MovieChat Forums > Madhouse (1974) Discussion > Wax Dummy

Wax Dummy

posted 10 years ago by gribfritz2
3 replies | jump to latest

At the end, the girl seems to be a wax dummy. Many are quick to point that out. But no one can point out why, which is the real question. She was in the elevator then either she was killed or...Dr Death whisked her away and planted a wax dummy corpse of her in the dressing room? And then we don't see her character alive anymore. That makes no sense at all.

Another theory would be that she was really dead and Toombes, spur of the moment, replaced her dead body with a wax dummy so she wouldn't burn in the fire. Again, this makes no sense.

The last theory is that it wasn't supposed to be a dummy, but the closeups seem to be designed to showcase that she is, in fact, a dummy. So this doesn't make sense either.

Does anyone have a genuinely intelligent theory as to why she was a wax dummy? I'm sure something crucial ended up on the cutting room floor, but what?

[–] skiop 10 years ago

She looked like a dummy in the dressing room too. At first, I thought it was just the special effects of the era, but I really have no idea how it makes any sense to the story.

[–] Wombstar 9 years ago

Either we were never meant to know this, but as you say those close ups look as it they're intestinal, to show us she was a dummy.

I also thought maybe the death was faked, and a dummy was planted but then after touching her he would have known.

Or something was cut out.

[–] jann-6 9 years ago

I took it as an homage to "The Wax Museum," another Vincent Price film.