Over the past couple months here on FEARNET, we’ve taken a look at the top 10 must-own toys from most of the big horror franchises, including Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre,Friday the 13th, Child’s Play, Evil Dead and, most recently, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Though that still leaves a couple franchises left to cover, we take a break from franchise horror today, to talk about toys based on either standalone films, or smaller franchises that haven’t even been given ten toys over the years.
So here are 10 more horror toys that no fan’s collection should be without!
We’ve talked about McFarlane’s Movie Maniacs here in this feature several times, which was the line that gave us the very first figures of many of our favorite horror icons. It was in 2001 that they released Series 4 of the Movie Maniacs line, which included a deluxe boxed set in tribute to Jaws. A recreation of Quint’s gory demise from the film, the highly detailed boxed set included the Orca, the killer shark and even the first and only action figure of Quint himself. Quint was mostly an accessory for Bruce’s mouth, and so he didn’t receive nearly as much detail as the rest of the set, but still pretty awesome to actually have a toy of such a badass character. These have become incredibly rare and valuable, oftentimes selling for around $150.
Another iconic horror movie that McFarlane immortalized in plastic was David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of The Fly, which flew its way into 2000’s third series of the Movie Maniacs line. Complete with its very own base, with fly drool all over it, the icky 6” figure depicted Seth Brundle in his full ‘Brundlefly’ form, and was even outfitted with genuine insect hairs – well, genuinely faux insect hairs. McFarlane’s Brundefly can be purchased for around $20, which is a small price to pay for what is a truly awesome toy.
Though McFarlane gave us figures of The Thing’s ‘Norris Creature’ and ‘Blair Monster,’ it was another toy company that released the one and only toy of flamethrower-wielding hero R.J. MacReady. It was SOTA Toys that put out this incredible box set in 2006, depicting a standoff between MacReady and the infected thing-dogs that mutate early on in the film. The set was included in the third and final series of their Now Playing line, and you’ll nowadays have to spend somewhere in the ballpark of $100 to get your hands on one.
Speaking of awesome horror movies from the 80s that are loaded with incredible practical effects, SOTA Toys also released this particularly unique American Werewolf in London figure, in the first series of their Now Playing line. Yep, before turning the werewolf or Jack into a toy, SOTA instead gave that honor to one of the Nazi demons from the film’s memorable nightmare sequence. The figure came packaged with an alternate head, thereby making it two Nazi demons in one, and two variants were exclusively released to different retailers, which had different alternate heads. These have been recently selling for no more than $15, over on eBay. SOTA had planned on releasing a box set of Jack and the Kessler wolf, though it never saw release due to the Now Playing line coming to an end after Series 3.
Now Playing Series 2 included the world’s first Killer Klowns from Outer Space action figure, a toy of one of the titular Klowns that came with a popcorn gun and one of the infamous cotton candy cocoons. A variant was made exclusively available at Tower Records, which saw the Klown decked out in a blue outfit, and both of the figures can presently be purchased on eBay for anywhere between $50 and $100 apiece. If those prices are a little too high for your liking, Amok Time recently released two Killer Klowns figures of their own, which you can bring home for a whole lot less.
Speaking of Amok Time, they also released the first-ever officially licensed Return of the Living Dead figure a few years back, depicting the film’s most iconic zombie; Tarman. The figure is part of their Monstarz line, which also includes Bub and Dr. Tongue from Day of the Dead. Tarman comes packaged with a display base, which includes the Trioxin canister he emerged from and his favorite thing in the world; a fresh brain. Still in production, this figure can be purchased through Amok Time’s website for $24.99. More Return of the Living Dead toys, please!
If you’re asking me, Leslie Vernon is one of the more iconic horror villains of the last several years, a guy that deserves to come up in conversations about guys like Freddy, Jason and Michael. The star of the highly underrated 2006 masterpiece Behind The Mask, Leslie Vernon is one of the more charismatic horror villains of all time, a guy that takes us behind the scenes to show us what life is really like for a horror icon. Neil DeConte’s company DeConte Figures and Collectibles acquired the Behind the Mask license a few years back, and gave us our first Leslie Vernon action figure in 2012. You can grab one of the 7” figures over on the DeConte website for $25.
While we’re on the subject of recent horror villains that left an impact, now’s a good a time as any to talk about Wolf Creek, the 2005 Australian flick that spawns a sequel later this year. In 2012, Australian toy company Ikon Collectables released this 7” bobblehead of the film’s badass killer Mick Taylor, who is brandishing a rifle and holding the severed head of one of his many victims. The bobblehead is available exclusively through Pop Cultcha, currently selling for $26.38. That's not a bobblehead... THIS, is a bobblehead!
No listing of cool horror toys could ever be complete without mentioning NECA, who added Phantasm’s Tall Man to the second series of their Cult Classics line, back in 2005. Tall Man came complete with his trademark silver sphere, a display base and even one of the midget minions from the film, and this figure is to date the only Phantasm toy we’ve ever seen. You can add one of these to your collection for around $20. And if you’re not yet convinced about how awesome it is, be sure to check out an epic Christmas morning reaction from a super cool little horror fan, who received one this past holiday season!
Two years after paying tribute to The Exorcist’s frightening crab walk scene in Cult Classics Series 7, NECA released this deluxe box set in 2010, which took Exorcist toys to a whole new level. Another highly memorable sequence from the film came to life with this set, which played the eerie theme music from the film. As if that wasn’t cool enough, Regan’s head spins slowly around as the music plays, giving some action to what is otherwise a totally awesome display piece. $50 is all you’ll need to part with to bring one of these bad boys into your home. And if you’re asking me, It’s always an excellent day to add cool toys to your collection, so get on that!
If anyone’s interested in a Part 2 of this post, comment below and let us know which toys you’d like to see featured in it!