#Live Laugh Love Wilfred the Snake

[ezisregrettinglifedecisions]

Everyone meet Wilfred.

Wilfred used to have a witches hat with the four hogwarts house colours on it.

Now Wilfred has evolved to wear ferrari merch and hold Anakin's lightsaber.

He means the world to me even if he took several hours away from my life.

Everyone give Wilfred some love because he deserves it. Look at that adorable snake face

[cjsinkythoughts]

Suits, Dresses, and Heels

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 4000

Warnings: !FATWS SPOILERS!, Cursing, More Mentions of PTSD, Gun Violence, Slight Mentions of Drinking, Club Dancing (You’re all gonna hate me for that part, but I’m not sorry)

A/N: Here’s Part 4.2 - The Second Part to Episode 3 - as requested. This is a little more scene-by-scene, but there are some off-screen moments. I’ll be posting Part 4.3 (which will have the rest of the episode) later tonight.

There’s a bit more information on Reader, but not as much as the last chapter. Sharon comes in during this part, so you get to see her and Reader’s relationship.

Also, I have mixed feelings about Zemo at this point. Not in the story, the Reader’s not a fan as you learned previously, but for me personally, he’s surprised me a couple times by coming back and helping.

Anyways! Thank you so much for reading! This isn’t beta’d so excuse any mistakes! Check out my other parts before you read! Thank you again! Stay tuned, loves!

FATWS MASTERLIST

cjsinkythoughts MASTERLIST

!SPOILERS UNDER CUT!

The dress was far too tight for your liking, and showed way too much skin. Not that you didn’t like being a tease every once in a while, but for this mission, you’d rather have more cover and movement.

You had to admit though; Zemo had nice taste. The dress fit deliciously - which made you wonder how he got your size. The color and cut was devastatingly flattering. Plus, he let you do your own makeup.

Being the only female, you were in a separate area of the jet getting ready. Once you were done, you made sure to knock, even though you’d walked in on Sam changing too many times to count while on the run and had seen Bucky answer the door in nothing but a towel. It was mainly for Zemo’s sake, just a warning that you were walking in whether or not they were ready.

“Damn, girl! You clean up nice!”

You rolled your eyes at Sam, painted lips quirking up as you studied him, shooting him a wink. “You should try a mirror, Sammy.” You turned to Bucky to find him staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed at you. “What do you think, Buck?”

His mouth snapped shut and he cleared his throat, eyes exploring the dips and curves your body. “You…” He blinked once. Twice. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, his intense eyes making you heat up, before he shook his head. “You look good.” He rushed out, before spinning on his heel shoving past Sam who was snickering.

“Where’s Zemo?” You noticed he wasn’t in the main area of the plane when you walked in.

“Rearranging our ride once we get there.”

You huffed, fixing your hair. “Oh God. We’re really doing this.”

“Yup.”

“Okay.” You looked down at yourself before looking up at the boys. “Something’s gonna go wrong, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely.”

“No doubt.”

Giving a slight groan at their simultaneous answers, you nodded. “Let’s try not to screw up too badly, boys, alright? I at least want to live long enough to see Peter graduate.”

Sam rolled his eyes with a scoff. “That kid’s a punk.”

“You’re a punk.” You shot back.

Bucky raised his hand. “I second that punk thing.”

“For which one?”

“Both of them.”

You chuckled as Sam gaped at Bucky, who shrugged innocently. The former assassin tilted his head in your direction to shoot you a grin and a wink, making you laugh more. Shaking your head, you go to make a joke when Zemo walked in.

“It’s time. We’re landing now.”

And just like that, the teasing atmosphere dissipated, leaving you anxious and regretful.

*******************

You walked by Bucky, arm linked with his metal one, listening as Zemo told Sam about his “character” he was to play.

“He’s a known womanizer - always has a gorgeous lady on his arm.” Zemo gestured towards you. “It’s the only way they’d let in a woman.”

“Aren’t we going to see a woman?” You questioned, gently patting Bucky’s metallic bicep when his hold on you tightened.

“Which makes it more imperative that you don’t act threatening. Women don’t make the same mistake men do; they don’t underestimate other women.”

You nodded. He had a point there. Bucky faced you, a frown on those pretty lips. “I don’t like this.” He mumbled.

“You think I do?” You whispered back. “With you being him again? Even if it’s just pretend? And need I remind you whose idea this was?”

“I know, I know. Just…” He sighed. “Promise me you won’t get hurt on purpose.”

Your forehead creased. “Why would I-?”

“To protect people. You always do. And I get it, I do. It’s why you started this in the first place, but…save yourself first, this time, okay?”

“Buck-”

“Promise me.”

It wasn’t often you could see the fear in his eyes, hear it in his voice, but you could then. Unable to do anything else you nodded, a soft, “okay” falling from your lips. He nodded back, pressing a kiss to your head, before letting you go as a car approached.

Bucky helped you in - the heels you were wearing were no joke - before sliding in himself, Sam getting in on the other side of you. “And you two can’t be…” Zemo gestured to the two of you as the car started moving, eyeing your still connected hands. “Doing that.”

“This isn’t my first theater production.” You snapped at him. “We’ll be fine.”

He raised his hands in surrender, turning back to look out the windshield. Once you arrived, you gave Bucky’s hand one last squeeze, before accepting Sam’s hand to get out on his side, linking your arm with his like you were doing with Bucky earlier.

“I finally get to see one of your performances, baby.” Sam grinned at you.

