Tv tropes waxworks series#

When Artisan Entertainment debuted a DVD version (as a double-feature with the sequel), it was cropped to 1.33:1. Vestron released both R and unrated cuts on VHS, which was still pretty unusual at the time.

Waxwork was released at a time when the MPAA was especially strict about on-screen violence, so, even though the gore was relatively lighthearted, several seconds were trimmed from the vampire sequence to ensure an R-rating. His pop sensibilities and his all-star cult cast – Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Dana Ashbrook, David Warner, et cetera – apparently made the geekiness palatable, because Waxwork was a big enough hit to spawn a sequel. Hickox’s version of college comedy is a bit dopey, but his characters are likeable enough and his dialogue has a delightfully nerdy, while including loads of references to outdated pop culture and intellectual concepts that were of zero interest to teenage audiences in 1988. Too quickly, we’re taken back to the by-the-numbers wraparound segment. The problem with this model is that there’s not a lot of time to fully appreciate each of the tableaus on their own merits (especially in the case of the vampire sequence, which is the best piece of the whole movie). It’s a fun idea that keeps the parts connected while paying homage to a broad range of horror traditions.

Tv tropes waxworks series#

Because the characters are reused throughout the standalone adventures and understand their plight as victims in a horror story, it’s more like short series of episodes from a television series (fun trivia: apparently Hickox is, as of this writing, still trying to develop a Waxwork TV series). A pseudo-reimagining of Paul Leni & Leo Birinsky’s 1924 silent film, Waxworks (German: Das Wachsfigurenkabinett), Hickox’s version approaches the anthology horror custom from a different angle by placing precedence on the wraparound segment instead of the tableau pieces.

Waxwork was his debut and it tells new audiences all they need to know about his comic book style, his sense of humor, and his affection for classic Hollywood tropes.