Movies
‘Waxwork’ Remake Melts Into Anthology Form
A hidden horror gem a lot of genre fans miss out on is Anthony Hickox’s gem Waxwork, which also has a sequel.
The 1988 film starring Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman and Jennifer Bassey, begins when a wax museum owner uses his horror exhibits to unleash evil on the world.
In an interview with Nerd Report, Lost After Dark director Ian Kessner and screenwriter Bo Ransdell reveal that they’re currently developing a remake of the film.
“Right now we’re working on a couple of other horror projects. One of them is a reboot of the ‘80s classic Waxwork,” said Kessner.
“I would love to see Waxwork get some legs under it,” adds Ransdell, who eludes to the fact that this is very early in the development stage. Although, he reveals they do in face have the support of the original film’s director. “I think we’ve got a real fun take on that and actually have the blessing of Anthony Hickox who wrote and directed the original so we’re not just doing fan fiction. We can see a path to this getting made potentially and I would love to see that happen for sure.”
When asked if a new Waxwork have anything to do with Madame Tussauds, Ransdell explained: “Not directly but all wax figures are weird and creepy. I don’t necessarily care where they arise from. They’re just all unsettling to me.”
“It’s got a Something Wicked This Way Comes vibe where the waxwork appears in town overnight,” Kessner adds. “It’s really fun. It’s also an opportunity for us to play in a whole bunch of horror genres, kind of an anthology where the characters keep falling into these different vignettes or the different worlds where they tackle different horror tropes, and they tackle the best parts of it, the climax. So it’s really fun for us if we get to make it because we get to explore all these different genres within the horror, sort of like Cabin in the Woods.”
Lost After Dark are the filmmakers new 80’s inspired slasher available through Anchor Bay.
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
Adam Simon (The Haunting in Connecticut, “Salem”) and Tim Metcalfe (The Haunting in Connecticut, Kalifornia) penned the script. The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallace.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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