You smirked back. “Best seats in the house, too, Smiling Tiger.” He groaned at your jest, nudging you playfully with his elbow as you giggled.

“This way.” Zemo cut in, jerking his head in the direction you’d be going. You took a breath, steeling yourself, before the three of you nodded at each other and followed his lead.

You found the fellas reactions amusing, their heads turning to study and scan everything they could see. You were more subtle in the way you analyzed your surroundings, feeling a bit more at home in this situation than, say, fighting super soldiers on top of semi trucks.

Your jaw tightened, as did your grip on Sam’s arm, when Zemo started speaking Russian, the four of you pushing through a crowded bar. Sam ran his fingers over your arms, giving your hand a little squeeze, silently reassuring you.

It was a bit obvious Sam hadn’t done much undercover work, put he stayed in character and you were impressed. Especially when the bartender started cutting up the snake, which you had to look away for because if there was one thing you couldn’t do…it was snakes. You nearly gagged when Sam reluctantly downed the drink. 

Bucky eyed you, lips pursed in a way you recognized as him trying to hold in a smile. That made you feel a little better, hiding your own smile by turning into the crook of Sam’s neck. “Not. Funny.” He growled through clenched teeth, lips not moving.

“Kinda is.”

He grumbled under his breath, before the two of you tuned into the conversation between Zemo and a thug that came up, learning about the apparent power broker of Madripoor, which you a bit of from your time undercover there.

Sam held you tightly when Zemo turned to Bucky, knowing what was about to happen.

You didn’t like it. You didn’t like how easily aggressive he became. You didn’t like the little smirk Zemo gave as Bucky attacked. You didn’t like the cellphones being pointed in his direction. You didn’t like it.

“Didn’t take much for him to fall back into form.” You gave Zemo a warning glare, a shaky breath leaving you.

He’d been doing so well. At least, for someone who had been through what he had. Especially considering it’d only been a few months since he’d been pardoned - half a year since everyone came back. You knew bringing Zemo on board had been a bad idea, but-

A squeeze to your hand pulled you out of your thoughts. You let out an inaudible sigh of relief as Zemo allowed Bucky to let the man he was choking go.

“Selby will see you now.”

One step down. You hoped that would be the hardest part, but you knew it most definitely wouldn’t be.

“You good?”

Bucky sniffed, giving you two a curt nod, before following Zemo. You bit your lip. “That wasn’t really an answer, was it?”

Sam shook his head. “No. No it wasn’t.”

Selby wasn’t exactly what you were expecting, but you’d come to expect that. You stayed on Sam’s arm, giving the guards coy smiles and playing with the fake nails you had on in faux-boredom.

When she purred at the man besides you, you and Bucky glanced at each other, with you resisting the urge to scrunch up your nose. “And who is this gorgeous creature?”

Your eyes snapped back to Selby, giving her a slightly bashful smile. “Celeste Addams. Pleasure.”

“Trust me, dear. The pleasure is all mine.” Alright, you thought as she scanned you with a smirk. She was swinging for both teams. You could work with that. “What’s the offer?” She looked back to Zemo.

Zemo gave her the offer - information about the super soldier serum for the Winter Soldier and the code words to control him. Your blood boiled as Zemo touched Bucky, fingers grabbing his chin. You swore, once this whole thing was over, you would kick Zemo’s ass. You should make a list, just to keep track of all the things he’d done, and no doubt would do, to piss you off. That way he’d know why exactly you were beating his ass.

A name came up, Dr. Wilfred Nagel, along with the knowledge that the super soldier serum was, in fact, in Madripoor. You and Sam met eyes. Second step down.

But before they could get anything else, Sam’s phone buzzed. You ducked your head, closing your eyes, mumbling “fuck” when you saw it was Sarah. Sam’s responses just made you inwardly cringe even more.

“The bank, yeah. We laundered so much mo-” He chuckled nervously. “Yeah. They’ll come around.”

Is he fucking serious? For the love of God, Sammy…

And then she called him Sam. Next thing you knew, Selby was shot and you, Bucky, and Sam were taking out a guard each, you growling at the fact that you couldn’t use your legs because the dress was too damn tight.

You had no choice but to trust Zemo’s lead, but word traveled very quickly here, and less than a minute after walking outside, you were getting shot at.

“C’mon!” Bucky grabbed your arm, pulling you besides him.

“Can you not right now?!”

“I can’t run in these heels!”

You glared at Sam, the killer six inchers on your feet feeling like hell. “Hell no! You did not just say that in front of me!”

“You started it!” You scowled at him, following Bucky into an alley, only to duck as shots rang out. Chest heaving, you looked around for the source of the bullets that killed the men chasing you.  Your “guardian angel” as Zemo put it.

She soon appeared in all her stunning, blonde badass glory. “Sharon?”

Sam quickly explained the situation, trying to get her not to shoot Zemo who she had a gun pointed at.

“I stole Steve’s shield, remember? I also took the wings for your ass,” she pointed the gun at Sam, then Bucky, “so that you could save his ass, from his ass.” And the gun was back on Zemo. She shot you a smile. “And your ass is looking beautiful as always.”

You grinned back. “Thanks. You’re not looking too bad yourself.”

As she spoke, your lips turned down. You had tried calling her after Germany, but it always went to voicemail. First thing you did when you got back was try to get everyone pardoned, but it was a process. And then you found out about Wanda and ever since…

Sharon was your first real friend. She was only a couple years younger than you and had been one of your first partners during your time with SHIELD. And the fact that she’d been on the run for years now, even with the Blip, her family not having seen or talked to her since…that was exactly why you couldn’t take a break. She was family and you found there was nothing more important than family. But when she needed you, you were out searching for someone who didn’t want to be found.

