Waxwork is a horror comedy released in 1988, directed by Anthony Hickox and starring Zach Galligan, David Warner, Patrick Macnee, Deborah Foreman, Dana Ashbrook, J. Kenneth Campbell, and John Rhys-Davies.
A mysterious wax museum shows up in a suburban neighborhood one night. Mark and his friends are naturally curious about it, but they soon find out the owner's true intentions. It turns out anyone who enters the museum dies after being sucked into one of the displays. When the right amount of people die in the museum, all of the waxworks will come to life and help the owner take over the world.
Thankfully, Mark's grandfather and his friends have been on the owner's tail for decades and are ready to help Mark and his girlfriend, Sarah, fight against the waxworks.
A sequel, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, was released in 1992. It takes place immediately after the first film, with Sarah's father being murdered by a wax hand that escaped destruction hours before. Sarah's case for her innocence looks bad, thanks to no one believing her and Mark's claims about the wax museum or disembodied hands. When they go to Sir Wilfred's mansion, they find a magic compass that allows them to travel through time. Believing it can be used to get evidence for the trial, the two of them start going through time and space while ending up in sci-fi and horror film parodies along the way.
Despite its name and setting, the video game Waxworks (1992) has nothing to do with the films, nor does this film have anything to do with the 1924 film Waxworks.
This contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Sarah's dad despises her because she reminds him of her mother, so he's constantly screaming at and hitting her.
- Actor Allusion: "What the hell am I gonna feed him at this hour?"
- Adaptational Villainy: The Phantom of the Opera and Frankenstein's Monster are two of the most evil beings who ever lived in this film.
- Affably Evil:
- Lincoln is nothing but friendly, polite and refined. He may be trying to end the world, but it's all because someone has to. None of his pleasantry and elegance are fake and his brief rage at his henchman for killing a potential sacrifice turns apologetic when he sees he actually hurt the guy's feelings.
- Count Dracula is nothing but calm, charismatic and just as charming as Lincoln.
- Aliens Are Bastards: Some displays include evil aliens who are bad enough to be included on the list of "18 of the most evil people ever" lists.
- All Myths Are True: Or rather, all horror villains are real. When Mark is traveling through time in the second movie, he encounters Mr. Hyde, Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, Count Orlok, and others.David Lincoln: They made a movie about the Phantom of the Opera?
- Ancient Tomb: The cop investigating the wax museum ends up in the Mummy's tomb exhibit.
- And the Adventure Continues: The second movie ends this way, with Sarah using the compass to return to Mark in the past after being exonerated.
- Art Shift:
- The first film's zombie sequence is in black and white, in homage to Night of the Living Dead (1968).
- In the sequel, the Haunting of Hill House sequence is in black and white, the Nosferatu sequence is black-and-white and silent (complete with written dialogue-cards), and characters who are passing through the Kaiju setting speak in Japanese, but have bad overdubbing in English.
- Artifact Title: By the beginning of the sequel, the titular waxwork is in ashes and has no more relevance to the plot.
- Ax-Crazy: One of the Waxwork displays is a vicious lumberjack with an axe who's gleeful to carve up new victims.
- Badass Normal: Sir Wilfred and his forces are ordinary humans, but they manage to kill most of Lincoln's forces while Sarah and Mark account for others. Notably, a group of them kill Dracula himself without much help from the films' heroes.
- Battle Butler: Mark's butler Jenkins is a part of the same secret order as Mark's grandfather and answers the final call to battle where he bravely fights the Waxworks' monsters. Sadly, he gives his life in the process, but tells Mark to send his love to his wife before passing.
- Benevolent Boss: Except for asking the maid to do his homework, Mark is a rather caring boss to the household staff and genuinely cares about them as opposed to his mother. He and Jenkins the butler have a close relationship and Jenkins ensures Mark has his caffeine at ready.
- Big Bad: David Lincoln in the first film, Scarabis in the sequel.
- Big Damn Heroes: Upon the rising of the Waxworks' figures, Sir Wilfred shows up with a full force ready to fight to stop the escape of the villains.
- Bondage Is Bad: Sarah is forced into a bondage act in the first film, but she actually enjoys it. However, de Sade's vicious sexual sadism is a clear sign of what a monster he is and Sarah is a sheltered girl overwhelmed with a new sensation and not properly able to understand what she's getting into. In addition, de Sade plans to keep going until she dies with no respite.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Lincoln is bombastically dedicated to evil as only David Warner can provide. His reason for wanting to end the world? "Someone has to!"
