Vintage Friday! McFarlane Toys' The Phantom of the Opera Playset (1998)

The Phantom of the Opera Playset in the Package

Released in by McFarlane Toys in 1998, as part of the "Todd McFarlane's Monsters" series, The Phantom of the Opera Playset comes with two action figures, a pipe organ, balcony, and chandelier set piece, and several additional accessories.  Let's check it all out after the break, on this bonus Sunday edition of Vintage Fridays!

Retro Wednesday! Halloween Michael Myers ReAction Figure

Hello and welcome to a BONUS Sunday edition of Retro Wednesdays!  For the Countdown to Halloween, I have more scary action figures to review than I can fit into my usual three days a week schedule, so you'll be seeing toy reviews pop up on other days as well.  Today I'll be looking at Funko and Super 7's ReAction figure of Michael Myers, from the movie Halloween. This is Michael Myers back when he was still a psycho killer, before he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live and made those Austin Powers movies (they are the same guy, right? I was never quite sure, because of the mask.).  Let's check him out after the break:

The Black Cat (1934)

Boris Karloff!  Bela Lugosi!  Together in what might be the finest picture that pits the two against each other, a story about a Satanic cult, "inspired by" Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat.  Read all about it after the break.

Twin Tweets

So, did you see what David Lynch and Mark Frost, the co-creators of Twin Peaks were both tweeting today?

https://twitter.com/DAVID_LYNCH/status/518060411690569730
https://twitter.com/mfrost11/status/518060486156230656

I could go for some of that gum right now, how about you?

P.S.
Who knew that Mark Frost's head looked like an old rotary telephone?  With a head like that, he could be a Batman villain!

The Saga of Crystar "Zardeth, The Wizard Who Worshipped Chaos" Action Figure - Remco (1982)

Every Friday, I review a different vintage 3 3/4" action figure, and today I'm featuring Zardeth, the evil wizard from Remco's The Saga of Crystar line of action figures.  Does he fit in with this week's "Mysterious Murderers" theme?  Err... kinda, I guess.  He does wear a Phantom of the Opera style mask!  Okay, that's settled, then,  Let's check out this EVIL action figure after the break!

KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)

The film was also known as "KISS Meets the Phantom" and  "KISS in Attack of the Phantoms."

In 1978, at the height of their popularity, rock band KISS made their feature film debut in KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park.  In the film KISS play a super-powered version of themselves as they fight an army of evil androids and unravel a missing-persons mystery at a failing amusement park.  But don't worry, all that doesn't stop them from performing a series of concerts and treating us to several classic KISS songs.  Does this movie sound awesome, or what?  Wait, did I mention it's a super low budget made-for-TV movie, produced by Hanna-Barbera (the same guys who produced Yogi Bear and Scooby Doo)?  Yeah, "awesome" might not be the right word to describe this flick.  Read on to find out what word is...

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) Full Length Movie

My theme for this week's Countdown to Halloween posts, "Mysterious Murderers," was inspired a great deal by The Phantom of the Opera, so when I saw that the full 1925 version of The Phantom of the Opera was available to watch for free from the Internet Archive, I had to share it.  Check out this classic horror film, starring Lon "The Man of 1000 Faces" Chaney, after the break!

Get Creeped Out By The Phantom of the Opera and The Invisible Man ReAction Figures, the Subjects of This Week's Retro Wednesday!

October is finally here!  That means it's time for the Countdown to Halloween! I'll be making Halloween inspired posts every day this month, and with a different horrifying theme every week.  This week's theme is MYSTERIOUS MURDERERS: Devil-Worshipers, Masked Killers and More, in a Week of Men Who Kill From the Shadows!  It's all about the creepy weirdos who wear masks and disguises, or hide in the dark, and kill, kill, kill!  It was inspired by one of today's action figure subjects : The Phantom of the Opera.  Posts later this week will feature an evil magician, a satanic priest, a masked serial killer, and a Phantom of the Opera wannabe who battled a '70s rock band!  I won't spoil it for you by telling you exactly what I have in store... you'll just have to come back every day to find out!

Today, I'll be looking at two Universal Monsters action figures from Funko and Super 7's ReAction line: The Phantom of the Opera and The Invisible Man.  Lets' check them out after the break...