House of Wax (2005)

Image credit: House of Wax: Vince Valitutti

CHAD MICHAEL MURRAY AND ELISHA CUTHBERT

Though a fan of Vincent Price's 1953 freakfest, commercial director Jaume Serra says his refurbished House is nothing like the original. ''It's more about primal fear,'' says the feature-film rookie. ''We're dealing with people who are real.'' The victims in question are six pals who battle a pair of homicidal maniacs intent on creating their own Madame Tussauds. Not that all of the actors were intimidated by the waxworks; a certain hotel heiress was fazed by something else: acting with visual effects. ''Because there's nothing really there...it's hard to scream,'' says (major) film novice Paris Hilton. ''You feel embarrassed. The first time I had to do it, I made everyone on set scream with me.'' Sounds hot, but will people buy Paris as a legit actress? ''It's a win-win situation [for the film],'' says Serra. ''If you like her, you want to see her; and if you don't, you want to see her suffer.''