The acting is nothing to write home about. Paris Hilton's screen time is kept, thankfully, to a minimum as she seems to just be playing a variation on herself. The other supporting cast members are the typical lot you find in horror films. The main players on the side of good are a pair of twins named Carly and Nicky, played by Elisha Cuthbert and Chad Michael Murray. Elisha is the star of this film, she does a good job playing at alternate times the strong woman and the frightened girl, I guess those years of crazy story arcs on 24 have paid off. Chad tries his hand at the dark and brooding anti-hero type, he does a decent job of it, nothing special. On the other side of things there is Brian Van Holt who does a good job playing separated Siamese twins, the creepily menacing Bo and the murderous, wax faced Vincent (named as an homage to Vincent Price who starred in a film with the same name in 1953).

I was glad to see a decent gore level, something that has been sorely lacking in horror films over the past few years. The first appearance of Vincent is a cringe inducing moment involving a trap door and a pair of scissors. Again, it is hard to dance around what gore we get without giving away the kills. Let me just say that I enjoyed some of the more creative ways of dispatch. Then there is the good use of crazy glue and wire cutters.

The centerpiece of the film is the town itself, a wax building, wax people all over the town, and an underground labyrinth which seems to connect the entire town. A good job is done using this town to create a sense of isolation and general eeriness. And then there is the climactic battle between our good and evil twins in the wax house as it is melting around them. This entire set piece is rather impressive and put together well.

This brings me back to why did I like it? I realized that this movie can be viewed in one of two ways. The first, which I found to be the less desirable of the two, is that it is just another in a long line of lousy horror films with a cheesy story, weak acting and a predictable ending. That was the way I was leaning for that first third I spoke of earlier. Then as our heroic twins make their way through the town, I realized that there was a second way that one could watch this movie. Whether the creative team was attempting this or not, it plays very well as a throwback to the 80's era of teen slasher horror flicks. Putting on those filtered glasses made this an enjoyable ride. Some good kills, decent suspense, a good lead in Elisha Cuthbert, an interesting new pair of villains in Bo and Vincent, and a visually stunning climactic set piece. This filter allowed me to look past the numerous shortcomings and enjoy it for what it is.