How were you supposed to choose between two sisters? How could you cope with the fact that you chose the wrong one?

“Sharon, we need your help.” She laughed at Bucky’s statement. “Please,”

She glanced at you and you nodded. “I’d appreciate it, Share.”

She gave a sigh before nodding. “This isn’t over. I have a place in High Town. You should be safe there for a while.”

She turned and started walking, and you were about to follow, when you remembered something.

Spinning around, your fist connected with Zemo’s cheek, Sam and Bucky shouting in surprise while the man stumbled back. “Don’t you fucking dare touch him like that ever again, or I will break every bone in your body.” You threatened, your expression twisting into a scowl as you grab his hand and bend it awkwardly. He grunted but didn’t move, knowing one wrong turn would break his wrist. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal.” He ground out.

You pushed a little more, making him wince, before letting go and rounding back to Sharon, who was smirking at you. “Let’s get moving.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She jerked her head back over her shoulder to where a car was waiting, leading them over.

You quickly followed after her with Bucky on your heels and Sam dragging Zemo along. Speaking of heels, as soon as you got in the car - getting shotgun for the first time ever at Sharon’s insistence - you prodded the stupid shoes off your feet.

“Nice kicks.”

“Yeah.” You scoffed. “Unless you’re trying to kick.”

“Did you rip the dress?”

“I was tempted to.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get you in something more comfortable. And you’ll look just as good. Not that you wouldn’t look good in literally anything.”

You chuckled, giving her a look. “Let’s not test that theory.”

She smiled back, nodding. “Fine. I’ll let you pick something out.”

Sam huffed, crossing his arms best he could, being squished with the two other fully grown men in the back seat. “Women.”

The two of you exchanged looks, rolling your eyes at the three pouting guys. “Men.”

*****************

“I’m gonna go check on the boys. But I’ll be right back.”

You nodded, looking through her closet. No dresses. And absolutely no heels. Flats, if you had to, but you’d definitely prefer sneakers right now. You decided on shorts and an off-the-shoulder blouse, grateful for the looser clothing.

“They’re idiots.”

You laughed and looked over at the door as Sharon entered. “Yeah. I know.”

“Cute.” She commented on your outfit, sitting on her bed. “They explained the situation. Sam said if I help, he’d clear my name-”

“Sharon.” You sighed, biting your lip. “I tried. I really did. I-”

She shook her head, smiling at you reassuringly. “No, I know. It’s why I’m not mad at you. Sorry I didn’t call back. How’ve you been?”

You shrugged. “Fine, I guess.”

“Even with the whole ‘Cap is back’ thing.”

“Walker’s the government’s pet. He’s not Captain America. He’s not…”

“Steve?”

Looking up at her from the ground, you nodded. “Yeah.”

“Do you miss him?”

You smirked, wagging your eyebrows at her. “Do you?”

She rolled her eyes, tossing a pillow at you. “It’s kinda weird now, isn’t it?”

“Maybe a little. But I can’t blame you. Have you seen him shirtless? Good God.”

Sharon laughed, shaking her head as you joined her on the bed. “How come it’s always you getting wrapped up in these things?”

“I have no clue.” You chuckled, crossing your legs underneath you. “First I’m answering a phone call from Bucky at five in the morning and next thing I know, I’m being kicked off of semi trucks, breaking criminals out of prisons and running in six inch heels.”

“You answer Bucky’s calls at five in the morning?”

You gave her a look. “Sharon-”

“No, no. Hey. That’s cool. Some girls like bad boys, some like jocks, others like nerds. You like super soldiers from the 40’s. Everyone’s got a thing.”

A playful shove turned into a pillow fight, which turned into a sparring session, during which you pin her on her back. “You’re getting better.” You complimented, getting up.

She glared at you, taking your outstretched hand and letting you pull her up. “I guess that’s why you’re an Avenger.”

“That’s still weird to say.”

“Why? You’ve been an Avenger since, what? Ultron?”

You nodded, straightening your clothes. “Officially, anyways.”

“Right. Because you were there for the Battle of Manhattan as the secret seventh superhero.”

“Yeah…I miss it. The anonymity. I’m pretty sure I’m one half the Senators’ speed dials.”

Sharon frowned, brows pinching together. “What about the other half of the OG? Where are they?”

“Thor’s in space, Bruce is MIA - which I can’t really blame him for - and Clint’s retired with his family.”

“You think he’s gonna stay retired?”

You shrugged. “I hope he does. He’s been trying to retire for years. He deserves it. Knowing him, though…probably not.”

Sharon crossed her arms, nodding at you. “So that leaves you.”

“Yes it does.”

“Do you ever think of taking a break?”

You gave a half-sigh, half-groan, making her smirk in amusement. “It’s…come up a lot recently. I dunno. I think I’m burning out, anyways.”

“What makes you say that? I was watching you guys with Selby. You’re still one of the best I’ve ever seen.”

“I-I’ve been having…problems.”

Her eyes narrowed, her hands setting on her hips like a mother about to scold her child. “What kind of problems?”

“Just flashbacks. Of different things. It happens at random times. Certain triggers; something someone says or does, or something I smell or hear.”

“PTSD?”

“Something like that.”

“Has it affected you in the field?” Hesitating to answer was answer enough and she nodded. “Then…maybe it’s time you do start considering retiring.”

