One:12 Jason Voorhees
Jeeze am I behind! But truly, for an icon of the horror set of this magnitude, better late than never.
Let’s not pretend like I’m going to condense the storied history of Camp Crystal Lake’s most infamous inhabitant and leave room for a review. We’ve had many movies, many more figures, and thanks to NECA, we even have an accessory pack, to finish the scene with. So really, at this point, it comes down to an individual favorite look, from a favorite movie, and even favorite manufacturer. Unlike some other horror characters we’ve looked at, the original Jason Voorhees has never really been left lacking for collectibles. Like many of his alumni, I distinctly remember the first time I saw the McFarlane Movie Maniacs, on the back wall of a Sam Goody store, right next to the posters.
And it seems like there has been a consistent presence of Friday the 13th merch really ever since. Not too long ago, NECA made the expert pivot away from cut-joints and limited range, and really, from then on, if you needed a Jason figure, they have you covered.
Naturally, that coverage wasn’t my first thought when Mezco’s preorder went up. Instead, the thought of a Jason to go with my “main” collection was too good to pass up. Some of my buddies, well, FuzzyBlueDemon in particular, has practically a NECA archive in his house. And if that’s your game, well, this figure might be a little surplus to requirements. Makes sense.
But let’s say you aren’t a fully-invested NECA guy/gal. Then this might be the Ft13th figure you’ve been waiting for, or needed this whole time and didn’t know it. Appearance-wise, this is Jason as featured in Part 3, which is kind of a nice middle road for looks, as it carries over from Part 2 and seems to be a favorite depiction in those rare out of main media appearances. Jason is recouped a little from the end of Part 2 and hiding out in Higgins Haven, I think? When some more of those damn permiscuous teenagers show up, and, well you know…
But as far as the figure goes, this isn’t a bad loadout and setup. He has some pretty good articulation going here- easily the best of the Jason figures to date- even getting those double elbows that we sometimes miss. In addition to the usual hands and the extra gashed headsculpt and mask, you get a decent array of weapons: Axe, Machete, Wrench, Cleaver, Fireplace poker, Pitchfork, Knife, and Spear gun. Definitely not too shabby. And as you no doubt deduced, the cleaver fits the gash in the wounded head and damaged mask very nicely.
The only real con I have come up with is honestly just his size. He’s got a decent thickness and mass, he just feels a little short. Putting him next to Ash, who feels like a natural pairing, I feel like he ought to be maybe another half-inch taller. Not bad, and honestly I’m no expert, so your mileage may vary. Certainly, if we had a couple rowdy teenager figures to put with him, maybe it would shape up fine.
That aside, I think this is a fine figure. And he’s a single figure closer to a Horror classics lineup, a Mortal Kombat XL lineup, and I bet he’s gonna look sweet next to his buddy Freddy. It’s a testement to how good Mezco does their business that even the horror figures end up must-buys.
