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All the above companies are gearing up to unleash a wide variety of new offerings in the coming months, and we have the lowdown on everything you can look forward to.
Today we take a sneak peek into the future and check out some upcoming toys that all of us horror fans absolutely need to own. Best of all, there’s no time machine required for this romp through the future; all you need to do is click and scroll.
So let’s get to it, shall we?!
Last year NECA dominated the horror toy scene, releasing action figures of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger that were based on their respective 8-bit NES games from the late 1980s. Not surprisingly, the unique toys were incredibly popular and sought after, and NECA continues the fun this year with an NES-style Predator figure. Yes, there was indeed an NES game based on Predator released in 1987, and this colorful tribute totally nails the look of that game’s titular character. It’s set for release in May.
Speaking of retro-style figures, it seems all that’s old is new again in the world of toys, and NECA took advantage of that fact with last year’s vintage-style Jason and Freddy figures, inspired by the simplistic design of the MEGO toys that dominated the scene in the 1970s. Evil Dead 2‘s Ash joins the retro line later this year, available in both ‘Hero Ash’ and ‘Evil Ash’ forms. A Friday the 13th: Part 2 version of Jason is also being added to the line this coming summer along with a Part 5 imposter Jason, which is the very first action figure ever made of copycat paramedic Roy Burns. All four of the toys feature real cloth outfits and include various accessories.
Last year a company called Super7 released a line of toys based on Alien that they dubbed ‘ReAction Figures,’ which were actually modern day recreations of vintage toys that Kenner had planned on putting out way back in 1979. The company has since joined forces with Funko, and together they’re releasing a massive line of ReAction Figures this year, giving the retro-style look to everyone from Trick ‘r Treat‘s Sam to Hellraiser‘s Pinhead. Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and a whole slew of other horror icons also get the Kenner-inspired treatment with varying release dates attached to them.
Though Mezco recently released a replica Chucky doll based on the pint-sized terror’s look in the more recent installments in the Child’s Play franchise, they have to date not given the same treatment to the original Good Guys doll seen in the earlier films. That changes this coming Halloween season, when they release this 15″ mega-scale Chucky doll, which looks more like the original character that we all initially fell in love with. Oh, and did I mention that it talks? Yep, this screen-accurate doll belts out iconic lines and phrases from the film.
Ready to feel old? This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Nightmare on Elm Street, and NECA is celebrating by putting out what they’re calling the ‘Ultimate Freddy Krueger’ action figure. The 7″ figure, based on Krueger’s original look, is equipped with a brand new head sculpt and includes all sorts of accessories, including two alternate heads, the infamous ‘tongue phone’ and even Tina’s skinned face. The tribute figure is set for release in September and is hands down one of the most impressive looking Freddy toys that we’ve ever seen.
Earlier this year at Toy Fair, Mezco unveiled the latest addition to their growing line of toys based on Psycho, which kicked off last year with the release of Norman Bates and Marion Crane Living Dead Dolls. Later this year they release the first ever toy of Norman’s beloved mother in the form of a plush doll with rotocast head, arms and feet. It’s a perfect companion piece to the Living Dead Dolls, reuniting Norman and his mother on your toy shelf!
Say what you want about Texas Chainsaw 3D, but there’s no denying that Leatherface looked pretty damn badass in his polarizing latest outing. The chainsaw-wielding maniac has been honored with countless toys over the years, and his new look is now being immortalized in polystone, courtesy of Hollywood Collectibles Group. Set to begin shipping out in the second quarter of this year, the statue measures 20″ tall and is limited to only 500 pieces worldwide. Whether you had fun with the film or hated it, you must admit that this is a must-own collectible for all fans of the franchise that just keeps revving on.
The Ring‘s Sadako/Samara makes her action figure debut later this year as Japanese toy company Bandai releases this highly articulated version of one of the creepiest characters in the history of horror cinema. Set to crawl its way out of the well in July, the toy comes apart at the waist and includes a TV set display base, allowing you to make it appear as if Sadako is emerging from the TV. Alternate hands and head will be included with one head fully covered in hair and the other exposing the eyeball that resulted in a million nightmares.
If you’re asking me, the best thing that TV has got going for it right now is NBC’s “Hannibal,” which takes existing characters and storylines and injects so much new life into them that’s it hard to even drawn comparisons between the show and previous depictions of those characters and events. The folks over at Funko are as into the show as we are, and just a few weeks back they showed off these mock-up images of an upcoming line of their fan-favorite POP! Vinyl figures based on the show. No word yet on when they’ll be available, but we can expect them to begin shipping out around the time of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con – an event that the bloody Hannibal variant will be exclusive to.
One of the most controversial horror toys of all time is Kenner’s 18″ Alien figure, released back in 1979. Amidst parental complaints that the toy was far too frightening for children to be playing with, the figure was pulled from shelves and has since gone on to become a hot commodity amongst collectors. Later this year Gentle Giant releases their own version of that controversial toy, which is an exact replica, only rescaled to a height of 24″ tall. The figure will be packaged in a period-authentic box and will give us all a chance to own a true piece of horror toy history without maxing out our credit cards for an original one on eBay. And that’s something we should all be happy about!