The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: The Phantom of the Opera from Toony Terrors by NECA

 

   I'm really glad that Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera still gets lumped in with the classic Universal Monsters. He's from the silent era, so he predates the classic Universal Horror period of 1931 to 1960, and the film is in the public domain. Still, I think he belongs as he's one of Lon Chaney's strongest creations and he just feels right at home next to the other classics. I like him better than Claude Rain's Phantom from 1943 and I'm glad NECA picked him for the second series of Toony Terrors focused on the Universal Monsters. I'm excited to review the Phanton as he is one of my favorites. So... let's address this figure's height: He's 5 1/2 inches tall. Yes, this year's theme is The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror, so wouldn't you expect a shorter figure? I originally wanted to just do minifigures and shorter stuff, but I really want to work these guys in. Besides, these are shorter than your standard horror action figures, right? Yeah, of course. Let's go ahead and count the Phantom! Join me after the break...

The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: The Mummy's Tomb from Universal Studios Monsters by Jack in the Box

   Just this past weekend I reviewed the Mummy from the 1999 Jack in the Box "Universal Studios Monsters" promotion and I mentioned that there were actually two sets Jack in the Box Universal Monsters toys included with the kids meals from different years. Today I'm going to check out the Mummy again, but this time it's from the 2002 promotion where it was billed as "The Mummy's Tomb." Now, The Mummy's Tomb is the title of the 1942 film in he Kharis series, but I don't think this figure is really connected to that film. I did hint that I was going to check out something from this second Jack in the Box Universal Monsters promotion in a previous review, so, how about that? I try to always do what I say I'm going to do! This second set seems to be much more uncommon, perhaps even selling out fairly fast and causing many folks heading to Jack in the Box for Monster Tacos and curly fries to come up as empty as Dracula's coffin on a cold, October night. I actually remember being in a Jack in the Box where a friend of mine worked during this promotion and seeing at least one angry customer who was at the drive-thru come inside the store because their didn't get a "monster" with their order. This lady was really aggravated and was threatening to call the police for fraud since the store was advertising the product. She kept demanding that my friend come out from behind the counter and pull down the big cardboard standup or whatever that showed off the toys that were available since it was false advertising. 

   I get aggravated when restaurants don't seem to have availability or any knowledge of their own promotions, too, but this lady was taking it way too far! Anyways, I never expected that 23 years later I'd be writing about those Universal Monsters toys on my own website. While the 1999 promotion accompanied a rerelease of the films on home media, a Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights themed attraction, and the release of the remake of The Mummy, I don't think much happened with classic Universal Horror in 2002 except for a showing of many of the films on AMC's 7-day MonsterFest event. I guess that just shows there's never any event needed to celebrate the Universal Monsters! Let's look at the 2002 fast food offering of the Mummy after the break...

The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: Creature from the Black Lagoon from Vinyl SODA by Funko

 

   Ready for a dive into the murky depths of the Black Lagoon today! I hope so, because that's where we are headed as we look at the Creature from the Black Lagoon from Funko's now defunct Vinyl SODA line. I really liked these little figures in the cool metal soda can containers but apparently they were too much of a hassle for Funko. Besides Funko just releasing too much product over the last few years (remember how they scrapped $30 million worth of merchandise in 2023) and causing a glut, apparently the Vinyl SODA line was particularly problematic as the metal cans were getting more expensive to produce and people would order full cases of these figures, open them until they got the chase figure, and then return the rest, causing many retailers to get stuck with an excess of unsold items. The Gill-man was originally exclusive to Gemini Collectibles with a metallic variant packed at a 1:6 ratio. This is just the standard version, though, because I really liked the style of these. I like the Vinyl SODA designs even better than Funko POP! figures, so I'm sad they disappeared so soon. Ready to take a look at the Creature? Then dive in and join me after the break...

The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: Female Alien (They Live) from Universal Horror Classics Tiny Mights by CultureFly

 

   I think everyone realizes that I usually start working on my 31 day Halloween countdown before October. If I didn't start around July or August like I usually do, I'd spend every day working on toy reviews all through October. Starting early is a nice way to ease myself into the spooky season, too. As of my writing this, it's September 23rd and I have yet to find any more of the Universal Horror Classics Tiny Mights at 5 Below. I originally found five of the figures back in mid-July and that was the last time I've seen any of them. I've been looking, too, as I really want the Michael Myers minis, Laurie Strode, and the An American Werewolf in London Kessler Werewolf. I managed to find all of the They Live minis, though, so let's start checking out that subset by looking at the Female Alien minifigure. That's a generic name for sure (some other products call them Ghouls rather than Aliens and I've seen John Carpenter himself call them both, along with just "creatures"), and this little figure could easily be one of a number of female aliens from the film. I do wonder if she's based on this particular alien, though, as the dresses look similar and NECA also made a figure of the same character, so presumably the figure might be in some sort of licensing guide or something? Let's take a look at the Female Alien minifigure after the break...

