In what seems to be a new trend, Freddy Krueger makes his debut as an “Ultimate” figure, which means full articulation (to NECA’s current standards) plus accessories. They basically had me at “mobile below the waist,” as previous Freddy figures had been able to stand menacingly, but would not be chasing any sleep-deprived yet nubile coeds around Elm Street.
Call me a snob if you want, but I’m not touching a half-statue toy with a ten foot pole nowadays, so this marks the first (roughly) 1/12th scale Freddy figure I’ve bought since McFarlane’s initial Movie Maniacs offering around a dozen years ago. This is a Freddy I can finally get on board with, and I’m loving having a totally play-worthy version of one of my favorite cinematic boogiemen.
Freddy features NECA’s current blend of flexible overlays with a nice range of articulation underneath, resulting in toys that retain a streamlined aesthetic, but still allow for a great range of pose-and-playability. If you’re familiar with their Rocky, Dutch, or Rambo figures, then you know what to expect with the crotch overlay system they’ve got going on, but if not, then you can expect to get much more articulation than just a cursory glance would have you believe. These overlays are quite flexible and only impede articulation by the smallest of degrees. The trade-off is a great-looking figure with ball-jointed hips, yet without that “ball-jointed hip” look. While my personal aesthetic preference is for toys to start moving towards the WWE Elite or current Hasbro Marvel Legends hip strategies, the overlay negates any problems I may have with ball joints. Win win.
Freddy’s sweater overlay has enough bagginess to allow his low-seated torso articulation a nice range of motion, so this doesn’t end up being a straightjacket for your figure. Essentially, if you’re an articulation enthusiast, then Freddy’s finally able to let his freak flag fly.
The sculpting is all excellent, with plenty of rumpled folds and lived-in creases in his trademark sweater. His pants have a nice gathered look at the bottom of the legs. The only place that articulation isn’t optimal on many NECA figures is at the ankle, and Freddy suffers a little bit in that area as well.
Freddy’s iconic glove is sculpted in a nice static pose that can look good as either a gesture, a slash, a halfway “come here,” or as though he’s pointing to his next victim. While you’d think articulated fingers would be the way to go, or maybe even swappable gloves with different poses, I’m not sure the former would end up looking as good in the end, or if the latter would even be worth it, so this strikes a nice balance. Even if he had alternate gloved hands, I don’t think I’d use them as this hand does everything I really need it to do.
Freddy comes with three heads: neutral, evil grin, and faceless. I think I like the grinning face a bit better. I can’t tell if there’s something off with the neutral expression or if I’m just imagining things, but the grinning one looks a bit more like him. Maybe it’s me. The faceless head is a great addition and a nice touch, but will obviously never be my default for him. Be wary: these heads are an absolute bitch to pull off and on and will cause you to turn red and mutter swear words towards the figure in question with a constipated grunt. They will eventually go off an on, but a little heat may be advisable, or just determination and patience. There is absolutely no chance of them accidentally coming off once they’re on, though.
The hat is made of a soft rubber and is one of the better hats I’ve seen, fitting on his head snugly without constantly falling off.
He comes with an alternate left hand with severed fingers and some spurting green goog for blood. Freddy chopped off his own fingers to scare the bejeebles out of Nancy, but that’s OK — it was just a dream. He also comes with a mask and a phone with a tongue. Because it ain’t phone sex without tongue.
When you refer to something as “ultimate,” it better live up to the title, and I have to say that this did. I’m looking forward to other ultimate offerings from NECA down the road, especially if they’re as strong as this one. A fully articulated Freddy was a long time coming, but at a little over 20 bucks he’s absolutely worth it.
Check out canonball’s video review:
