Recently saw Tourist Trap for the first time and re-watched House of Wax (2005) for the first time since 2005/2006.
House of Wax holds up exceptionally well in my opinion. All the horror hits its mark. The Town of wax and House of Wax are the true stars of the movie. They are creepy, scary, disturbing creations. Elisha Cuthbert (Carly) and Chad Michael Murray (Nick) make for great heroes who are easy to root for. They have believable chemistry and are easy to buy as siblings. Their friends don't fare so well, though Jared Padalecki has a very disturbing extended scene. Also, Paris Hilton isn't as terrible as you might expect. Brian Van Holt (Bo) and Sam Harkess (Vincent) are effective monsters with decent backstories, although the partially CGI face reveal of Vincent in the 3rd act does leave much to be desired.
The screenplay isn’t the strongest as there is A LOT of expository dialogue early on (though I do really dig the themes involving twins/siblings). Everything after the 21 minute mark kicks ass, though. The film itself does share similarities to 1979's Tourist Trap (Both are set in tourist traps that feature life-like, creepy figures), though it would be unfair to call House of Wax a remake of that movie. In the end, House of Wax is easily one of the best horror films of the early-mid aughts. 4 STARS
As for Tourist Trap, I had avoided this film due to its PG rating. In reality, it's more of a PG-13 by today's standards. It's a wild, weird, whacked, and creepy horror film. Imagine a mixture of Psycho, House of Wax (with mannequins), and Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Chuck Connors is the true star of the film as the certifiable Mr. Slauson, proprietor of a tacky and cheap mannequin-centric roadside tourist trap. He resembles a third-rate Norman Bates/Leatherface (but with telekinesis…yes, really). His outfits and masks are memorable and visually striking. His collection of mannequins are effectively creepy. With a bonkers finale, and plenty of wild weirdness, Tourist Trap is a pretty good B horror film that is very entertaining and very silly. 3.5 STARS
I will be seeing Trap later tonight, so you can expect my thoughts on it sometime tomorrow.