House of Wax

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House of Wax

PG

Released Apr 10, 1953

1h 28m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

72%

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25,000+ Ratings

Wax sculptor Henry (Vincent Price) is horrified to learn that his business partner, Matthew (Roy Roberts), plans on torching their wax museum to collect on the insurance policy. Henry miraculously survives a fiery confrontation with Matthew and re-emerges some years hence with a museum of his own. But when the appearance of Henry's new wax sculptures occurs at the same time that a number of corpses vanish from the city morgue, art student Sue Allen (Phyllis Kirk) begins suspecting wrongdoing.

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Critics Consensus

House of Wax is a 3-D horror delight that combines the atmospheric eerieness of the wax museum with the always chilling presence of Vincent Price.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

De Toth directs the heck out of House of Wax, and it’s one of the only 3-D offerings of the period that doesn’t rely entirely upon its visual gimmick to shock its audience.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 25, 2023

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TIME Magazine

An intermittently gripping shocker.

Oct 17, 2011

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Variety Staff

Variety

Casting is competent, Vincent Price is capital as the No. 1 menace.

Oct 7, 2008

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Kristin Battestella

InSession Film

Big VP hones his campy, over the top horror mastery, and viewers root for his slick talking, multifaceted artist. We believe his masterfully diabolical plan to serve his enemies their comeuppance...

Apr 19, 2024

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

If nothing else, it reinforces perceptions about the inferiority of remakes.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 18, 2022

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Nell Dodson Russell

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Filmed in Warnercolor and having the advantage of an actor of Vincent Price's calibre to head the cast, House of Wax will make suspenseful entertainment for most movie-goers. The figures in the wax museum become almost too realistic as seen in 3-D.

Dec 15, 2021

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Kalissa H

Vincent Price is great in this. Had some creepy moments. Jarrod’s face cracking was cool. I could barely recognize Carolyn Jones with how different she was in this movie compared to The Addams Family.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/04/25

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F R

The paddleball scene is already worth the price of admission! Vincent Price at his best and add in- Charles Bronson?!!! in a helpful supporting role.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/30/25

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Ed .

Murders are like Lays potato chips for some who just can't stop at one. What some people won't risk for art! This genre requires a healthy suspension of reality to enjoy and House of Wax is no exception. It kept my interest and I was glad to see Vincent Price reappear in the film after a brief absence. Cosmetic surgery can do wonders but it has not yet surpassed the work done in this film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/29/25

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Lau S

I love this horror movie! Damn great!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/29/25

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Madoka A

Fantastic. Spooky. Funny. Great product! Really good!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/23/25

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Hector I

This '50s film is one of the first color films I've seen from the '50s. The story is fairly classic, following the life of a zany artist who creates wax models with almost maniacal care and wishes to bring them to life. Following a disagreement with his partner, the latter burns down his wax museum and him in it. He escapes, but has gone mad. And so begins a veritable vendetta, in which he finds all those responsible for his misfortune and kills them to make them part of his masterpiece, his museum of wax horrors! Vincent Price is as masterful and frightening as ever; the story sounds like a Hammer horror tale, really nice to watch, but not as good as The House on Haunted Hill.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/25

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Andre de Toth

Director

Vincent Price

Prof. Henry Jarrod

Frank Lovejoy

Lt. Tom Brennan

Phyllis Kirk

Sue Allen

Carolyn Jones

Cathy Gray

Paul Picerni

Scott Andrews

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Synopsis

Wax sculptor Henry (Vincent Price) is horrified to learn that his business partner, Matthew (Roy Roberts), plans on torching their wax museum to collect on the insurance policy. Henry miraculously survives a fiery confrontation with Matthew and re-emerges some years hence with a museum of his own. But when the appearance of Henry's new wax sculptures occurs at the same time that a number of corpses vanish from the city morgue, art student Sue Allen (Phyllis Kirk) begins suspecting wrongdoing.

Director: Andre de Toth
Producer: Bryan Foy
Screenwriter: Charles Belden, Crane Wilbur
Distributor: Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Rating: PG
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 10, 1953, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Mono

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