I haven't watched a lot of Italian horror. This is not my first exposure to Argento, though it is to Fulci. I understand that they both wrote it, and the effects supervisor directed this(for a debut, this is rather good; editing and cinematography are strong). This has a Gothic style and tone to it. It particularly comes through in the nice use of lighting and shadows. The score is excellent, dramatic and not loud. This is creepy and eerie, with several gruesome and terrifying situations. The plot isn't bad. This doesn't utilize its full potential, and part of the ending is a bit of a letdown. On the whole, this doesn't quite have the impact that it should, and I think it has to do with the script. In short, unrealistic dialog and characters that just don't stand out that much('cept the boyfriend dude... he's a major jerk, couldn't stand him, especially for the latter half; maybe he resembles the ideal for that country, I don't know), and aren't all that developed. Acting performances are nice enough. The FX are marvelous, other than the lousy CGI that is right out of the decade before this was made. There is plenty of bloody, gory violence and disturbing content, as well as a little nudity and sexuality in this(the eye-candy is pretty gratuitous). The DVD comes with a 5 minute featurette(entirely promotional, and it contains spoilers), a theatrical trailer and a 1 minute make-up gallery, all in English(while there is also a dub to that on the disc, I did not try it, I prefer subtitles; they do appear to be great, though, from what I did hear). I recommend this to fans of the genre. 6/10
Review of The Wax Mask
