Wax Mask

WAX MASK (MASCHERA DI CERA) - 1997 

Directed by Sergio Stivaletti 

Screenplay by Lucio Fulci and Daniele Stropa from a story by Dario Argento 

Photography by Sergio Salvati 

Starring Robert Hossein, Romina Mondello and Riccardo Serventi Longhi

The story behind the production of WAX MASK (onscreen title: THE WAX MASK) is widely known among genre fans. The film was to be the first collaboration between Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, with Argento producing and Fulci directing from his own script. Unfortunately, Fulci died during preproduction and the directorial reigns were passed on to special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti. At the time of its release, WAX MASK received less than enthusiastic notices from fans and critics, who often cited the lousy English dubbing and the TERMINATOR-inspired finale as being particularly offensive. Of course, most viewers will find it impossible not to imagine what Fulci would have come up with had it not been for his unfortunately timed passing. This is the film that could have brought him out of his autumnal slump and ushered in a new heyday for the director and his fans. But this was not to be. Instead, those same fans scoffed at the idea that Fulci's pet project was to be realized by a first-time director only known for his special effects work. It is a shame that Fulci wasn't able to complete this film, but it is also a shame that Stivaletti has not been given the credit he deserves.

With an upcoming blu-ray edition from boutique label One 7 Movies arriving on January 31st, it's worth looking back at the film and Image's original DVD release. WAX MASK begins in Paris in the year 1900. A little girl, Sonia, witnesses the gruesome murder of her parents by a cloaked figure with a metal hand. Years later in Rome, Sonia (Romina Mondello) takes a job as a costumer in a wax museum run by Boris Volkoff* (Robert Hossein). The museum is devoted to depicting famous crime scenes and when local residents start disappearing, a newspaper reporter begins to get suspicious. Obviously based on a familiar story, but Stivaletti's film manages to inject quite a bit of originality into the proceedings, avoiding a by-the-numbers remake of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM and André de Toth's HOUSE OF WAX.

Predictably for a special-effects-man-turned-director, the movie opens with a showcase of gore effects. In fact, the camera lingers maybe a bit too long on the details of the crime scene, causing me to worry that Stivaletti was going to ignore the old less-is-more adage and neutralize the power of his impressive effects by showing too much. In past interviews Stivaletti was often vocal about directors whom he felt hadn't done his effects justice and I was a little concerned that he might not be able to pull it off that well himself after finally being given the chance to direct. Well, luckily that didn't turn out to be the case. After getting past the over-the-top opening it becomes apparent that Stivaletti is just as interested in creating a believable period atmosphere as he is in creating believable effects. The rich period setting immediately harkens back to the Gothic heyday of Italian horror. Certain shots and sequences were reminiscent of Riccardo Freda's TERROR OF DR. HICHCOCK, THE GHOST and other technicolor classics of the Italian Golden Age. Regular Fulci collaborator Sergio Salvati once again proves himself to be a world-class cinematographer. The photography is beautiful and Stivaletti and Salvati make great use of many very interesting locations and spectacularly designed sets. I'm sure they weren't given much of a budget, but what they've accomplished here as far as the look and atmosphere could compete with many films done on a far grander scale.

The extraordinary visuals are complemented by lead actress Romina Mondello. Looking a bit like a wax figure herself, Mondello is perfect in this role, evoking some of the same qualities as Daliah Lavia in THE WHIP AND THE BODY. Not many of the other actors are particularly outstanding, but there are no sore-thumb performances and Robert Hossein (CEMETERY WITHOUT CROSSES) gives a curiously restrained portrayal of the villainous Volkoff. Adding to the classiness of the production is a very beautiful orchestral score by composer Maurizio Abeni.

Unfortunately, everything you've heard about the dubbing is true. It is a major drawback and probably one of the biggest reasons that the film isn't very popular with English-speaking audiences. It's a real shame since the other technical credits on the film are so outstanding. Well, almost all the other technical credits. The delicate period atmosphere is shattered on a few occasions by some very intrusive and inept (even by 1997 standards) computer graphics effects. What makes it even more regrettable is that every one of those CGI atrocities is completely unnecessary. Thankfully, these shots are very brief and are easy enough to ignore. On the other hand, I can't agree at all with the criticisms of the TERMINATOR-inspired finale. True, Cameron's film was probably the major reference point for Stivaletti in this scene, but it falls right in line with the turn-of-the-century science fiction concepts that are found throughout WAX MASK and I think it works beautifully. The effect is executed well enough and the TERMINATOR reference is fleeting at best.

Image's long out-of-print DVD release was presented as part of their EuroShock Collection in 2000. The non-anamorphic image is letterboxed at about 1.77:1 and the soundtrack features a Dolby Digital 2.0 mix. The picture quality was acceptable for the time, but looks bleary and artifact-ridden to eyes accustomed to blu-ray. The blacks are often overly dark and muddy, and the vibrant colors are plagued by all sorts of digital noise and aliasing. The soundtrack has a limited range and very few directional effects, but it's clear. Unfortunately, the dubbed voices are recorded at a much higher volume than the music and sound effects, which creates a rather jarring effect. The upcoming blu-ray release will reportedly feature an Italian language track, but unfortunately without subtitles.

The Image DVD contains a very brief still section, which is billed as a "behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the special makeup effects." While it does contain stills of Stivaletti's make-up effects, it also contains a few interesting (and not so interesting) film stills and non-effects behind-the-scenes shots. None of the photos are captioned and while most people won't need help identifying Dario Argento, some might not know that is Sergio Stivaletti posing alongside his creations. Also easy to miss is a shot of Stivaletti posing with his frequent employer Lamberto Bava.

Hopefully the upcoming remaster will make the dated Image release obsolete and bring some new eyes to this overlooked movie. It's definitely a must-see for all of those who were disappointed with Argento's own period Leroux adaptation, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. It's a shame that the film received such bad word of mouth when it was released, because WAX MASK was one of the more impressive directorial debuts in Italian horror cinema since Michele Soavi's STAGEFRIGHT. Stivaletti didn't return to the director's chair until 2004 with a shot-on-video Mario Bava-inspired anthology film THE THREE FACES OF TERROR.

*I kept expecting a character name Bela Volgosi to appear, but no such luck.

--MW