You snorted, shaking your head. “At 36? There’s no way.”

“C’mon. It’s not too late for you to settle down. Go one a few dates. Meet someone. Maybe have a couple kids-”

“Woah, woah. Slow your roll.” Your features scrunched up in incredulity. “Pump your breaks. No one said anything about marriage or kids.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying…think about it. I heard even Bucky’s been on a few dates.”

It was your turn to narrow your eyes at her, hearing the suggestive tone in her voice and seeing the eyebrow raise. “Yeah. He has. A few. I told him to. Told him it might be good for him to, I dunno, get back out there.

“Or, you could just…go out there with him.”

“Not you too! Have you been talking to Sam?”

“Is it Steve? Is that what’s stopping you? Because you know he’d just want you to be hap-” She stopped as he phone vibrated, grabbing it and reading the text. “Company’s arriving.” She pointed a finger at you. “You got very very lucky. This conversation isn’t over. I’m not dropping this.”

You bit your cheek and nodded. “Alright, mom. Can we go party now?”

She breathed out a laugh and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go party.”

**********************

“Hey, gorgeous! There you are!”

You smirked at the boys as they met you near the top of the stairs, eyeing Sam and Bucky appreciatively. Damn, could Sam pull off a turtleneck. And Bucky in black and skinny jeans? Sharon sure had good taste. “Today’s the day for attractive outfits, huh, gentlemen?”

“I’ll say.” Bucky hummed, glancing at your own outfit. “You look beautiful, doll.”

“You look very dashing yourself, Barnes.” You grin, pulling at the lapels of his black blazer and fixing the collar. You smoothed your hand down the front of his shirt, looking up at him with an eyebrow raised when he caught your wrist, keeping your palm over his heart.

He clenched his jaw, taking a breath, before letting it out, almost dejectedly, and letting your hand go. “Um,” He cleared his throat, hand falling down by his side. “Did, uh, did Sharon say anything more about these friends of hers to you?”

“Nope.” You shook your head. “Just told me to enjoy the party.”

“I guess we should go enjoy the party, then.” Sam nodded towards the stairs, where the music was floating up, her guests already pouring in.

You made your way downstairs, looking around the room. Sharon sure did know how to throw one, that’s for sure.

People were pushed together, dancing to the beat of the music, drinking, with colored lights flashing every which way. Bucky’s hand found yours almost instantly, and you smiled at him. “C’mon.”

“What?” His eyes were wide as you dragged him towards the groups of people dancing. 

“Dance with me.”

He shook his head violently. “I-I can’t.”

“I thought you used to be a dancer?”

“Used to. And I was a swing-dancer. Not…” He gestured around to the people bobbing up and down, moving their bodies with each other.

You waved dismissively, pulling him closer. “All you need to do is feel the beat. I’m sure you can do that, can’t you, Mr. Tough and Scary Assassin?”

He licked his lips, looking around nervously. You brought his hands to your hips, making his eyes snap back to yours, your own arms winding around his neck. You started moving rhythmically, nodding your head to the music, smiling up at him and giggling at the adorable concentration on his face.

“You, uh, you go to parties like this a lot?”

“I specialized in undercover operations, remember? I practically lived at these places for some of them.” He licked his lips, his grasp on your hips tightening. “Loosen up a little.” You laughed, catching his jaw between your fingers and making him look at you instead of the crowd surrounding him. You scratched at the scruff, speaking softly, but loud enough for him to hear. “It’s just me.”

He nodded and, slowly, a bit hesitant, started moving his body with yours, relaxing his tense muscles the longer you two danced.

“Nice hit, by the way. With Zemo earlier.”

You shrugged, turning in his arms, biting your lip when he pulled you closer, your back to his chest. “I didn’t like the way he grabbed you. It was unnecessary. I was thinking of making a list, actually.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Your arms wound around his neck again, your head falling back to his shoulder. “Of things he’s done so far that warrant’s me beating his ass once this is done.”

He chuckled, warm breath tickling your cheek, thumbs tracing circles on the bare skin just above the waistline of your shorts. Your own fingers had found home in his hair holding his head where it was, his lips centimeters away from your ear. “Share it with Sam. I’m sure he has a few things to add.”

Your breath hitched as his metal fingers danced along your bare navel, arm tightening around your waist. “I’m sure he does…I thought you said you can’t dance.”

“I guess I just needed to warm up. I’m a bit rusty after eighty years.”

“Don’t seem that rusty to me.” You breathed out, turning your head to look at him. His tongue ran across his lips again, his eyes glancing to your own.

“Hey, guys!” The world and your situation came crashing down on you, the music you didn’t realize you’d been tuning out, along with the crowd’s boisterous laughter and cheers, rushed back to yours ears. The little bubble with just you and Bucky shattered. You both stepped away from each other; you cleared your throat and pushed down the heat that had nothing to do with the hundred bodies in the one room, while Bucky rubbed the back of his neck, the tips of his ears red with no help from the colored lights. Both of you were panting lightly, avoiding eye contact with the other three staring knowingly at you. Sharon nodded her head, gesturing behind her. “I found him.”

Sam nudged Bucky - who was staring at you, his jaw ticking and his throat tightening as he swallowed thickly - before jabbing his thumb in Sharon’s direction. “Here we go.”

You nodded, eyeing Bucky with a small smile. “Here we go, Buckaroo.”

