HB Filmrullen, 1988
starring: Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, David Warner and Patrick Macnee

written and directed by: Anthony Hickox

the plot: In a posh suburb, a new wax museum opens unannounced. That’s good news for Mark (Galligan), Sarah (Foreman), and the rest of their bored college friends, all of whom venture to the waxwork for a special midnight showing. When half the group disappears inside, Mark and Sarah get involved with investigating what happened to their companions. Mark returns the next day with the police and meets the waxwork’s owner, Mr. Lincoln (Warner), who quickly rushes Mark and the authorities out of his establishment. Mark’s suspicions persist, and he and Sarah meet up with Sir Wilfred (Macnee), a friend of Mark’s grandfather with more than a passing interest in all things occult. Mark learns that Lincoln, Wilfred and his grandfather all collected various occult artifacts, and now Lincoln is using the treasures to capture the souls of his waxworks’ victims. Mark and Sarah return to the wax museum, intent on destroying it, but they discover that Lincoln’s dark plans are closer to fruition than they realize.

why it’s good: “Waxwork” is a horror buffet, full of fun little set pieces that touch upon almost every sub-genre, from vampires and werewolves to zombies and psycho killers. Best of all, “Waxwork” is plain, simple fun. Despite having a fairly clever premise, “Waxwork” doesn’t try to put on airs—it’s all about the lame humor, jump scares and buckets of fake blood. Writer/director Hickox crams as much as he can into the movie, including a healthy dose of occult mumbo-jumbo, swordfights, light bondage and even a dash of zombies. He keeps it spaced out evenly, right up until the highly ridiculous climax, a full-on monster brawl, with a stable of legendary fright-flick creatures squaring off against a gang of cranky old men. That’s not to say “Waxwork” is totally perfect. The dialogue is pretty choppy, especially during the scenes between Galligan and his snooty college friends, and the acting is downright terrible at some points. Galligan does all right as a dashing hero, though, and Patrick Macnee’s appearance as a British man of mystery gives the last bit of the film a needed dose of spirit.

why you should own it: You can pick up “Waxwork” and it’s time-traveling sequel, “Waxwork II: Lost in Time,” on one DVD for cheap. If you’re a fan of cheesy, good-natured ’80s horror, it’s worth grabbing.