The Wax Mask

Director– Sergio Stivaletti

Starring – Robert Hossein, Romina Mondello

Released by: Severin Films

Country of Origin - Italy

Number of Discs - 1

Reviewed by - Scott MacDonald

Date- 10/17/2019

    The Wax Mask could very well be considered one of the last gasp of Italian horror cinema films.  It alongside Michele Soavi's Dellamorte Dellamore seemed to signal the end of the nearly 5 decade reign of Italian horror that began in 1957 with Bava/Freda's I Vampiri.  The Wax Mask directed by noted FX artist Sergio Stivaletti, but was targeted as a comeback film for director Lucio Fulci. 
 

    Fulci's health had bee on the decline for well over a decade at the point the production of the Wax Mask began. The decline in his health also seemed to decline in the size of his budgets and the quality of his films. While there are some great films from Fulci in this period (I will defend Cat in the Brain, and House of Clocks). We got others such as Touch of Death, and his swan song Door to Silence that were awful. Fulci and Dario Argento had long had a public rivalry, which was put to the side as Argento was wanting to help Fulci make a final comeback. Unfortunately, there were complications in getting the film off the ground, and Fulci would die in March of 1996 before production could get underway.

    The Wax Mask opens with a double murder in the year 1900. Hidden out of the sight of the killers is Sonia, the daughter of the murdered couple. The film then speeds along 20 years, Sonia is grown, and looking for a job in a newly constructed wax museum. The museum features depiction’s of crime scenes, including one that is suspiciously like the death of Sonia's parents. At the same time children and prostitutes are disappearing, an investigation begins that leads back, of course, to the wax museum and those that operate it.

    The Wax Mask is quite a solid affair, and though I am loathe to use the term underrated it certainly applies here.   The film has never gotten much in the way of quality releases. There was a Redemption DVD I believe, that was letterboxed, and has long been obsolete. One 7 Films released a Blu-ray of the film, but it was as waxy as the statues in the film, and should be disregarded. Severin's disc is the first release I am aware of that takes the film seriously, and shows it the love it deserves.

    The film is not overly concerned with mystery or story elements, and like many of the great European horror films of the era focuses on the visuals, atmosphere, and of course, the gore. The Wax Mask has a great gothic ambiance, with splashes of the lurid color Argento would be known for in many of his films.   With Stivaletti at the helm, one can also see amazingly well done gore throughout the piece.

    Severin gives The Wax Mask a gorgeous 1080p transfer that brings out the colors and detail of the film like never before. Audio is handled by 4 HD audio tracks 2 in English, 2 in Italian (2.0 and 5.1) All of them sound quite solid, and handle the films audio quite well. Extras include  a commentary with director Stivaletti, and multiple on-screen featurettes and interviews with the cast, crew, and journalists such as Alan Jones. Severin's Blu-ray edition is the first edition of The Wax Mask to fully give the film the attention and love this deserves and comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.