[the-master-cylinder]

SUMMARY In a small suburban town, a group of high school students–Mark Loftmore (Zach Galligan), China Webster (Michelle Johnson), Sarah Brightman (Deborah Foreman), Gemma (Clare Carey), James (Eric Brown) and Tony (Dana Ashbrook)visit a mysterious wax museum, resulting from Sarah and China’s earlier encounter with a taciturn gentleman (Warner) who claims to own the exhibit and extends them an invitation. There, they encounter several morbid displays, all of which contain stock characters from the horror genre. Tony and China unintentionally enter two separate pocket worlds, as depicted by the waxwork displays, by crossing the exhibition barrier rope. Tony is at a cabin where a werewolf (John Rhys-Davies) attacks him. A hunter and his son arrive and try to kill the werewolf. The son fails and is torn in two, while the hunter shoots the werewolf, then shoots Tony as he begins to transform into a werewolf. China is sent to a Gothic castle where vampires attack her, and Count Dracula (Miles O’Keeffe) turns her into a vampire. Two of the other students, Mark and Sarah, leave the waxwork unscathed. Later, Jonathan (Micah Grant), “a college jock”, arrives at the wax museum looking for China, but The Phantom of the Opera display gets his attention as David Lincoln (David Warner) walks him into the display. Mark goes to a pair of investigating police detectives. He and Inspector Roberts (Charles McCaughan) meet Lincoln as he lets Roberts investigate the waxworks. As Mark and Roberts leave the museum, Mark recognizes Lincoln.

Later, Roberts realizes that some of the displays look like some of the other missing people, then comes back to the wax museum, cuts off a piece of China’s face (revealing black tissue underneath), puts it in a bag, and walks into the mummy display; the mummy throws him in the tomb with another undead mummy and a snake. Later, Roberts’s partner sneaks into the museum, and gets his neck broken by Junior (Jack David Walker), “a tall butler” Lincoln scolds for killing the partner.

Mark takes Sarah to the attic of his house, where he shows her an old newspaper detailing the murder of his grandfather (which was seen in the prologue); the only suspect was David Lincoln, his chief assistant, whose photograph closely resembles the waxwork owner. The two then consult the wheelchair-bound Sir Wilfred (Patrick Macnee), a friend of Mark’s grandfather, who explains how he and Mark’s grandfather collected trinkets from “eighteen of the most evil people who ever lived” and that Lincoln stole the artifacts; Lincoln, having sold his soul to the Devil, wants to bring their previous owners to life by creating some wax effigies and feeding them the souls of victims, a concept taken from Haitian Voodoo. Providing all eighteen with a victim would bring about the “voodoo end of the world, when the dead shall rise and consume all things”.

On the advice of Sir Wilfred, Mark and Sarah enter the waxwork museum at night and douse it with gasoline. However, Sarah is lured into the display of the Marquis de Sade (J. Kenneth Campbell), and Mark is pushed into a zombie display by the waxwork’s two butlers. Mark is approached by a horde of zombies, but finds that if he does not believe in the monsters, then they do not exist and cannot harm him. Mark finds his way out of the display and into the Marquis de Sade exhibit, where he rescues Sarah, while the marquis vows revenge.

Despite Mark and Sarah’s attempts to escape, Junior and Lincoln grab Mark and Sarah, pulling them out of sight as Gemma and James return. Gemma gets lured into the Marquis de Sade display, and James attempts to steal something from the zombie display; moments later, the bodies of James and Gemma reappear as wax figures, the displays completed with the figures and their victims reanimating as evil entities. Suddenly, Sir Wilfred and a huge group of armed men, along with Mark’s butler Jenkins, arrive, and in the ensuing battle, several waxworks and slayers die, including Lincoln’s butlers and Mark and Sarah’s former friends, now evil. Jenkins consoles Mark by saying the China-vampire he killed wasn’t his friend; it just looked like her. Mark duels with the Marquis de Sade, who is finally killed by Sarah with an axe.

The reunited couple are confronted by Lincoln, who dies getting shot by Sir Wilfred and falls in a vat of boiling wax. Sir Wilfred is decapitated by a werewolf as Sarah and Mark manage to escape the burning waxwork with their lives and begin to walk home, not noticing that the hand from the zombie display is scuttling away from the rubble.

BEHIND THE SCENES What’s it like for a 29-year-old director to work with the likes of David Warner and Patrick Macnee. “Terrifying,” nods Hickox. “David Warner is a hero of mine, and it’s very difficult to work with your heroes. I was an extra on one of his English TV shows, and I’ve always been a great fan of his. Patrick Macnee is the guy in the movie that knows what’s going on, the ‘Van Helsing’ of Waxwork. In a funny battle scene moment, after the werewolf has been killed with a silver sword, Patrick yells, ‘Tally-ho!’ and fires his gun in the air. At that point, we have a chicken come squawking down and land in his lap.

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“Bear in mind, when you see the battle, that we only had three 12-hour days to film it,” Hickox specifies. “There were 300 extras and a lot of story to tell in that sequence. I think our stunt coordinator Bobby Bragg set some sort of record by doing six full-body fire gags in one day. We’d dress him as one of the characters, set him on fire, film it, then dress him up as someone else.”

In another part of the fight, Deborah Foreman throws Michu, a little person, into an Invasion of the Body Snatchers pod. Instead of duplicating him, the pod cries out, “Feed me! Feed Me!” “I hope we don’t get sued for that one,” moans Hickox.