The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: Vampire Organist/ Dracula from Haunted Haven by Caldor/ Four Star

 

   This isn't the oldest toy or collectible I'm reviewing for this year's 31 Days of Toy Terror but it might be one of the most unusual and uncommon. It's certainly not a rare or valuable collectible by any means, but it's not something commonly seen in reviews and collections. In fact, I don't even know the official name of the release, so Vampire Organist or Dracula is just my best guess. So what exactly is this guy? He's actually a polyresin collectible figure from a Halloween village collection sold exclusively by the now defunct retailer Caldor (the manufacturer is listed as Four Star) in the early to mid-1990s. Are you familiar with those little ceramic or porcelain Christmas villages (or Dickens Villages) that people set up and decorate with miniature figures, fences, trees, lamp posts and such? Well, Haunted Haven was like that but for Halloween. I was enamored with Dickens Villages as a kid and when I discovered they had Halloween villages as well I was even more thrilled. I've always liked dioramas and little village and town setups, so when I was younger my parents would by these for me around Halloween to make little scenes. I don't recall having any of the houses or buildings but I did have quite a few of the figures and little pieces and such. The best I can find is that this guy was sold in 1994, so I would have been 10 or 11 when I got him. I still have quite a few of my original ones from childhood and they're mixed in with my various horror collections and shelves. Should we take a look at this vampire organist who very well may be Count Dracula? Then join me after the break...

The Incredible Shrinking 31 Days of Toy Terror: The Mummy from Universal Studios Monsters by Jack in the Box

   Want some frights with your shakes? Then let's jump in and take a look at some good old fashioned fast food fright with a look at the Mummy from the 1999 Universal Studios Monsters promotional event at Jack in the Box. Yes, you heard me right: Jack in the Box! Most everyone is familiar with the famous Burger King Kid's Club Universal Monsters from 1997 (NECA even did a tribute to them), but you don't hear much about the Jack in the Box Universal Monsters promo. In fact, they did two promos: One in 1999 and another in 2002. I actually have a funny anecdote about that promotion, but I'll save it for later this month (*wink*). So, Jack in the Box with the Universal Monsters in 1999? What's the deal? Did they miss out on the Star Wars: Episode I License? Well, yeah, but 1999 was actually a big year for the classic Universal Horror license as the remake of The Mummy was released (and is still freaking awesome), there was a rerelease of the most prominent films with new documentaries included, and Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights 1999 features two haunted attractions based on the characters: The Mummy, based on the film from that year, and Creature Features, featuring the classic characters. There are six figures in the set (The Mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolf Man, the Phantom, and the Creature, all of which can be seen at Chris Does Comics) and I do have them all, but I picked the Mummy. He wasn't in the Burger King set and he's a pretty clever little toy. Ready to break an ancient curse and check out the Mummy? Then join me after the break...

Attack of the 7-inch 31 Days of Toy Terror: Van Helsing (Horror of Dracula) from Hammer House of Horror by NECA

 

   While it feels like these figures are only trickling out, NECA's classic horror has been one of my favorite things over the past year and almost every new release is worth celebrating. While the Universal Monsters action figures seem to be their primary focus, NECA has also released a number of public domain and silent film characters in their Classic Monsters line. They've also just started getting into the Hammer films with Christopher Lee's take on Count Dracula released last year. Peter Cushing's Van Helsing is a newer release from the past six months or so, now giving us someone to take on the Count.  I've watched a handful of Hammer horror films over the years but not all of them. My watch marathon of all of the classic Universal horror films is still going (as of my writing this review back in August I'm at 1953's It Came From Outer Space) but when I'm done there I'm still deciding if I want to  make my way through Vincent Price's filmography or the Hammer horror releases. NECA's pair of figures are based on 1958's Dracula, or Horror of Dracula, as it was titled in the United States. Starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Melissa Stribling, and Michael Gough (Alfred Pennyworth!), the film was a hit and spawned eight sequels, six with Christopher Lee returning as the Count. I don't know if NECA has plans to go all in on the Hammer House of Horror line or if they're only planning to do Lee and Cushing due to their popularity, but I'd love to see Ingrid Pitt and Madeline Smith from The Vampire Lovers, Raquel Welch from One Million Years B.C., Cushing and Lee as Baron Frankenstein and the Creature, Hammer's take on the Werewolf, and perhaps the Collinson twins from Twins of Evil.  I know there have been other Van Helsing figures made (along with other collectibles based on Cushing's Van Helsing), but this one is great because you can mix him with so many other classic horror icons. Ready to take a look at Peter Cushing's take on the heroic Dr. Van Helsing? Then join me after the break...