Universal Studios Monsters ReAction Retro Action Figures Wave 1 - Super7 (2018)

Super7 Universal Studios Monsters ReAction Figures - Wave 1 (2018)

The first wave of Super7's new line of Universal Studios Monsters ReAction figures has arrived just in time for Halloween!  ReAction figures are retro styled 3.75" action figures with 5 points of articulation, designed to mimic the vintage action figures of the 1970s and 1980s.  Super7 takes these classic looking action figures and pairs them with stunning painted card art to create something really special.  I was a kid in the '70s and '80s, and I grew up watching classic monster movies, and playing with Kenner Star Wars figures, so this line of figures feels like it was designed especially for me.  I would have gone nuts for these when I was a kid, and I still am as an adult.

Monster Lineup

The quality on these figures is great.  All of the joints work, nothing sticks, the figures feel nice and solid.  The sculpts are fantastic, the paint jobs look great, and they have lots of detail for such small figures.  The figures shipped quickly from Super7 and arrived in perfect condition.  I know, I'm just gushing about these figures.  Sorry, I can't help it, I love them.  Just to be fair, I will criticize one thing.  I'm not super in love with the face sculpt on The Mummy.  It looks kind of soft and mushy.  I wish it looked more like the painted face of Boris Karloff on the card art.  But yeah, that's really my only complaint.  Over all, it's an awesome set of figures, and I can't wait for Wave 2!

The Creature from "Creature From The Black Lagoon"

Face close-up of the Creature from "Creature From The Black Lagoon"

Webbed claw of the "Creature From The Black Lagoon"

Card art and back of figure from "Creature From The Black Lagoon"

Close-up of the face of "The Metaluna Mutant"

Card art and back of the figure of  "The Metaluna Mutant."  The Metaluna Mutant is from the 1955 sci-fi/horror movie "This Island Earth."

More views of "The Metaluna Mutant"

A Mole Person from the movie "The Mole People"

More views of the Mole Person

"The Mummy!"  Man, I love that card art!  It was painted by the super talented Ed Repka.

More views of "The Mummy"

"The Phantom of the Opera!"  This figure depicts him in his "Masque of the Red Death" costume that he wore in the Technicolor sequence of the otherwise black and white film.  A really stunning looking action figure.  One thing to note with this figure is that he does not fit very well on Super7's ReAction figure stands because his feet are really big, as they incorporate his robe in the sculpt.  However, those same big feet give him a really solid stance, so he doesn't really need one.

More views of "The Phantom of the Opera as the Masque of the Red Death"

"The Wolf Man"

"The Wolf Man" card art and action pose

More views of "The Wolf Man"

Super7 Universal Studios Monsters ReAction Figures - Wave 1 Cardback

Martin (1977)

Martin (1977) - Movie review plus screencaps:

Martin is a vampire... or at least he thinks he is, in writer/director George A. Romero's 1977 film "Martin."

Martin

This is a really interesting movie.  The main character, Martin has been raised to believe that he is a vampire, that he must kill and drink blood to survive.  But Martin doesn't have fangs, supernatural powers, or any of the things you would normally associate with vampires.  Instead, he drugs his victims, and extracts their blood with hypodermic needles and razor blades.

"I'm always very careful with the needles."

 Martin takes no pleasure in his killing, only doing it because he thinks it's neccessary for his survival.  He comes from a strange, deeply religious  family of immigrants that believes he is an evil supernatural creature.  Martin, however rejects their religious beliefs, and considers his affliction to be biological.  Of course, the possibility exists that Martin doesn't need blood at all, and is just mentally ill victim of a very warped upbringing.

Martin's Creepy Uncle (Not to be confused with "Colonel Sanders")

 Director George Romero does a great job of playing up both angles in this movie.  I never knew for sure if this was really a vampire horror movie, or a psychological thriller along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.  Martin has a lot in common with Norman Bates from Psycho.  Even though he is a murderer, I couldn't help but root for the guy.  He's portrayed as a generally passive, innocent, and lonely kid, who is as much a victim as the people he kills are.

Mother Nature's Son

 This is a pretty low-budget picture filmed in real locations around a working class neighborhood in Pittsburgh.  Romero uses this to his advantage though; the down-to-earth locations help to ground this film in reality.  Because the film is so down-to-earth, it became harder and harder to believe he really is a vampire as the film went on.  But, at the same time, I found I WANTED him to be a vampire more and more, because the thought that this sweet lonely kid who I've grown to emphathise with so much, could actually be a psychotic serial killer, is a tough pill to swallow.

Martin on the Prowl

In the end, Romero wisely decided to leave the question of whether or not he's a vampire unanswered and up to the viewers to decide.  I really like movies like this, ones that let you draw your own conclusions at the end.  Movies like this live on in my thoughts and imagination long after I finish watching them.   Hollywood has been on a horror movie remake frenzy the last few years, and they've already remade Romero's Dawn of the Dead and the Crazies.  It's probably only a matter of thime until they remake this one.  it should be interesting to see how bad they fuck it up.

Rating: 4 Robots (out of 5)

More screencaps after the jump...