BLU-RAY REVIEW

House Of Wax

Featured In Issue 114, November 2006

Picture4
Sound4
WSR Score2
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Warner Home Video
(Catalog Number):
82843
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
For horror violence, some sexual content, and language
(Retail Price):
$28.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
113
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
(Theatrical Year):
2005
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
09/26/06
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Jaume Collet-Serra
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
Dolby Digital 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

On their way to an out-of-town football game, a group of friends run into trouble while camping out in the woods. When Wade's (Padalecki) car breaks down, he and Carly (Cuthbert) accept a ride from a creepy local redneck to the nearest garage. When they arrive at the town they discover a strange attraction called the "House Of Wax," which is a building made entirely of wax. Amazed by how real the people appear to be, Carly and Wade soon find out why...and staying human becomes a fight for survival. From a story by Charles Belden. (Tricia Spears)

Again, the movie starts playing immediately, but when getting to the main menu you will find the same supplements as found on the DVD: a 26-minute split-screen featurette with the cast commenting above on the filming going on below; a seven-minute Wax On, the design of the House Of Wax featurette; House Built On Wax is a ten-minute featurette on the visual effects; and there's a quick little clip From Location: Joel Silver Reveals House Of Wax. Additionally, there is a three-minute gag reel, an alternate opening, the theatrical trailer, and online info.

The MPEG-2-encoded 1.78:1 Blu-ray Disc picture is appropriately dark, with very good shadow delineation, vibrant colors, and adequately resolved detail. (Danny Richelieu)

With impressive dynamic range and acceptable fidelity, the Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack is an improvement over the standard-definition DVD release, although not everything I expect from a next-generation release. (Danny Richelieu)