Although the script was set in England, Hickox moved the production to America to give it a broader appeal. This caused much hardship since this meant Keen’s crew, located in England, had to design their work without the benefit of lifecasts of actors. As a result, many of the makeup crew ended up appearing as monsters, because they were available to be lifecast. A somewhat more novel solution was found for making a cast of Patrick MacNee, who suffers a grisly fate at the film’s conclusion: the makeup crew videotaped an old AVENGERS episode, watched it several times, and sculpted MacNee’s head from that.

SPECIAL EFFECTS The job of designing the waxwork displays was given to Bob Keen, who acted mostly in a supervisory capacity, hiring other makeup artists to build the creatures while he took care of the administrative end of the business and also directed second unit. Cliff Wallace and Dave Elsey headed a crew of about fourteen, many of whom were working on their first job, “because Bob in his wisdom decided to use people who he could get cheaply,” laughed Wallace.

The majority of the displays for “The Eighteen most evil beings” used in the film are the Marquis de Sade, the werewolf, Count Dracula (his Brides and son exist only within the portal and are not among those displayed), the Golem, the Phantom of the Opera, The Mummy, George A. Romero-style zombies, Frankenstein’s monster, Jack the Ripper, The Invisible Man, a voodoo priest, a witch, a snakeman, Rosemary’s Baby, an axe murderer, a multi-eyed alien, a giant talking venus flytrap, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Keen agrees, “We had a partnership in designing the creatures. Tony asked me what could be done, and like a fool I said, ‘The world.’ Really, the restrictions from Universal were a golden opportunity to do it our own way. Tony was already in the States rewriting the script, so I’d FAX him designs and drawings. He’d call and generally just say, ‘Cast them up.’ Because we were shooting in the States, we had to have everything finished here in England and shipped over before the cameras started rolling. Consequently, we worked 18-hour days for about eight weeks before we could leave.

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“Once in the States, the first scene we shot required the mummy to stamp on someone’s head and squash it,” Keen continues. “Then the werewolf literally tears someone open from the top of his head to the base of his spine-just tears the guy in half and eats what’s inside. It’s a lovely family movie, you know? The zombie scene was a toughie, requiring about 20 effect gags including a mechanical hand, and it had to be shot all in one day.”

“We did the zombie sequence in black-and-white because we ran out of money,” Hickox deadpans. “No, no, just kidding. It was really a tribute to Night of the Living Dead. Romero’s another one of my all-time favorites. They all get credit at the end, Romero, Dante, Argento and all.”

Waxwork (1988) Enzo Sciotti

“That entire zombie scene had to be done in reverse,” Zach Galligan recalls. “When I stumble onto the zombies, I chop off one of their hands and the hand attaches itself to my leg. I pull it off my leg and it grabs my arm, then my other arm. Finally, I have to do a ‘Magic Johnson running two-step slam dunk’ and impale the hand on a spiked fence, where it’s left wiggling and bleeding. Because the hand was made with monofilaments and wires and was mechanically delicate, the entire sequence had to be shot backwards. First it was impaled on the fence, then I jumped up and grabbed it. When you run that forwards, it looks like I’m impaling it.”

“I never pumped so much blood in my life,” effects Bob Keen gasps. “The producer walked onto the set, opened the door. went, ‘Oh, my God!’ and left. Every single piece of the set was covered in blood. Everything was dripping. There was a two-inch river of blood flooding into the other rooms. We used up our entire blood budget in the first week.”

“It was a record amount of blood.” assures leading man Zach (Gremlins) Galligan. “It’s staggering! It’s sprayed all over the white tile walls of Dracula’s castle. Imagine, there’s a guy lying chained to a table. Dracula (Miles O’Keeffe), his son and their guests have been feeding on the guy’s leg! It’s gnawed down to the bone. But the guy’s still alive and awake and alert. Then Dracula’s son grabs a piece of skin off the leg and eats it. It’s gonna be one of the great gross-outs of cinema.”

“We made a false leg that’s raw from the knee downwards,” adds Keen. “The vampires have been picking meat off to serve at the main table, just scraping meat off the bone. Very nasty stuff. After that. Michelle Johnson holds a cross on one vampire’s forehead and the creature starts to burn, like a good vampire. But instead of falling to the floor, his head literally rips open like a banana peeling itself.”

CONCLUSION “I submitted Waxwork to the MPAA four times,” the director mentions. “Luckily, we’ve retained most of it, but there’s something about squirting blood that they don’t approve of. You can cut off limbs, you can have heads rolling, but the censors won’t allow spurting, moving blood. And you can’t linger, either. You can show things, but you can’t linger.

“The MPAA was terrifying until I actually started communicating with them,” Hickox admits. “Then, they were very direct about what they wanted. Actually, most of that scene was supposed to be comedic anyway, sort of like that Monty Python routine where the Black Knight gets his arms cut off.”.

CAST/CREW Zach Galligan as Mark Loftmore Deborah Foreman as Sarah Brightman Michelle Johnson as China Webster Dana Ashbrook as Tony Micah Grant as Jonathan Eric Brown as James Clare Carey as Gemma David Warner as David Lincoln Patrick Macnee as Sir Wilfred Mihaly ‘Michu’ Meszaros as Hans Jack David Walker (as Jack David Warner) as Junior Charles McCaughan as Inspector Roberts Kenneth Campbell as Marquis de Sade Miles O’Keeffe as Count Dracula John Rhys-Davies as Werewolf Jennifer Bassey as Mrs Loftmore Edward Ashley as Professor Sutherland Joe Baker as Jenkins Buckley Norris as Lecturer Tom McGreevey (as Tom MacGreevey) as Charles Rick Rossovich as Michael Loftmore (uncredited)

Several crew members appear in small roles: Anthony Hickox, director, as English prince James Hickox, assistant editor, as werewolf hunter’s assistant Gerry Lively, director of photography, as Sir Wilfred’s butler

CREDITS/REFERENCES/SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Cinefantastique v19n01-02 (1989) Fangoria#78

SUMMARY The film opens with a reenactment of final scenes of Waxwork, with Mark and Sarah leaving the burning waxwork (the part of Sarah having been recast from the first film). The disembodied zombie hand from the first film follows Sarah to her run-down flat and kills her stepfather with a hammer, a murder for which Sarah is blamed. No one believes her story about the evil waxwork.

