With the exception of the superheroes and Star Wars, no fandom generates so many cool collectible items each year as horror movies. 2014 saw more than its share of winners, in the form of toys, books, statues, posters, and every other conceivable medium. Here are five of our favorites…
Bride of Frankenstein Limited Edition Poster
Mondo has produced scores of posters for our favorite horror films, with its reliable stable of artists and graphic designers. But none perhaps have so perfectly melded creator and subject as the company’s limited edition screen print for The Bride of Frankenstein illustrated by Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy and the biggest Bride fan in comic books. If you scored one of the three hundred and twenty-five copies printed of this baby, you have my respect. And a helluva lotta envy.
A Nightmare on Elm Street Ultimate Freddy Krueger Figure
Plenty of Freddy Krueger figures have come our way from horror toy specialist NECA, but this one is probably the best; faithfully capturing the Bastard Son of a Thousand Maniacs’ likeness from his first screen appearance, in Wes Craven’s original and still unmatched A Nightmare on Elm Street. If you pass up this bad boy, he really will haunt your dreams!
Evil Dead II “Farewell to Arms” Ash Figure
NECA strikes again, this time with one of the very best Ash figures yet made. Say the name “Bruce Campbell” to most discerning horror fans, and they’ll immediately picture The Chin as he looked in Sam Raimi’s masterpiece, Evil Dead II. It’s a likeness, however, that toy and statue designers have often had trouble nailing down. Yet the “Farewell to Arms” figure — like the company’s “Hero Ash” figure before it — gets the look just right, and even throws in Ash’s possessed hand to sweeten the deal. Groovy.
The Babadook Pop-Up Book Book
Writer-director Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook was the most talked about indie horror film of the year. A thrilling monster movie, and a welcome break from the deluge of found footage films we’ve seen in recent years. While this Mister Babadook pop-up book — recreating the very same one featured in the movie — won’t be published until next year, thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign fans can pre-order it now via the Babadook website. Kent and illustrator Alex Juhasz say they’re continuing the film’s storyline a little bit with this book; so in addition to getting a signed, limited-edition prop replica, you’ll enjoy an expansion of the film.
Ghostbusters Terror Dog Prop Replica
If you want to talk movie prop replicas, there was no finer produced in 2014 than Chronicle Collectibles’ Terror Dog. “Rotocast in resin and painted like the actual filming puppet,” Gozer’s minion is taken from the original restored FX molds and approved by the creature’s original sculptor and animator, Randall William Cook himself (who signed a select few of this replica). Best of all, as in Ghostbusters, the Terror Dog comes in two forms — the Keymaster, with the tips of its horns pointed up, and the Gatekeeper, with its horns pointed down — both of which are easily created with the two sets of horns included.
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What were your favorite horror collectibles from 2014? Let us know below!
