Entertainment

20 Years Later, Jared Padalecki’s Cult Horror Flop With a ‘Glimore Girls’ Co-Star Is a Free Streaming Hit

Published

7 days ago

30 November 2025

20 Years Later, Jared Padalecki’s Cult Horror Flop With a 'Glimore Girls' Co-Star Is a Free Streaming Hit

Before he shot to global fame as Sam Winchester on Supernatural, Jared Padalecki tested out the horror waters with two distinct films. One of them was House of Wax, a remake of the 1953 classic that critics pounced on at the time, but in true genre fashion, has aged like fine wine. House of Wax has since solidified its position as a cult favorite, buoyed by its campy thrills and a Gilmore Girls reunion between Padalecki and co-star Chad Michael Murray (Sullivan’s Crossing). The film has mostly stayed in the background as Padalecki’s bigger projects soaked up the spotlight, but now it’s having a renewed moment in the sun as House of Wax has snapped a solid spot as one of the most popular titles on a free streaming platform.

The film marked the feature directorial debut of Jaume Collet-Serra, who has become one of the busiest filmmakers working today. His recent Netflix movie, Carry-On, premiered to record-breaking numbers on the streamer. His work on House of Wax was heavily critiqued as many couldn’t help but make comparisons to its classic predecessor. The critics slapped it with a 27% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but that didn’t hinder its subsequent rise to cult status. The turnout in theaters was quite impressive as the film made just over $70 million against a $40 million budget. One of the producers, Susan Downey (Play Dirty), recently told Collider how proud they were of the film while recounting the dangerous on-set fire incident they encountered. Check out the synopsis below:

“A gang of college friends, including Wade (Jared Padalecki) and his girlfriend, Carly (Elisha Cuthbert), are en route to a school football game when they wind up with a flat tire in a ghost town. They are forced to seek help in the only place that’s open: the local wax museum. Once inside the spooky and seemingly abandoned building, they find the works on display are not quite what they seem — and the group soon discovers it’s being hunted by the insane twin brothers who run the museum.”

What Is Jared Padalecki Doing Next?

Padalecki has a busy slate of projects lined up for the near future. Fans are eagerly anticipating his Supernatural reunion with Jensen Ackles in the final season of the hit superhero satire, The Boys. He’s also reuniting with Walker showrunner Anna Fricke for an untitled medical drama that recently received a full series order at CBS. In the series, Padalecki will play a headstrong but devoted doctor “who practices his unique style of improvisational medicine alongside his new protégé, a young doctor escaping her past, as they operate a mobile clinic and heal the bodies and souls of their underserved community in the medical desert of rural Texas.” Filming is set to begin in Texas this January.

Padalecki is also making his return to movies for the first time in over a decade. He’s booked a lead role in the Netflix rom-com Bodyguard, adapted from Katherine Center’s 2022 novel. He’ll star opposite Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester, who plays the titular character hired to work for Padalecki’s movie star. Filming is scheduled to begin this December in Canada. Stay tuned for more updates on Padalecki’s upcoming projects.

You can stream House of Wax now for free on Tubi. Check out the trailer above.