Lost in Translation: Waxwork II- Lost in Time

Unlike yesterday's post, there's no question about this one being wrong...

I mean, seriously, look at this...

I don't know who made this, but what the hell?!?

Waxwork II is a weird movie, but you made a poster for what I'd best describe as David Lynch's Prometheus!

It's like if H.R. Giger designed a character while watching old Tex Avery cartoons.

What.  The.  Hell?!?

Lost in Translation?: Waxwork II- Lost in Time

Just when you thought it was safe to return to the Waxwork.

Wait- it was never safe there!  That line still needs work...

Anyhow, this is an odd one.  On one hand, it's not the official cover- that's the one in the review-, but on the other hand, it seems like it could have been...

See, it's like the original film's poster- with the Dwarf opening the door- but it's also not exactly 100% accurate to the film.  For one thing, Nosferatu here is not exactly a main character in the film!

Did the French get it right or wrong?  You decide!

Mondo Trivia: Waxwork II

There's so much to talk about with Waxwork II, so let's throw out some extra Trivia.

* The Actor that plays the Teacher in Waxwork also plays the Judge in Waxwork II.  Given that this Trial took place (at most) months later, how....how is this possible?

* In addition, the guy that played the Butler in Waxwork appears briefly as a Peasant.  In his defense though, he's in a different Dimension (or something)!

Ironically enough, the Phibes films did this too.  Another weird comparison that I just now thought of!

You know that old expression 'Who did they sleep with to get the part?'

Well, this guy didn't have to do any such thing...because he's the Director!  Unlike Frank Henenlotter in Brain Damage, this one is confirmed, as he 's in the Credits.

* A double-dose here.  One- the Credits play over a rap song written for the film.  Weird, right?

Second, the film features Stunt Work by Kane Hodder (who plays Frankenstein's Monster in Waxwork as well).  Bonus!

* Lastly, Drew Barrymore appears here as Vampire Victim #1 in the Nosferatu bit from the Climax.  Why?  I'm not sure.

On the plus side, I actually spotted her this time.  I've seen the film twice since I bought it, but only found her on the third viewing.  Don't blink!

Is there some Trivia that I missed?  If so, leave a comment and learn me something.

'90s Crass: Waxwork II

At last, the sequel to one of the most underrated '80s films ever.  It's Waxwork II: Lost in Time, ladies and gentlemen!  While not as good as the original IMHO, it has a lot to offer.  It really embraces the ridiculous aspects of Sci-Fi and Horror.  That makes a bit more divisive of a film, as it usually goes for the joke over the scare/fright.  A lot of the movie has some genuinely-silly moments stuck in between the serious ones.  For example, while our heroine fights off an evil, killer hand, it squirts mustard all over her while the sounds of 'Take Me Out the Ball Game' play for about ten seconds.  There's a lot of moments like that, honestly.  The story takes a few liberties in its attempt to expand the Mythology- as it were- and some of them are silly.  Most of the story, however, goes on a logical flow from the first film.  Zach Galligan is back and he's brought a whole bunch of Guest Stars to mix things up.  Another difference is that the sequel's plot leads to more outright homages and/or parodies of films, as opposed to just featuring cameos by their characters.  Like I said, there is some division about this film, so let's try to settle it.  To find out which side you're on, read on...

The film begins right where the original left off, but you'll notice something off.

Yes, the original Actress in the Lead turned down the sequel, so they re-cast the part.  I feel for them, but they could have gotten someone who looked more like her (or at least the same height).

 The hand that escaped at the end tags along with our heroine.  It kills her Stepfather- in a cameo by George 'Buck' Flower- and nearly gets her.  She destroys it, leaving no evidence to exonerate her at a Trial.

 Desperate, the pair find a secret room belonging to the Grandfather and take a new portal to find evidence to free our heroine.  They pile on Through The Looking-Glass references here and they literally go 'down the rabbit hole.'

Yes, that is from the first Alice book and not the second.  It's still more canonical than Burton's film!

These portals place them literally in historical places and the rules have changed.  Our hero reunites with the girl- who got separated in the hole- and must escape the house of Frankenstein (not the film).  They get separated again, leaving her in the world of Alien (which will make *some* sense later) and him in a recreation of The Haunting with...

 Bruce F-ing Campbell!  Shit just got real good, yo!

In all seriousness, Galligan helps solve the mystery, but must continue on his journey to save our heroine.  The two meet back up, but unfortunately get captured in a fantasy world.  Galligan's guide is...

 David Carradine!  It's a Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat reunion, even if their scenes are separate.

He tells Galligan how to find the villain, who is also working for Satan.  As it turns out, these 'worlds' are dimension run by God and the Devil to determine who's winning the battle of good vs. evil.  Make sense.

The villain is involved in the dark arts, which leads him to do weird experiments (see below).

His ultimate plan: replace and kill King George (John Ireland in his last role).  The plan is thwarted by Galligan and the man is killed after a sword fight through portals leading to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Nosferatu and Dawn of the Dead (which is key).

Our heroes get to the only portal that will take them home, but only one of them can go.  Galligan sends the girl- with a zombie hand from Dawn- home to regain her life.

 After proving her innocence, she gets a delivery (in a plot point right out of Back to the Future: Part II) and takes a new portal watch to return to Galligan, who is now an Agent of God in the Multiverse (of sorts).

