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NECA - Waves One and Two...Freddy's coming for you

The first thing I must do boils and ghouls is apologise.

Apologise not only for this being a lengthy review (as I'm afraid I decided to sit on this one until Toyfair 2012) but for probably costing you some of your hard earned cash and also for the amount of photographs in this review. The camera, is it said, tells no lies and I can tell you for sure that in this case it is the absolute truth. The figures under review here are really as detailed and as cool as they look.

Let's get on with the show...

In 1984, the horror movie landscape changed forever when Writer/Director/Genius Wes Craven was able (with no small amount of assistance from New Line Cinema) to bring to the big screen one of the all time memorable movie villains and the start of a series of movies that would scare the pants off teens and adults alike for the next 25 years plus.

A Nightmare on Elm Street was a revelation. Freddy Krueger may have been born as the 'Bastard Son of a 1000 Maniacs' but his offspring would number in their millions as everyone who ever saw any of the Nightmare series of films would carry Freddy around with them forever.

Now, thanks to New Jersey's own maniacs (and I mean that in the nicest possible way) NECA Toys we can all carry our own bit of Freddy in several flavours.

This review will bring, for your delectation, coverage of the first two waves of NECA's Nightmare on Elm Street action figure line and what a couple of waves they are.

NECA Toys, like Nightmare on Elm  Street, are giving a shot in the arm to the industry of which they are a part bring affordable yet very detailed pieces to collectors worldwide. Make no mistake however, these may be termed as Action Figures but they certainly ain't for kids...

Instead, these figures are almost 7 inch scale works of art just ready to be placed into the display of Fred-Heads worldwide.

With over a decade and a half of experience in the collector realm NECA have decided to dive right in and bring us the lines that they, as movie fans themselves, would live to see. The Nightmare on Elm Street License is just one of many properties for this growing company.

In late Summer 2011 the first release of, as I term it, 'NECA's New Wave' was released.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Wave One

This wave consists of two figures (a pattern that it looks like NECA is intending to repeat with their movie licences) which helps to keep both the expense for the customer and presumably the tooling costs of the company at an easily manageable level.


Both figures come packed in a slimline clamshell style and so that they look as good on the pegs as they do in hand. Nothing has been left to chance with these releases even the backing slip is a lovely work of art.

Showcasing the ubiquitous boiler room theme that plays so well to the character and is cast, as you can see, with the deep blood red colour scheme.





The first wave, sensibly, features a Freddy from the original movie (a 'classic' Freddy if you will) and also Freddy from the underrated Part 2 : Freddy's Revenge.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET - 'CLASSIC' FREDDY

The first movie's figure represents all major aspects of Freddy's appearance in the movie and is certainly one of the finest figures to have graced shelves in a long time.

Sporting the correct colour scheme on the jumper certainly gained major points in my book as some companies (who shall not be named) have previously ignored the very salient point that there are no stripes on the sleeves in the original film.

The portrait work on the sculpting is excellent. reproducing in amazing detail the blistered and burned effect of  David Miller's prosthetic.

Indeed, the figure actually comes with an alternate head taken from the scene where Nancy pulls the flesh from Freddy's face leaving the skull beneath.

Which, I'm sure that you'll agree is an absolutely astounding piece of of work.

In addition to the facial likeness the figure also manages to capture perfectly  Robert Englund's gait and stance when portraying Krueger.

As you can see from the above photo there are 7 visible points of articulation (neck, shoulders, elbows and wrists) allowing for a range of stances but there is also a 'hidden' waist movement allowing you to pose Freddy as you think he should be.

The legs themselves whilst not articulated really sell the character and the ankles provide stability with an ingenious range of movement meaning no cumbersome stands are required.

Obviously, the major feature of Freddy as a character is the razor glove and again, NECA have not scrimped on their sculpting here with a great representation of the original glove.

Whilst my particular figure has escaped relatively unscathed as the razors are so relatively thin they are susceptible to a bit of bending in the package but a gentle straightening should put this straight (if you psrdon the pun).

In addition to the extra headsculpt NECA have also included something that really takes this figure to the next level. One of the most memorable scenes from the original movie sees Freddy stalking Tina through an alleyway only for his arms to reach out to the entire width of the alley effectively blocking any exit.

NECA have included the extended arms for you to replicate this scene should you so desire and it is as simple as pulling out the original arms, slotting the new ones in and swapping the handsculpts onto the ball joint at the bottom of the arms.

