty wooden as Scarabis, and I basically sat there the entire time wishing that they would just get out of the Arthurian era already and go back to quickly zipping through various horror movie parodies. If they were going to stick with one "genre" for almost half the movie, they should've used the "Dawn of the Dead" setting that we only see for about thirty seconds as a throwaway joke. In short "Waxwork II," like its predecessor, has a few laughs and is technically well made but still is not without its faults. The original "Waxwork" had an air of goofy fun about it that seemed natural, but "II" constantly feels like it's trying too hard. "Waxwork II" is inferior to the original film and leans too hard on the "comedy" end of the "Comedy/Horror" equation for me. Still, fans of the original will probably want to give it a spin. Oh, and by the way, make sure you stick around for the rap song and music video that accompanies the end credits, which you simply have to see to believe. Read more

Im mostly writing this review to address the concerns about the Uncut vs rated R debate going on with this double feature version of Waxwork 1. Many people on here are trying to say that part one is the uncut version just because they are reading the time listed on the back of the DVD as well as the "uncut" rating listed. As someone who has actually owned the VESTRON VHS (no longer unfortunately so I cant take screen caps to prove anything) I can say that this is NOT the case. This version, while it may be "unrated", is NOT the directors unrated cut. That is ONLY available on VHS, which was released by Vestron in 1989. The sku is 028485152908 and the ISBN: 0-8051-0646-4. There is even an issue of Fangoria magazine with an interview with Anthony Hicox where he states the Unrated version is still cut. Here are a few cuts in particular that I personally noticed to be missing: The Werewolf scene: - Cuts before the victim is completely ripped in half The Vampire scene: - Cuts before the full head explosion in the cellar. - Cuts before you see the piece from the leg picked off. - Portions of the mistresses attacking are quickly edited together missing some blood splatter Mummy scene: - Cuts before the black ooze stuff starts coming out of the mummy's mouth (VERY noticeable because the shot after he emerges shows his mouth and body has the residue dripping still). - Cuts before the full head stomp skull pops. Basically just a few frames of gore are missing. It's almost as if the movie has the before and after of the gore scenes but not the middle part actually showing the action. NOW, having said all that, Waxwork is one of the best horror films of the 80s, filmed at a time when Horror occasionally mixed with comedy and other genres. This movie caters to fans of the old universal films as well as the classic 80s teen monster flicks. The second movie was not nearly as enjoyable, however the cameos and the references easily make it viewable at least once. Dont let the missing footage stop you, and hopefully they will release the set in blu ray with proper widescreen and all the cuts restored. Read more

You get both films on one disc (not double sided) Great films for any movie lovers collection. Used to watch Waxwork when I was a teenager all the time Read more