The Re-Animator is one of those films that, if you saw it at just the right age, will stick with you for years. The movie is loosely based on the short story “Herbert West: Re-Animator” by H.P. Lovecraft. The film follows medical student Dan Cain and his bizarre roommate Herbert West, who claims to have found the secret to bringing the dead back to life. The Re-Animator helped to turn both Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton into horror film icons. It’s a campy and bloody film with some extremely dark humor, and truly spectacular gore effects. If you’re into 80’s horror films, and have never seen the movie, I can’t recommend it enough.
NECA brings fans a new retro Mego style figure based on Herbert West from the film. The figure is available in stores now. It includes multiple accessories from the film, including a severed Dr. Hill head and the reagent. Toyark sponsor Entertainment Earth sent along the figure. After the jump, check out my thoughts on the figure and a full photo gallery.
Related Entertainment Earth links: Herbert West Figure, The Fog Captain Blake, All Horror Items
The Re-Animator – Herbert West 8″ Scale Figure by NECA
Pros
- Great accessories
- Feels like a return to Cult Classics
- The severed Dr. Hill head is perfect
- Hand can correctly hold the syringe
- Solid articulation
Cons
- Paint on the Herbert West head sculpt is a bit cartoon-ish
Overall
The Herbert West figure comes packaged in the standard clamshell packaging used for many of NECA’s Mego style releases. The backer card features art by Justin Osbourn on the front. Horror fans may recognize the art, as it was used on a popular Fright Rags t-shirt design in 2015. The back of the card shows a few photos of the figure and the accessories. Herbert West includes the severed head of Dr. Hill, a bloody shovel. a bloody pan, a syringe filled with reagent, a bottle filled with reagent, a pocket protector, and a reanimated cat.
This release is so close to being a perfect retro cloth release. NECA was able to give fans a true cult classic style release, packed with cool accessories and an eye-catching package design. The accessories themselves are all spot on to what you’d want in a Re-Animator release. This is an especially packed release for the format. The syringe and bottle of reagent were a given. Including the bloody and gruesome severed head of West’s nemesis, Dr. Hill, was a really fun addition. The severed head sculpt looks spot on, with a fantastic base sculpt and excellent paint work. A blood soaked medical pan is also included, perfect for displaying the severed head. Even the shovel used to decapitate him is included. The cherry on top is Dan’s reanimated cat, broken, bloody and guts spilling out. You even get a pocket protector, which slides into the lab coat pocket of Herbert West. Articulation is decent, as it uses the standard 8″ scalee body found on nearly all of NECA’s Mego style releases. Range of motion isn’t hindered by the cloth outfit, which includes a lab coat, and a shirt and tie.
The initial prototype shown for the figure was pretty much perfect, with a nearly uncanny likeness to Jeffrey Combs on the hand painted head sculpt. For the most part, the sculpt itself is still quite strong. But the paint work here comes in a bit more cartoon looking, especially compered to the packed in severed head. Black paint around the eyes is a bit thick, and the lip color is a bit too bright and sharp edged. None of this was a deal breaker, as this is still easily the best Herbert West figure to hit shelves. The accessories alone make it worth picking up, especially for fans looking to add bloody elements to a horror-themed diorama display.
Check out a selection of highlight photos below. After that, you can see the full photo shoot.
Some of the backgrounds featured in pics below are from Extreme-Sets.com. Enter code TOYARK at checkout and get 15% off your order!
CompaniesNECA
CharactersHerbert West
Scale8 Inch