It's silly, but also silly fun.  Like Dr. Phibes Rises Again, it's a film full of plot holes and silliness.  In a lot of ways, it is harder to defend as a regular film.  With all of that said, it is very fun.  It is best to look at the film as a good time and nothing more.  The film really plays with the overall concept set up in the first film, which I don't mind.  I love The Haunting section, especially because of Bruce Campbell.  I just love that out of the 1,000s of films out there to recognize, they picked that one.  If I ever get the chance to make a crazy film that references other Horror/Sci-Fi Films, I'll make sure to 'pay it forward' to Waxwork/Waxwork II.  I will also say that it's interesting to see how much they could do with what I'm sure was a small budget.  They do a condensed version of Alien- that's just for one section.  It's obvious that they only made one suit (a la Attack of the Giant Crab Monsters), but it's still effective.  If you can accept that this film just wants to have fun, you can have some yourself.  If you're going to be picky, the film is silly and full of holes.  Take, for example, this Revealing Shot...

Next up, a two-part look at a Director mistakenly returning to his previous work over a decade later.  First up, a new city gets returned to...but it seems familiar.  Stay tuned...

'80s Class: Waxwork

Anthony Hickox had a great few years.  Don't get me wrong- he still Directs films every now and then.  That said, he had a great run from 1988- his Directorial debut- to about 1993.  He made a bunch of kick-ass films- including Warlock 2 and Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat- and I love him for that.  It's a shame that his career has devolved to the point where he has a Seagal film- Submerged- on his Resume.  Let's enjoy the good times though, shall we?  Waxwork is the first film he Directed and it's awesome.  It's stylish to a fault at times, sure, but I just love the damn thing.  It has the same effect as The Abominable Dr. Phibes- I love it so much that it makes me forgive a lot of faults with the Sequel.  This is actually comparable in many ways to Phibes, as it is a 'hipster' version of classic tropes and stories.  If you have a reason for doing this, I like it.  If you don't, I hate it.  Make sense?  Good.  Waxwork is an excuse to put a ton of crazy, Horror characters into one film and, well, do you need to know more than that?  It has Dracula, a Werewolf, a Mummy, The Marquis De Sade, Night of the Living Dead Zombies and more.  If you haven't seen it, see it.  If you want to go in blind, don't read further.  Sadly, the film seems to only be available on an old DVD that collects both films with zero in the way of Special Features.  While Hollywood hopefully solves this dilemma, read on...

A bunch of hipsters- led by Zach Galligan- are going to College.  They...really have no plans, other than smoking, bickering and having sex.

Oh and they do the 'rich people talking at a giant dinner table' joke a year before Batman.  Suck it, Burton!

In a scene right out of Demons (another reason I love it), a man (David Warner) invites our heroes to his Waxwork for a private party.  What could go wrong?

As it turns out, the displays are a vessel used to kill people and harvest their souls.  To make the film only 90 minutes long, we don't get to see all of them.

Honestly, if I had the money and resources, I'd make a film showing the other dozen or so exhibits and how the people died.  It would have no drama, but it would rock!

Miles O'Keefe is here as Dracula.  I actually really like him here, which is something considering that he's in three of the four Ator films.

As it turns out, Warner killed one of Galligan's relatives is doing this to help Satan.  He needs eighteen exhibits to be activated since 6 + 6 + 6 = 18.  Math is evil, kids!

A key plot point here is also that the exhibits hold an artifact that the person/creature once held in life.  Bear that in mind for later.

All of the creatures are brought to life via cheating, but a squad of old men- led by Galligan's grandfather- come in to fight them.  This battle is sadly-short-changed in the long run, but the logistics involved make me accept it.

One of the exhibits' inhabitants is a killer alien.  No, really.  See why I meant about remembering the 'objects held in life' bit earlier now?

Yes, the killer baby, man-eating plant (Little Shop of Horrors reference) and snake-mutant thing I accept, but this seems silly.

 Highlights of the fight include Galligan killing a Werewolf, the killer baby being exploded by a shotgun and this guy taking out Dracula as he tries to flee.  Boom goes the dynamite!

In The End, Galligan and our heroine are the sole survivors.  Who will believe their tale?  What will they do next?  Why does a wandering Zombie hand seem important?  To find out...read about the sequel.

As you can see, I have really weird taste.  Waxwork is quirky, bizarre and has a goofy plot.  I still love it.  If anything, that's why I love it.  It's ironic and post-modern, while not making that the only thing of note.  So much of Ironic Horror/Sci-Fi/Action is just about the gimmick, be it Scream's Meta plot or other silly stuff.  At this point, we mostly remember those films for those elements, but forget most else.  That's not to say that the films are bad.  For those of us that remember Waxwork, we remember for all of the crazy shit that goes on.  There is so much to love if you are so inclined here.  I couldn't even begin to cover some of the weird, wacky and wonderful moments, even with my choice of expanded pictures.  I have at least a dozen more shots that didn't make the cut, sadly.  It says something that in a film with a guy sword-fighting the Marquis De Sade, John Rhys Davies becoming a Werewolf and a Mummy that crushes a man's head under his boot that I can focus on stuff like 'Why does the Invisible Man kill this lady with a gas hose?!?'

Up next, the sequel- which is on the same disc anyhow.  It's a lot sillier, but I still love a lot of it.  Stay tuned...