Back to trending
Mystery of the Wax Museum

Mystery of the Wax Museum

Horror · Mystery · 1933

A wax sculptor opens a new museum years after he is severely injured during a fire that destroyed his original collection. The disappearance of both people and corpses coincides with this grand reopening and leads a reporter to start investigating.

Movie details

Mystery of the Wax Museum

“The supreme thriller!”

1933 Horror · Mystery 1h 18m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

A wax sculptor opens a new museum years after he is severely injured during a fire that destroyed his original collection. The disappearance of both people and corpses coincides with this grand reopening and leads a reporter to start investigating.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Mystery of the Wax Museum?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The City of the Dead

The City of the Dead

Mystery · 1960

In Whitewood, Massachusetts, a presumed witch places a curse on the town before she is burned at the stake. 300 years later, a college student arrives and checks into the mysterious Raven's Inn to research the town's history with witchcraft.

The Cellar

The Cellar

Horror · 2022

When Keira Woods' daughter mysteriously vanishes in the cellar of their new house in the country, she soon discovers there is an ancient and powerful entity controlling their home that she will have to face or risk losing her family's souls forever.

The House That Dripped Blood

The House That Dripped Blood

Horror · 1971

A Scotland Yard investigator looks into four mysterious cases involving an unoccupied house.

Mark of the Vampire

Mark of the Vampire

Mystery · 1935

Sir Borotyn, a prominent Prague resident, is discovered murdered in his home, with all indications pointing to a vampire assault. The victim's friend, Baron Otto, and the physician who analyzes the body, are certain that the vampire is the mysterious Count Mora or his daughter. Receiving little help from the law, Professor Zelen, an expert in the occult, is called in to assist with their investigation.

Sick

Sick

Horror · 2022

While quarantining at her family's lake house during the pandemic, Parker and her best friend are threatened by an unexpected visitor.

Silver Bullet

Silver Bullet

Horror · 1985

The small city of Tarker's Mills is startled by a series of sadistic murders. The population fears the work of a maniac, but sightings of a mysterious, hairy creature soon spread. People lock themselves up at night, but there's one boy who's still outside…

Cosmos

Cosmos

Sci-fi · 2019

Three astronomers accidentally intercept what they believe to be a signal from a distant alien civilization, but the truth is even more incredible than any of them could have imagined.

Night Watch

Night Watch

Mystery · 1973

A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.

The Medusa Touch

The Medusa Touch

Horror · 1978

A French detective in London reconstructs the life of a man lying in hospital with severe injuries with the help of journals and a psychiatrist. He realises that the man had powerful telekinetic abilities.

Tourist Trap

Tourist Trap

Horror · 1979

After their car breaks down, a group of young travelers find themselves stranded at a roadside museum run by the enigmatic Mr. Slausen and populated by his collection of life-like wax mannequins.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Curtiz

Written by

Carl Erickson · Don Mullaly · Charles S. Belden

Lionel Atwill

Lionel Atwill

Ivan Igor

Glenda Farrell

Glenda Farrell

Florence Dempsey

Allen Vincent

Allen Vincent

Ralph Burton

Fay Wray

Fay Wray

Charlotte Duncan

Frank McHugh

Frank McHugh

Jim

Edwin Maxwell

Edwin Maxwell

Worth

Arthur Edmund Carewe

Arthur Edmund Carewe

Professor Darcy

Court is in session

Put Mystery of the Wax Museum on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.