Waxwork II: Lost in Time

I've often thought many years after my first initial viewing of this sequel, just what was Anthony Hickox thinking when he wrote and directed this serious misfire to what was a very enjoyable and fun filled original. Admittedly when it came to the first Waxwork, what drew my attention to the movie was the groovy looking cover, such a weakness for cool looking artwork covers still haunts me to this very day, even though I am no longer than impressionable teenager, but a man celebrating his fortieth year on this planet(how about that for ageing this review and indeed myself) Luckily the first movie was able to deliver upon the promise of the synopsis and the artwork on show. What the second installment was sadly lacking was direction, a cohesive storyline and more importantly that fun factor. I remember when this was first announced, I was so excited, because after Waxwork, Hickox made what was arguably(for me anyway) his best movie, Sundown The Vampire In Retreat, so having watched both these movies, I felt a need to watch any movie that Hickox applied his name to. With the first Waxwork, the story had an aim and fully formed structure, plus a great cast to see it through, alas all the name's attached to Lost In Time, we mere time fillers and what did he have them do, re-enact/rehash classic scenes from 'The Haunting' and 'Alien' et al. I can still hear Lesley Gore singing 'It's my party' at the end credits of the original, too bad this monster mash up, that Hickox threw together couldn't find that necessary gel to make it all stick. A bitter disappointment. 2/10

Waxworks 2 doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is. A comic parody of horror movies. If you haven't got that by the time the crawling hand picks up the hammer, then you ain't gonna like this movie. Not that the movie is great, by any stretch of the imagination. The type of humour is a little too dated to bring much more than smiles. But it does entertain. Throw in cameo performances from a host of well-known stars (well..they're well-known now, anyway) and you have a pleasant enough way to spend an evening. In fact, playing spot the jobbing actor is a good way to look at this movie, if you aren't certain it's for you. With the likes of Bruce Campbell, David Carradine and Marina Sirtis all popping up at one point or another, there's no shortage of faces on display that even a non-filmy will recognize. The highlight of the movie is the final showdown between hero and villain, where they clash swords across a number of "dimensions", all of which are parodies of well-known movies, with a number of obvious, but well-done gags thrown in at the appropriate point. It's not a movie you'll bring out of the TV cabinet again and again to watch, but it's fun enough for a single viewing.

Like most sequels, Waxwork II is lamer than the first, which is a pity because I liked its predecessor. Their director/writer Anthony Hickox pretty much took what was fun about the first - the entering into different horror realms - and ran amok with it. The leads travel through time (and I guess realities) - much like Sliders - while looking for something or other. Slowly at first, but eventually they wind up barreling through realities as though Hickox had too many references that he wanted to fit into the movie but didn't have enough time to. Some are fun - one S&M one is a tad disturbing - but they've since lost their original charm. Horror-comedy stalwart, Bruce Campbell, does the same overacting schtick from his Evil Dead movies but his all-too-short cameo was the highlight of the movie for me.

Messers Campbell, Kemp & Galligan - HANG YOUR HEADS IN SHAME. Bruce Campbell's ribs, Martin Kemp's eyeball and Zach Galligan's curmudgeonly face should all be stricken from this film, if only to preserve their otherwise spotless reputations. Well, apart from Zach Galligan 'cos everything he touches turns to brown doesn't it. Don't watch this film. Go and hack your limbs off. It's much more fun.

Mark (Zach Galligan) and Sarah (Monika Schnarre) survive to the fire in the wax museum, but Sarah is followed by a severed hand that kills her alcoholic stepfather. Sarah becomes the prime suspect and goes to trial. Mark and Sarah search evidence to prove her innocence and they go to Sir Wilfred's house. They find a footage prepared by Sir Wilfred with a puzzle based of the Alice and the Looking Glass. They solve the puzzle and find a compass that opens portals through time. They travel to the most different places in time seeking something to help Sarah in her trial in a dangerous journey. "Waxwork II: Lost in Time" is the sequel of "Waxwork" without Deborah Foreman that turned the offer down and was replaced by Monika Schnarre in the role of Sarah. Zach Galligan is also different from the original clumsy and rich Mark. The movie pays a tribute to several horror movies and entertains but it is silly and does not work well in many parts. The conclusion is a rip-off "Back to the Future" and does not make much sense that Sarah comes back to the present days to clear her name and return to the past to stay with Mark. My vote is five. Title (Brazil): "Waxwork II - Perdidos no Tempo" ("Waxwork II: Lost in Time") Note: On 17 February 2021, I saw this film again.

This movie follows a guy and gal through their adventures in a realm where good is constantly fighting evil and it seems to take the form of old horror movies for the most part. There is a lot of fun to be had as they go into this mirror world in search of the means to prove the girl's innocence from a bizarre murder. They first enter a sort of Frankenstien story and this one is pretty good, then they separate and the female goes into an Alien type movie, which I found to be sort of weak, but the guy goes into the highlight for me, an old haunted house tale with a very funny Bruce Campbell. The scene with the salt and lemon juice had me laughing good. Then it wraps up with the longest of the stories one in a medieval era with a crazed psycho trying to take power through strange means. This one runs a little long, but it has another great set of scenes as our hero battles the villain through several worlds. This movie has a great combo of horror, comedy and action and is a very good B movie.

Writer/director Anthony Hickox attempts to repeat the success of his debut, Waxwork, with this silly sequel that once again offers him the opportunity to tackle several different sub-genres of horror. This time around, however, he gets the recipe all wrong and the result is a very messy and not particularly funny horror/comedy that makes one wonder whether the first Waxwork was something of a fluke. Part two—Lost in Time—follows on directly from part one, with Mark (Zach Galligan) and Sarah (this time played by Monika Schnarre) escaping from the burning museum, closely followed by a zombie hand. After this crawling menace kills Sarah's step-father, the poor girl winds up in court accused of murder; her only chance of proving her innocence is to follow Mark through a series of time portals in an attempt to find evidence that will support her outlandish story. This preposterous and poorly constructed plot serves merely as an excuse for the director to throw in as many references to his favourite movies as possible; thus, we get a lame Aliens rip-off, A silly Dawn of the Dead style zombie skit, Hickox's take on Frankenstein's monster, a Nosferatu homage (shot in flickery black and white); plus brief appearances from Jack the Ripper, Godzilla, Mr. Hyde, and many more characters that will be familiar to fans of fantasy/horror cinema. Rather than make a serious attempt to capture the look and feel of the films he is referencing (something he did extremely well in Waxwork), Hickox instead prefers to try and emulate the splatstick comedy of Evil Dead 2—something he completely fails to do, despite even going to the trouble of casting Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell. To make matters worse, the film is way too long (104 freakin' minutes!!) and features music that sounds suspiciously like a weak copy of Goblin's score for Suspiria.