In the hope of gathering evidence, Mark and Sarah visit the late Sir Wilfred’s home, where they find a film reel of Sir Wilfred speaking of his and Mark’s grandfather’s adventures and of the artifacts they collected together. A secret switch in Sir Wilfred’s chessboard opens a door to a room full of objects where Mark and Sarah find a small compass-like device. They learn this device was used in history by light and dark angels to travel through another dimension consisting of stories that have become realities (including homage to Frankenstein, The Haunting, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dr. Jekyll, Alien, Godzilla, Jack the Ripper, Nosferatu, and Dawn of the Dead). According to exposition later given by Sir Wilfred in the form of a raven, these worlds comprise “God’s video game,” where God and the devil battle over the fate of the world, each victory being reflected in events occurring in the real world. When Mark or Sarah appear in each reality they take on the persona of characters in those stories, sometimes having their personalities and memories taken over by those characters until they regain their senses.

Mark plans to gather evidence of the reanimated dead to bring back to the real world as proof of Sarah’s story in court. After several failed attempts and being lost in one world after another, they battle with an evil sorcerer and Mark is able to send Sarah home with an animated zombie hand as proof of her story. Unable to return with her, Mark instead arranges to have another compass delivered to Sarah after her trial ends so she can rejoin him.

DEVELOPMENT/PRODUCTION What Waxwork II: Lost in Time has in common with its progenitor is that the time periods to which the characters travel tend to bear a noticeable resemblance to familiar horror movies. The film picks up directly where its predecessor left off, with Mark (Zach Galligan) escaping the burning wax museum with his girlfriend Sarah (Monika Schnarre, replacing Deborah Foreman). Before either has a chance to recover, they both find themselves thrust into peril again as they enter a time portal that takes them through distorted planes of existence, where good battles evil in a movie-monster inspired arena.

According to Hickox, Mark has been brought into this environment because, “God has chosen him to fight as a sort of white angel. They actually go into a parallel universe where God and the devil fight it out in different vignettes, and use people like Zach and other human beings who’ve proven themselves as time warriors,” the director adds. “It’s not just a matter of time travel; they’ve actually gone into a different universe which is Cathagra-an old expression for purgatory. It’s a place between heaven and hell where people do battle.”

“We get to one of my favorite movies, THE HAUNTING—a wonderful parody all done on 18mm split diopter lenses—which outdoes the kitchen scene in WAXWORK by far. We’ve taken human mutilation to points never dared.” Hickox hoped the sequence’s black and white photography would help the bloody action pass the MPAA ratings board, since he was contractually bound to deliver an R-rated picture. “It’s not a gore movie,” said Hickox. “Eighty percent is very clean; then you’ve got these amazing moments where you can’t believe your eyes. WAXWORK was tongue-in cheek; this is comedy. We’re saying to the audience up front, ‘Feel free to laugh.’

“In the first one, there was a gag here and a little bit of silliness there, but it was basically a straight out horror movie—except for the ridiculous battle scene at the conclusion,” said Galligan of the difference in tone between the two movies. “This one is over-the-top but not inane—it’s believably over the top. I keep saying, ‘Tony, this is so exaggerated!’ He says, ‘I know, but it’s working.”

Hickox agreed with Galligan’s assessment of the first film’s ending. “That was a mistake!” admitted Hickox. “When you’re Mict young, you think you can do anything; then when you get to the set, you realize you can’t, and there’s nothing you can do-you’re locked in a corner. But you learn from your mistakes—I switch off the TV when I see that scene coming. One English paper did say it was the silliest ending to any movie ever. I suppose being the silliest is better than being forgotten.”

Though the film’s schedule was approximately the same as that of the first, experience and planning helped get more coverage. “The first two or three days were difficult, getting used to the pace at which Tony operates,” said Galligan. “He does 50 or 60 set-ups a day, which is almost unheard of. It’s three times more than I usually do, and there are no stand-ins, so we’re constantly on the set, constantly working.”

“I’m doing something else I haven’t done before, which is really making the actors work,” said Hickox. “I always felt silly before, making actors be emotional. They’re other people, and you’re trying to dig emotions out of them. Now I realize that’s what it’s about—to get that realism.”

The toughest challenge facing the Waxwork II crew, however, will be getting the film safely past the MPAA without any major cuts. Though Hickox has been shooting two versions of each gruesome scene for insurance (one slightly tamer than the other), he has also been throwing around other possibilities to protect the final film from being entirely goreless.

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“We’re thinking that if we put in silly sounds, that will help it pass,” reasons Hickox. “Like when eyeballs come out-there’s two ways you can play it, very graphically with a realistic sound or more of a ‘pop’ sound.”

