Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- grotesque
- dreamy
- eerie
- late night cinephile viewing
- silent film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly admire the film's imaginative expressionist sets, lighting, and episodic spectacle while noting its strong resemblance to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The poet is hired to write stories for three wax figures, producing separate episodes about Harun al-Rashid, Ivan the Terrible, and Jack the Ripper.
Angular, disjointed, out-of-scale environments and targeted lighting shape the waxworks and their stories.
While writing the Jack the Ripper episode, the poet falls asleep and dreams that he and Eva are pursued by the killer.
The wax museum presents historical rulers and serial killers as displayed figures whose stories become grotesque visual performances.
Films like Waxworks, and why
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
german expressionist horror, distorted production design, and a framing anthology structure
Nosferatu
silent-era expressionism, supernatural dread, and stylized historical fantasy
Dead of Night
silent horror anthology structure, macabre spectacle, and dreamlike visual distortion
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
episodic historical fantasy, grotesque theatricality, and darkly comic violence
Movie Details
- Directors
- Leo Birinski, Paul Leni
- Release Date
- 1924-11-13
- Runtime
- 83 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (73)
Cast
- Emil Jannings
- Conrad Veidt
- William Dieterle
- Werner Krauss
- Olga Belajeff
- John Gottowt
- Georg John
- Ernst Legal
- Paul Biensfeldt
Common questions
- What is Waxworks about?
- A wax museum becomes the gateway to three expressionist tales of comic fantasy, tyrannical violence, and nightmare pursuit.
- What is Waxworks like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Waxworks as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Waxworks violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Waxworks as brutal.
- What did critics think of Waxworks?
- Critics broadly admire the film's imaginative expressionist sets, lighting, and episodic spectacle while noting its strong resemblance to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
- Which films are like Waxworks?
- Films with a similar feel include The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Dead of Night, and The Adventures of Prince Achmed.
- How long is Waxworks?
- Waxworks runs 83 minutes.