Simply amazing.

Overall, this figure is definitely the piece that I have waited for for a long, long time. The perfect marriage of affordability, sculpting and that X factor that makes this figure so special.

It is, for anyone remotely interested in the character a 'Must Have' item.

This figure is still available from some retailers although supplies are becoming scarcer as more and more people are hearing about the work that NECA is doing and seeking them out.

The best deal I have seen is on Amazon  HERE 

This is where I ordered my own figure from and it was received within 2 days of ordering.

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART TWO : FREDDY'S REVENGE

For those of us however who want to go a little deeper NECA have got us covered as the second figure from the wave features Freddy as he appeared in the second film.

Again, the figure uses the same basic figure with the changes to the buck being mostly cosmetic but the jumper itself has more defined 'stitching' and a weathered look to the collar and cuffs.

However, in keeping with the likeness from the film, the facial sculpt has changed reflecting the change to the prosthetic make-up made by Kevin Yeagher and giving us the 'standard' Krueger look that we all came to love.

Once again, the sculpting of the portrait is knocked out of the park. 

Once again, NECA have included (as they did with the first figure) a removable Fedora allowing you to display Freddy with or without his trademark hat.

This time though there is a real reason for you to choose this as in addition to the sterling work on the portrait they have decided to showcase the 'brain' scene in an amazing way.

Once again, for your displaying alternative there is another headsculpt this one being a more 'sedate' expression of disgust from Mr. K.

In addition to the glove, and once again, a fact that isn't noticed by a lot of folks is that for the majority of the movie the blades are actually extensions of Freddy's fingers. Fortunately being the sticklers for detail that they are NECA know this and have supplied, as well as the glove, a correct handsculpt.

Another absolute gem of a figure and well worth a place in your collection either as your 'default' Freddy or as an addition to the Nightmare on Elm Street line as a whole which continued with the December release of...

A Nightmare on Elm Street Wave Two

This time round after giving us two relatively neutral Freddy figures NECA went all out and gave us two heavily stylised and frankly bowel-looseningly awesome pieces of art.

As Wave One dealt with the first two movies Wave Two deal with the next two movies in the franchise.

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET III : DREAM WARRIORS

One of the many memorable scenes in the third movie was Freddy revealing his 'Chest of Souls' taken from all of his victims and NECA have brought this to us in three dimensions.

Once again , this is far from a plain, boring action figure with the chest especially realised in great detail.

But that's not the only selling element of this figure (although, quite honestly, it's more than enough) there is also a new portrait, an alternate portrait and an updated glove sculpt.

Again, this figure features the same basic articulation as the other figures in the range but this, to me, is more of a 'single pose' figure. You find the best pose and leave it as is. I can certainly see this being a sticking point for some collectors but, to me, this is clearly how this figure is intended.

This time there is another pack-in. A pack-in that appealed massively to me. An in-scale version of the papier mache house made by Kristen at the start of the movie. This is a really nice piece for display with the figures and really, really adds to the value for money of this figure.

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 4 : THE DREAM MASTER

Speaking of value for money, the next figure in the range is easily the most heavily and detailed sculpting that I have EVER seen on a 7 inch scale figure. Quite how NECA have been able to release this figure as the price point that they have is beyond me.

This time instead on a single portrait there are several. There are also fully sculpted and articulated arms a-plenty. This is clearly a tour-de-force in sculpting.

Again, like the Part 3 figure, to me, this is clearly intended as more of a statue than an 'action figure' although with the amount of articulation involved on this piece it really could not be classed as anything else.

Featuring the climax of the 4th movie I really cannot express in words how remarkable this piece is. I can only hope that the following photos try and convey it somehow.

This time there are no accessories. A statement that seems to be a little redundant given the actual product.

As a fan of the franchise since 1985 these figures are literally a gift from the Merchandise Gods to my shelves and the price point is mind-blowing as far as value for money is concerned.

As well as the above link from Amazon the figures are also available in the UK from many specialist collector shops such as Forbidden Planet and other shops that stock collectors figures. If I were you I'd pick 'em up as soon possible.

I truly cannot recommend this line highly enough to you.

NECA really are undergoing the initial stages of a much bigger step for the company and if these products are anything to go by the future is VERY bright for them.