- Casting Gag: The speaker for the jury in Waxwork II is played by Stanley Sheff, who directed this film's director Anthony Hickox in Lobster Man from Mars a few years earlier. A clip can be seen playing on the TV in the Brightman household when Sarah returns home at the start of the film.
- Classical Movie Vampire: Dracula is charming, refined, lives in a big castle with his brides, and dresses in the classic cape.
- Clever Crows: In the sequel, Sir Wilfred appears as a raven to Mark when he needs a helping hand (or beak).
- Covert Pervert: Very rarely for a Final Girl, but Sarah's academic exterior hides a young woman fascinated by BDSM. She's captivated by the Marquis' display and remarks breathlessly on his writings and it doesn't seem the Waxwork is entirely influencing her enjoying the whipping he gives her. She outright climaxes from the lashing, something the Marquis mocks her and Mark for.
- Damsel in Distress: Sarah is one at first, but gradually becomes an Action Girl.
- Deal with the Devil: Lincoln made a pact with the devil for power and knowledge with the end of the world as his offering.
- Depraved Dwarf: The miniature butler who works for the Big Bad.
- The Dog Bites Back: Sarah delivers a deathblow to de Sade from behind before he can kill Mark, with her expression showing nothing but pure contempt for the man who almost whipped her to death.
- Dracula: The man himself is represented in a Waxwork exhibit, being the evil vampiric count who preys on the innocent. Especially beautiful maidens.
- The End... Or Is It?: The first film ends with the Waxwork destroyed, Lincoln dead, and all the monsters (and transformed victims) gone. Which is great as even one of them could destroy the world. Cue the severed zombie hand popping up...
- Enfante Terrible: One of the display subjects is an evil baby with fangs.
- Everything's Deader with Zombies: Zombies are included in the exhibits of the first movie. Zombies appear again in the second movie in one of the alternate timelines reminiscent of Dawn of the Dead (1978).
- Face–Monster Turn / Transhuman Treachery: All of the victims that are killed in an exhibit get turned into one of that exhibit's waxwork monsters, and come to life along with all the other evil waxworks once the ritual is completed. Most notable being China, one of Mark and Sarah's friends, who died in the Dracula exhibit, and now an evil vampire herself, nearly sinks her fangs into Mark. The other victims come back as a werewolf, a zombie, etc. Even the Marquis de Sade's victim comes back as an evil harem girl.
- Face-Revealing Turn: In the Dracula exhibit when China finishes staking the last of Dracula's brides to save her character's lover. However, she knocks one of the girls onto him. When China pulls her off, the bride has finished draining the lover's blood and the previously-helpful lover bears his fangs and hisses at her.
- A Father to His Men: Lincoln is a surprisingly warm boss to his employees and acts fatherly to his mute giant manservant. After he snaps at the giant for killing a potential sacrifice, he takes time to comfort him when he cries and even apologizes for shouting.
- Flynning: Most of Mark's duel with de Sade is like this, at least so long as de Sade is toying with him.
- Good Is Not Soft: Sarah and Mark are both willing to take out, lethally, Lincoln's followers. Sarah even kills de Sade himself with no hesitation.
- Gorn: In both movies.
- Handicapped Badass: Sir Wilfred was a close comrade of Mark's grandfather and the leader of their order. He also leads the cavalry against Lincoln at the end and fights to the end despite being in a wheelchair. He's even the one to kill Lincoln.
- Helping Hands: The wax hand that kills Sarah's dad, of course!
- Heroic Sacrifice: Sir Wilfred and his forces know they're facing overwhelming odds against the Waxwork monsters, but they're prepared to die fighting to prevent the world's end. None of them survive, but they accomplish their mission. Mostly.
- Hero of Another Story: The werewolf hunter who arrives to kill both the monster and Tony clearly knows what he's doing and has experience with fighting werewolves. Who this guy was is left unexplained. It's also notable this is the only display that shows the death of its subject.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: The Marquis de Sade is now one of the most evil men ever existed. While the real man was a rather vicious deviant who likely forced himself upon his staff, he likely wasn't running dungeons with women beaten to death in front of the English Prince.
