Thursday, May 29, 2008
By: The Undead Comic
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Cinema of Fear Stylized 9" Jason Voorhees is now available from MEZCO Toys and we've got a review of the toy inside for ya. The latest addition to the popular Cinema of Fear line is here! Once again the twisted minds of Mezco have outdone themselves with this new Stylized Jason figure variant. Just like the regular edition, this 10 inch tall terror has a removable trademark hockey mask, three camper killing weapons, real cloth clothing, and fourteen points of articulation. What makes this variant unique is his “fresh from the grave” mouldering skin tone, his dark brown pants, and his uniquely battle damaged mask. Read on for the review.
MEZCOS CINEMA OF FEAR STYLIZED 9” JASON VOORHEES
Friday the 13th is one of those undying franchises that survives in spite of itself. I mean, the movies are barely distinguishable from each other in terms of their large strokes, and folks, by any estimation, they’re pretty lacking in many of the things that make movies more than passably enjoyable. Us fans that come back again and again to watch what is, in many ways, the same movie, are interested in specific recurring details. For me the biggest of those details, bigger than body count or the laughably juvenile T&A, is Jason himself. Jason Voorhees is truly a horror icon remaining a compelling symbolic figure for fans through decades whether presented as a deformed troglodyte, hidden faced stand-in for everybody’s future date with the Grim Reaper, or a dull eyed ogre. Comic books, action figures, t-shirt art and fan based paraphernalia of all kinds have offered endless riffs on his persona seeing him as a figure of everything from the bogeyman to male empowerment.
Me? I find it all interesting enough not to write any of it off from the get go. Clearly Jason’s iconic malleability resides in the fallback presence of the mask. Whatever we’re shown underneath it, we always know the real Jason is a mystery just like death, and in that mystery reside our very real fears, which body count, T&A, and movies themselves, not even myth itself, can erase. He embodies our strong suspicion that evil seems a presence every bit as personal as goodness. We have a sense of being relentlessly hated, hunted. Jason is first and foremost our affirmation that there is indeed a reason to occasionally look back over our shoulder at what might, correction, who might be coming. I loves me some Jason. So along with all my other Sideshow figs and the PF format version I was really happy to get this 2008 Convention Exclusive.
First up was the packaging. Splashy Friday the 13th logo, classy looking 2008 Con Exclusive sticker and overall nice imaging especially on the back which features a sweet portrait of Jason’s hockey mask looming over a Camp Crystal Lake sign as seen through a rainstorm. Also sweet was the presentation of the figure and accessories. If you decide to leave yours in the box I think you’ll be happy. If like me you just can’t resist stalking your other action figures with big J. then you’ll also be happy to learn that you should have no problem removing everything from the box without damaging the package in the least. The box also features a hole for convenient hanging for the especially anal collector types out there. No edition info other than the sticker was included. I’m not sure how many of these are out there.
I’m never less than fascinated by the way Jason has become an icon, far surpassing in appearance and presentation his movie persona. Comic books, action figures, t-shirt art and fan based paraphernalia have offered endless riffs on his persona. Mezco has recently led the way in such interpretative fare and this is a doozy. The figure itself is gloriously over the top, and done up in a Saturday morning cartoon green rendering Jason as a sort of Ogre-ish caveman complete with red accents for bloodstains, scars and lips. A white eye bulges from the right socket and the left eye is barely visible underneath the Neanderthal brow. The teeth are yet another disgusting shade of green and some loose hairs are painted around the top.
One nice thing is that the more you inspect the figure the more you’re rewarded. The sculpt on the body was so detailed that I even removed the clothes to check if it was anatomically correct. Sorry gals, no junk for J. But the whole thing is sculpted. The trunk of the figure is divided into two sections- presumably for the sake of poseability. In a figure this size and style of presentation I think it was the right choice. The joints on the arms and legs are a little less visibly obnoxious. Personally I can’t deal with figures that refuse to stand up unless they come with a display stand.
Accessories? The severed head fits neatly into Jasons left hand and is a thing of gory glory featuring a bloody left eye socket and an anguished portrait that makes the most of a rolled back into the skull right eye, bloody teeth and stained mouth and a highly detailed bloody neck stump. The hair is even flowing over the left side of the face just the way a real severed heads would! Easily the best extra included here. The weapons offer a choice of bloody machete- a little too skinny for my taste but otherwise fine- and bloody pole axe which is just plain nasty looking.
The costume is great consisting of brown denim style work pants, black undershirt and greenish waist length work jacket. Everything is appropriately torn up and stained with a mix of blood and dirt. The removable hockey mask is painted though not sculpted with FVJ styl scars as well as weathered and stained with grue. A small twine belt, removable as well, completes the ensemble.
Source: Mezco Toys
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