The next 'horror' figures due for release by them are the first wave of the 'Evil Dead' figures providing the same quality of sculpting and articulation evidenced in this line and I look forward to reviewing them for you in the future.

On Sunday 12th February 2012 at Toyfair in New York NECA revealed the next two figures in the Nightmare on Elm Street Line as can be seen in the pictures below taken from Cool Toy Review. I'm certainly looking forward to the next wave...as should you.

You can follow NECA on twitter at @NECA_Toys

or you could check out their website at http://necaonline.com/

Next up I'll be reviewing another recent NECA addition to my collection, again from the Nightmare on Elm Street line, the 1984 Glove Prop Replica.

DVD REVIEW - 'AUTOPSY OF THE DEAD'

In a small Pennsylvania town in 1967 as the 'Summer of Love' drew to a close a group of people got together to make a small, low budget movie. No-one could have foreseen the impact that the film would have on the world of Horror cinema.

The Zombies were truly out of their box and this time they wouldn't go back.

This film was, of course, George Romero's Night of the Living Dead. The first chapter in a film series that would, for better or worse, come to dominate Romero's career.

Many hours and pages have been spent over the last 40 plus years in discussing the film, it's effect on popular culture, the making of the movie and the why's and wherefores of why this movie had such an impact. The only glaring omission was a true in-depth documentary showcasing the cast and crew of this filmic landmark.

It was into this breach that the makers of the 'Autopsy of the Dead' stepped.

I was turned onto this DVD by a friend of mine who thought that I may appreciate it. I swiftly placed my order with the film-makers at their website www.autopsyofthedead.com  and just over a week later it dropped through my mailbox.

With a running time of 144 minutes and contributions from a lot of folks I was positively champing at the bit to stick it in the player and sit down for over two hours of 'making of' goodness.

A very pleasant surprise was the inclusion of a signed 7x5 portrait (1 of 10 available) of one of the interviewed subjects as a freebie.

The DVD package itself was extremely well put together and features a host of bonus material. Aside from the Documentary itself there is a 'then and now' location visits feature, an original 1967 newsreel broadcast (absolutely fantastic)  together with original Trailers, Radio and TV Spots for the Night of the Living Dead.

For me though the Stills Galleries alone were worth the price of admission. Original Productions stills, archived props and also memorabilia from the movie that has been released since. As a Horror-Fiend and film-maker myself it is these areas that I am most interested in.

Which brings me to the Main Course...the Autopsy of the Dead.

Director Jeff Carney has clearly produced a true labour of love. Well lit, Well produced and highly detailed. The content of the stories told within this documentary were great, the colour photos taken at the time of production astounding and the breadth of interview subjects impressive.

A notable exception was any form of input from Romero himself whether by a new interview or from using archived interview footage. There were obviously reasons for this and I am sure that Carney would have LOVED nothing more than to counter point some of the tales told with Romero's own views on the same.

The content therefore is way up there. The ultimate execution however falls at the last hurdle.

The very basic flaw is that this documentary is overlong, under-edited and doesn't follow any real linear narrative. The initial narration is badly delivered and rushed. Too much information given in too little a time.

The interview subjects themselves (with one or two notable exceptions) are old and are given to pauses and rambling stories which could (and should) have been truncated in the edit suite. Somewhere in this project is a very, very good documentary. If they had reduced the running time to 100 minutes this would easily be one of the best 'making of' features for any movie. It just falls short of what is clearly in there and intended by the film-makers and this is a source of frustration.

That is not to say that I didn't enjoy it. On the contrary in fact, I loved it, it could just have been so much better.

One of the highlights of the feature is Kyra Schon (the real life daughter of  producer Karl Hardman who also played 'Harry' and who played the memorable young girl 'Karen' in the movie) being interviewed in the actual cellar where the filming took place in 1967.

Another two very interesting interview subjects are Gary Streiner and Bill Hinzman providing many, many very cool stories and tidbits, Streiner especially at times laughing at the recollection of the naivete of the crew's production tricks and special effects work.

Overall then an exceedingly great package providing excellent value for money but only for real fans of the movie as the 'not we's' may find it a bit of a slog. Having said that, it's hardly likely than any non-fan would be buying this in the first place.

In brief then, a highly detailed, professional piece that is hampered by a poor edit.

Certainly though a disc that I'm happy to have in the collection.

Overall rating - 4/5.

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