- Hollywood Voodoo: One of the exhibits involves a stereotypical Bokor menacing a victim. He's killed by Mark.
- I Am a Humanitarian: Some of the Waxworks' subjects eat human flesh. Even Dracula and his vampiric family happily devour "steak tartare" that's really long pork.
- Incongruously-Dressed Zombie: The disco undead from one of the second film's alternate worlds.
- Interplay of Sex and Violence: Sarah is fascinated by the Marquis de Sade and the way he combines eroticism with torture. The Marquis later mocks Mark that she had her first climax at the end of his whip as opposed to Mark's hands.
- It Can Think: The werewolf is surprisingly smart and has a nasty sense of humor, casually brushing its shoulder off when hit by a stool before brutally slaughtering the attacker.
- Kiss of the Vampire: China's reaction when Dracula bites her are all but rapturous.
- Knight of Cerebus: The Marquis de Sade. His abuse of Sarah is most certainly not Played for Laughs, nor are his promises to turn her over to the Prince of England to be used and further abused. Sarah's fascination with him that ultimately leads to him nearly breaking her is a major source of serious drama in what's an otherwise light-hearted movie.
- Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: The Marquis de Sade offers Mark a blade to prove who's "the better man" after Mark's previous taunts.
- Master Swordsman: The Marquis de Sade is an accomplished swordsman, cutting down numerous hunters and defeating Mark himself. He's one of the only fully human members of the Waxwork displays, showcasing how dangerous he is.
- Mercy Kill: How Tony dies in the werewolf display. A hunter and his son arrive too late to prevent him from being bitten. After the hunter manages to shoot the main werewolf, Tony starts turning himself to which the hunter shoots him too.
- Monster Mash: The film features all sorts of monsters: a werewolf, a mummy, zombies, vampires, the Phantom of the Opera, and more.
- Mummy: One exhibit features the walking, bandaged corpse of an evil pharaoh who isn't thrilled to have visitors in his tomb.
- Must Have Caffeine: Mark's need for caffeine is introduced early in the first film, then it's promptly dropped.
- Nerves of Steel: The werewolf hunter who arrives to kill the beast menacing Tony keeps his cool even as his companion is brutally slaughtered. He even manages to kill the beast. And a transforming Tony to boot.
- No More for Me: When Mark and Scarabis pass through his dimension, Mr. Hyde looks suspiciously at the bottle of elixir that had just transformed him from Dr. Jekyll.
- Noodle Incident: When Tony ends up in the werewolf display, he first asks who slipped acid into his drink again.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Lincoln is out to end the world. Why? Someone has to!
- Overlord Jr.: Dracula has an equally wicked vampire son who attacks China, noting his father would be furious as he wants her for himself.
- Painful Transformation: Tony when he get bitten in the werewolf display, he starts to transform not long after the main werewolf is killed and it indeed looks painful as he forms fangs, his fingernails grow and his forehead start bulging as his voice switches between anguished groans and growling.
- Pet the Dog: Lincoln flips out at his bodyguard for killing the cop, and promptly apologizes and comforts him when he sees that he's visibly upset.
- Police Are Useless: Mark's attempts to go to the police results in Detective Roberts disbelieving him and completely botching an initial investigation. Though Roberts does see something off and returns later, he neglects to make proper preparations and simply stumbles into the mummy display where he's killed. While he's revived with the rest of the Waxwork victims, he's still stuck in the sarcophagus and contributes nothing to the final battle for the villains either.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: "They made a movie about the Phantom of the Opera?" Lincoln doesn't keep up with pop culture and is rather surprised such an infamously evil being got a movie made of him.
- Questionable Consent: Played for drama. Sarah finds herself overwhelmed by her experience in the Marquis de Sade's court and actually enjoys the violent whipping she gets to the point of orgasm. But de Sade intends to keep going until she's dead when the English Prince insists and is clearly taken advantage of Sarah when she's sheltered and can't properly process what she's getting into even if she's begging to remain there. Sarah is implied to realize how much a violation this actually is despite her initial enthusiasm, and she has no remorse putting de Sade down for good.
- Resist the Beast: The werewolf is the only Waxwork subject that's not equal in of itself. Its human form seems a kind man who desperately warns Tony (or "Jack" as Tony is playing the role of someone else at the time) that he can't help him and he must run to safety. He even mentions Jack's father was his best friend and fights to resist the call of the moon until he can no longer do so. The werewolf, unfortunately, is a sadistic monster.
- Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Mark is absolutely loaded, but not exactly the brightest, at least at first. His idea of dealing with a 40 page essay on dictators is to outsource it to his maid, whose English is terrible. Hilarity predictably ensues.
- The Secret of Long Pork Pies: Dracula serves his guests a meal of what he claims is steak tartare with red sauce.
- Sequel Hook: The wax hand that survived the destruction of the museum in the first film.
- Shoot the Dog: It's unclear if the werewolf hunter knows Tony (or "Jack," whose role Tony is taking in the tableau from the past), but he shoots him dead when Tony begins changing into a werewolf with a "God forgive me!"
- Silver Bullet: What else might the werewolf hunter use on his quarry? A silver bullet, of course. Unfortunately, there's a bit of fumbling involved. Which isn't great with an angry werewolf in the same room.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Despite her initial fascination with the Marquis, and really enjoying the violent whipping he gives her, Sarah ultimately chooses Mark for his good nature and falls in love with him. She also comes to see the Marquis' actions against her as the abusive violations they actually are.
- Smug Snake: Scarabis. His plan to Kill and Replace the king falls apart when one of the men notices he's not wearing his crest ring.
- Staking the Loved One: China almost bites Mark, who can't bring himself to kill her. Jenkins is forced to kill her, comforting Mark that she was no longer human and they have to stop the others.
- Summon Bigger Fish: Done by pure accident. When Mark and Scarabis duel through history in the sequel, they accidentally stumble across Jack the Ripper and transport him to the silent era of Nosferatu where Jack is left to the vampire's mercies.
- Super Wheelchair: Sir Wilfred has an armored one with a bulldozer-like front in the first movie's big battle scene. (It's an obvious very cheap cardboard shell around a normal motorized wheelchair, but that actually makes it funnier.)
- Sword Fight:
- The Marquis de Sade, smarting over Mark's humiliation of him, forces a sword fight to see who's "the better man."
- Mark duels Scarabis through alternative time periods in the climactic fight of the second film.
- Too Kinky to Torture: Sarah, surprisingly. Underneath her sweet demeanor, she's fascinated by the Marquis de Sade and when violently whipped by him, she's enjoying it so much she initially refuses to leave the exhibit with Mark.
- Tragic Monster: The werewolf is implied to be infected and unable to control himself. When Tony meets his human guise, the man frantically begs him to run from the cabin before it's too late.
- Transhuman Treachery:
- Being killed in an exhibit corrupts the victim into a monster. China ends up becoming a vampire who tries to sink her teeth into Mark and Tony turns into a savage werewolf. Even the Marquis' victim becomes a sadomasochistic minion.
- The werewolf's human form seems a kind man who begs Tony (in-character as "Jack," whose father was the werewolf's best friend) to flee from the isolated cabin in the woods. Sadly, upon transforming, it turns out the werewolf is vicious, sadistic and gleeful to murder anyone nearby.
- Villain of Another Story: This is the whole point of the Waxwork. Each of the displays is of one of the most evil individuals in history at a specific scene from their lives while a victim is sacrificed by taking the role of someone they killed in the tableau. We only see the end of the werewolf's life and what happened to many of the others before Lincoln harnessed their souls is left unexplained.
- Whole-Costume Reference: Although not necessarily matching any specific film, Mark's and Scarabis's outfits during their duel-across-dimensions always shift to suit their surroundings, and exactly conform to what a hero and a villain, respectively, would wear in the film genre that particular reality represents (e.g. white Travolta disco suit vs denim-clad biker in the '70s zombie mall, proper tuxedo vs seedy longcoat and eyepatch in Jack the Ripper London, etc).
- You Can't Thwart Stage One: Mark escapes the Waxworks with Sarah, halting Lincoln's evil scheme to bring his monsters to life. And then their classmates stumble in and check out those exact exhibits, completing the cycle.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: How the wax exhibit traps work. The exhibit makes the victim believe the whole thing is real to trap them there until the monsters within can kill them. However if the victim can convince themselves it's not real, the monsters can't touch them and they can escape.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Mark thinks this rule is in effect in the sequel and gets clobbered in the face. Turns out he's not in the Kansas wax museum anymore.