Waxwork 2: Perdus dans le temps

Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992) is currently streaming for free on Tubi and serves as a fun follow-up to the '80s classic. The story picks up where the first film left off, but it turns out the wax museum isn't as "finished" as the survivors thought. The girlfriend from the couple who made it out of the first film is framed for her parent's murder-killed by a wax appendage-and the couple must return to the museum to clear her name.

Written and directed by Anthony Hickox (Waxwork, Hellraiser III), the film stars Zach Galligan (Gremlins), Monika Schnarre (Junior), Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead), and David Carradine (Death Race 2000).

The plot takes a very different turn, blending elements that feel like a strange mix of Alien and The Princess Bride, but it remains an entertaining and fun ride. Though Hickox returns as the director, there's minimal continuity with the original film, aside from the returning cast and director. There are also some enjoyable cameos, including Bruce Campbell, David Carradine, and Drew Barrymore. Overall, this is a lighthearted, feel-good film with late '80s/early '90s hijinks. It's worth your time for a fun watch, though far from a masterpiece. I'd give it a 5/10.

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.

This movie did not follow in the trends of the typical sequel by sucking hard. Let's say it's more Empire Strikes Back than Jaws 2. Okay, that's a bit of a stretched comparison, but whatever - it was a rollicking good time.

First of all, this is not a movie to take seriously in any way. It's an homage to various horror movies and it has more cheese than Wisconsin. Some of the content you'll encounter: animated murderous hands, Frankenstein, zombies, aliens, black magic druids,...and more! I would love to see this movie re-imagined as a musical (a la Evil Dead).

WWII (uh, WaxWorks 2) gets extra points for guest appearances from Bruce "The Man Bull" Campbell (just made up that nickname for him) and Keith "Masturbation Strangulation" Carradine (nickname not made up). Set aside your critical mind for the dramas, for this campy feature all you need to do is cook yourself up some Jiffy Pop, kick back, and prepare to be moderately entertained. Oh, and the 90's sucktacular rap video during the end credits is a hoot. You'll be dumbstruck by smoove lyrics such as "Lost in time, Like a bug in a jar. No matter where you go- YO- there you are"

Waxwork II pays homage to so many genres of horror that half the fun is watching them and trying to catch what's going on. The plot isn't much, but there's lots of laughs mixed in (particularly Bruce Campbell, in the Hell House segment). There's a real sense that the producers and writer are having fun with a concept that really didn't need a sequel in the first place, so they said the heck with it and decided to do whatever they felt like.

If you don't have a sense of humor or an appreciation for classic horror you won't like this film. It's a montage of homage that is devoted to capturing the pace, direction style, acting style, dialogue etc. of such films as Alien, The Haunting, Dawn of The Dead, Nosferatu on a relatively low budget. The pared down scenes accentuate the spoof sentiment and remind us why horror is fun. Take the Alien scene, hard talking', pulse rifle carrying space marines complete with transmission samples as background juxtaposed to the reefer madness-esque black and white, highly stylized scene of The Haunting. Battling evil can be funny and Bruce Campbell's cameo, as well as others, lends support. If nothing else, it's a treasure hunt for horror genre fans.