Keen knows that Hickox usually pushes the limits in terms of gore. “Bob’s gotten used to me, so he always brings a few spare body parts,” jokes Hickox. Adds Keen, “We haven’t topped our all time record on the first Waxwork, where we pumped 35 gallons of blood, but we’re getting close.”

While shooting the zombie march in Los Angeles at the West Side Pavilion mall, blood wasn’t one of the more immediately pressing problems, though Hickox smiles. “I heard they’re still trying to scrub it off the floors.” What caused the most disruption were the sounds of gunfire shot off by the cast during filming.

“We nearly got closed down, because supposedly the M16s sounded like cannons outside the supermarket, so all we did all night was set off alarms,” recalls Hickox. “Drew Barrymore came along to play a cameo that night in the Nosferatu scene. We had to film those two scenes on the same night, so we had to build Nosferatu’s bedroom in the shopping mall. The passing crowd must have been thinking, ‘Why the hell are they building sets in a mall?'”

SPECIAL EFFECTS The tasks faced by Image Animation and Bob Keen on WAXWORK II included a seven-piece prosthetic makeup for Frankenstein’s monster, an eviscerated chest for Bruce Campbell, a man-in-a-suit alien, and a woman-to-panther transformation, not to mention various throwaway images like Godzilla and Mr. Hyde. “The trick about a WAXWORK film is that the effects are realistic, but they’re ultimately played for a laugh,” said Keen. “They are often amusing, but they are never phony or funny-looking, apart from Godzilla, who is a little more rounded and cute than the original.”

After putting his own spin on such timeless creatures of the night as vampires, werewolves and mummies in Anthony Hickox’s 1988 Waxwork, he returns to the fold for another parade of frightening folklore in Waxwork II: Lost in Time. This new excursion features variations on the Frankenstein Monster, Nosferatu and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, among others.

“I love doing classic creatures like Frankenstein,” enthuses Keen. “When you’re a kid trying to get into makeup effects, all you ever want to do is Frankenstein and werewolves. The nice thing about the Waxwork movies is that I have the chance to reinvent them.”

Getting away with using some of these copyrighted characters does occasionally pose some problems, but as writer-director Hickox explains, “It’s a satire and we’re doing our own versions of them, so it’s pretty free.” Keen adds, “The fact is that I don’t want to do the wonderful Universal classics because one, they’re copyrighted and two, there’s no fun in just duplicating someone else’s work.”

The two universes that Keen particularly enjoyed exploring were the Aliens-inspired landscape and a medieval, Poe-type world. For the space nasty. Keen created probably the screen’s first albino extraterrestrial. He describes the beast as a sort of crustacean that uses a huge endoskeleton of a monster as its armor, while inside hides a little “space sucker.” This idea was loosely inspired by the Dalek robots from Dr. Who, which Hickox has always been fond of.

“They had this protective shell that was mean, and inside there were actually these small slime monsters,” Hickox describes. “So imagine that inside this alien shell is a kind of weasely little slug controlling it all.”

Though monster favorites are an integral focus in the Waxwork framework, more modern creations also get the Keen touch. The lineup includes Godzilla (with a smoker’s cough). shopping mall zombies, a nifty albino alien and a woman who transforms into a panther.

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“It’s been four years since the last one. so the audience is more sophisticated, and we’re more sophisticated as a group,” comments Keen. “This movie is strong on the monster elements.

For the Poe segment, Keen designed the woman transforming into a big jungle cat, which he feels is one of the picture’s FX highlights. “She’s absolutely incredible,” Keen raves. “We have this five-stage transformation and end up with this beautiful mechanical head. It’s very sexy.”

One of Waxwork II’s grislier elements is a homage to the 1963 classic The Haunting. Shot in black and white, this sequence features Bruce Campbell with his chest cavity carved open in the shape of a diamond and fully exposed. While birds peck at it, other assorted maladies occur to make it more than just a “flesh wound.”

“It’s kind of asking, “What can you do to the human body and still keep somebody standing there?” Hickox grins. “It’s very Monty Pythonesque, and it’s certainly the most graphic scene, but it doesn’t play that way because it’s shot in black and white. The alien scene as it stands now is pretty graphic, and so is all the medieval stuff.”

In addition, a Dawn of the Deadlike segment set in a shopping mall promises to spurt enough grue to fill a beer keg. As Hickox explains, “The camera never shies away from a good death.”

CAST/CREW Directed Anthony Hickox Written  Anthony Hickox

Zach Galligan as Mark Loftmore Monika Schnarre as Sarah Brightman Martin Kemp as Baron Von Frankenstein Bruce Campbell as John Loftmore Michael Des Barres as George Jim Metzler as Roger Sophie Ward as Elenore Marina Sirtis as Gloria Billy Kane as Nigel Joe Baker as The Peasant Juliet Mills as The Defense Lawyer John Ireland as King Arthur Patrick Macnee as Sir Wilfred David Carradine as The Beggar Alexander Godunov as Scarabis

CREDITS/REFERENCES/SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Cinefantastique v22n06 Fangoria Horror Spectacular#05

DOUBLE FEATURE RETROSPECTIVE – Waxwork (1988)/Waxwork II Lost in Time (1992) SUMMARY In a small suburban town, a group of high school students--Mark Loftmore (Zach Galligan), China Webster (Michelle Johnson), Sarah Brightman (Deborah Foreman), Gemma (Clare Carey), James (Eric Brown) and Tony (Dana Ashbrook)visit a mysterious wax museum, resulting from Sarah and China's earlier encounter with a taciturn gentleman (Warner) who claims to own the exhibit and extends them an invitation.