The Wax Mask (M.D.C. - Maschera di cera)

The Wax Mask (Italian original title M.D.C. – Maschera di cera) is a 1997 French-Italian horror film. A Gothic horror with giallo elements, it moves along mystery and thriller lines and runs about 95 minutes. It is the directing debut of special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti. The screenplay is credited to Lucio Fulci, and the film was produced by Dario Argento.

The story is set in Rome, where a wax museum opens whose main attraction is a set of figures staging gruesome murder scenes. Shortly after the opening, people start to vanish while new figures appear in the museum, and the dark link between the two slowly comes to light. Romina Mondello, Robert Hossein and Riccardo Serventi Longhi play the leads, with Gabriella Giorgelli, Rosa Pianeta, Sonia Topazio, Massimo Vanni, Aldo Massasso and Elisabetta Rocchetti also in the cast.

The project's background is as well known as the film itself. In 1994 Argento decided to develop something new with Fulci, and the two settled on a remake of the 1953 film House of Wax. Pre-production ran longer than expected because Argento was busy with his own film The Stendhal Syndrome. When Fulci passed away in 1996, Argento brought in Stivaletti to direct, and Stivaletti rewrote the script to put special effects at the centre.