The Wax Mask
| Wax Mask | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Sergio Stivaletti |
| Produced by |
Dario Argento Giuseppe Colombo Fulvio Lucisano |
| Written by |
Gaston Leroux (novel) Dario Argento Lucio Fulci Daniele Stroppa |
| Starring |
Romina Mondello Robert Hossein |
| Music by | Maurizio Abeni |
| Cinematography | Sergio Salvati |
| Edited by | Paolo Benassi |
| Distributed by | Italian International Film |
Release dates | 4 April 1997 (Italy) |
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Budget | $3'000'000 (estimated) |
Wax Mask (Italian: M.D.C. - Maschera di cera, also known as Gaston Leroux's Wax Mask) is a 1997 Italian horror film.
Previously appointed to be directed by Lucio Fulci, who died in 1996, it marks the directorial debut of the special-effect artist Sergio Stivaletti. Fulci did have some input into the screenplay, but he died before the film went into production. [1][2] The script was rewritten almost completely by Daniele Stroppa.
Plot
Paris, 1900: a couple are horribly murdered by a masked man with a metal claw who rips their hearts out. The sole survivor and witness to the massacre is a young girl. Twelve years later in Rome a new wax museum is opened, whose main attractions are lifelike recreations of gruesome murder scenes. A young man bets that he will spend the night in the museum but is found dead the morning after. Soon, people start disappearing from the streets of Rome and the wax museum halls begin filling with new figures.
Cast
- Romina Mondello: Sonia Lafont
- Robert Hossein: Boris Volkoff
- Riccardo Serventi Longhi: Andrea Conversi
- Umberto Balli: Alex
- Gabriella Giorgelli: Aunt Francesca
- Gianni Franco: Inspector Palazzi
- Sonia Topazio: Nurse
- Massimo Vanni: Victor
Critical reception
Variety reviewed the film favorably, terming it "a luridly entertaining return to the style of Britain's Hammer productions of the '60s" and "a highly enjoyable salute to cheesy vintage horror" but lamented the lack of "a guiding hand with the actors".[3] AllMovie complimented Stivaletti for "[d]isplaying a competent handling of the material, as well as the stylistic excesses that have become synonymous with Italian horror" and concluded that the film "ultimately serves its eerily entertaining purpose."[4]
References
- ↑ Roberto Chiti; Enrico Lancia; Roberto Poppi. Dizionario del cinema italiano: I Film. Gremese Editore, 2002.
- ↑ Paolo Mereghetti. Il Mereghetti. B.C. Dalai Editore, 2010. ISBN 8860736269.
- ↑ Rooney, David (20 April 1997). "Review: 'Wax Mask'". Variety. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
- ↑ Buchanan, Jason. "Wax Mask (1997) - Review - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 20 September 2016.