Editor’s note: All throughout October, the vibes get spookier and the nights get longer. It’s the perfect time of year to watch horror movies, whether you’re a year-round horror fan or you just like to watch horror flicks to get into the Halloween spirit. This year at Horror Obsessive, for our 31 Horror Classics Revisited series, we’re giving you one recommendation for a classic horror film each day throughout the month of October. What do you think—is this film a horror classic? What other horror films do you consider to be classics, and what films do you make sure you watch each October? Let us know in the comments below!

What makes an October classic? That’s a question that’ll likely get you a range of answers. I find that when we roll into the spookiest month of the year my tastes change a bit. I’m less about the intense, brain-melting horror that comes off oh so serious. Rather, I’m looking for a movie that fits the Creepshow credo born of that classic tagline, “It’s the most fun you’ll ever have being scared!” I need that vibe as Halloween approaches, so in that spirit, my revisited classic is the 1988 film, Waxwork.

Written and directed by Anthony Hickox (Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth), Waxwork is the story of a wax museum owner and black magician named David Lincoln (David Warner; In the Mouth of Madness, Titanic) who is trying to tip the scales between good and evil by using his wax exhibits to swallow enough souls to bring all the monstrous exhibits to life. He’s countered by surprisingly decent rich college kid Mark (Zach Galligan; Gremlins, Gremlins 2: The New Batch) and his group of friends.

What makes this underappreciated little gem that much of a classic, you may ask? Allow me to enlighten you, thereby enriching your October.

The Galligan/Warner Effect

After an open which sees a man robbed and his head stuck in the raging fireplace set to an almost Vaudevillian tune, we’re immediately introduced to Mark. It’s clear right off the bat that Mark is quite rich. It’s also clear that Waxwork is going to be more than a bit on the outlandish side—Mark needs permission to have coffee despite being in college! Luckily, his extremely cool English butler has him covered.

Zach Galligan has a place in the heart of every American thanks to his portrayal of Billy Pelzer in Gremlins. It feels like he could have walked straight off the set of one and into the other (the two films were only four years apart); that boyish charm and vulnerability are operating at equal power in Waxwork. It doesn’t hurt that he gets some killer lines and moments of surprising heroism. Seriously, though—it’s ingrained in the American psyche to pull for Zach Galligan.

On the flip side of the good and evil coin, beloved character actor David Warner plays the baddie to full effect. For an actor who’s had some extremely memorable supporting roles like the villainous Spicer Lovejoy in Titanic and Klingon Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Warner didn’t often get to be the centerpiece player. In Waxwork, he’s the front-and-center villain, resplendent in his old-fashioned purple suit and sporting perfect hair. Playing it almost seductively, Warner turns in what is hands down some of the best work of his career in a film that isn’t mentioned amongst the “big name” horror flicks of the day but damn well should be. That’s thanks in large part to the late legend.

Variety Is the Spice of Life

There’s an equation somewhere that proves that the more monsters and madmen you put in a movie, the better said movie is. Waxwork takes my made-up equation and applies it heartily in a film that’s a clear influence for a movie like Cabin in the Woods. The variety of monsters runs the gamut from the classic (vampires, werewolves, mummies, and a Frankenstein monster amongst others) to crazy monsters (killer baby, long-head reptile monster in a cage, carnivorous plant, and a graveyard full of zombies) and all the way historical maniacs like the Marquis de Sade (played with lecherous abandon by veteran TV actor J. Kenneth Campbell). It’s a true menagerie. I think there was even a stereotypical tribal savage thrown in for good measure.

The kills are equally diverse. There’s a squishy curb stomping courtesy of one oddly drippy Mummy. A werewolf rips a man in half starting at the head. A man has everything down to the bone on his left leg eaten for dinner. There’s plenty of stabbing, cutting, burning, and even some shooting. The final battle to stop the evil tide plays like the food fight at the end of Blazing Saddles, and it’s kind of glorious to behold. The SFX work from Image Animation is highlighted by a criminally underrated werewolf design and some old-school, Night of the Living Dead-style zombie work.

Musically, Waxwork alternates between campy songs like the opening Vaudevillian tune or the closing “It’s My Party” by the appropriately named Lesley Gore and a wonderful original score with a signature theme that’s as memorable (to my ears, at least) as anything Phillip Glass did in Candyman. Yeah, I went there.

Comedy Stylings for Every Taste (Even the Bad)

Waxwork operates in that sweet spot that makes ‘80s horror so nostalgic and beloved. Some of the best horror comedies came from that magical time, and Waxwork belongs in that same conversation. The sense of humor is rangy as hell. One minute, it’ll be dark and psychologically (and sexually) disturbing, like Sarah’s extreme BDSM encounter with the Marquis de Sade. The next minute you get Dracula in bat form, caught by one of the good guys while trying to fly away and squeaking out “Make my day!” before being shot in the head.

Waxwork is also a prime example of the expression “a product of its time”. The ‘80s produced a metric f*ck ton of movies that had no clue what politically correct (and occasionally in good taste) even meant. Do we love them today regardless? Pretty much. We can’t help ourselves. That being said, the openly Nazi history professor is the poster boy for inappropriately funny stereotyped characters. The guy literally teaches a class with a swastika flag posted in it! I’d say I don’t know of any university that progressive, but apparently, 1988 was just different.

The humor is also rounded out quite nicely by the little details that just don’t make any sense. How does the big, dumb football player knock out another player who’s wearing a helmet by punching him in the helmet? Why do the halls of the university look a little too much like a high school? Why does Zach Galligan do so much sulking in his facial expressions? Is it because his masculinity is called into question so many times in Waxwork?

The Total Package

If you ask around, most horror fans remember Waxwork. Still, it’s not the heralded and iconic film that it should be seen as. Is that a tad strong? Mayhap, mayhap. But I’ll always argue that strong leads along with a cast full of pretty and disposable supporting actors, killer SFX and kills, a variety of monsters, structurally sound story beats and clever writing, multifaceted humor, and that patented sensibility will make a welcome addition to your own personal 31 nights of Halloween horror.

So go on down to the midnight showings at that creepy old waxwork in the middle of your residential neighborhood. If you’re nice, they might even let you have a closer look.