Updates on a weekend? Yup, there wasn’t enough time for me to get all the spooky reviews in before Halloween on Tuesday, so I’m squeezing in a couple extra today and tomorrow. And it seems only fitting that my next three reviews will be brought to you from those masters of spooky plastic: NECA! Let’s have a look at The Wolfman from the 1941 classic… um, THE WOLFMAN!

Of all the Universal Monster movies, I probably have the least history with this one. Indeed, when I sat down to watch it again this week, I realized that it had been quite a few years since I last checked it out, whereas I probably watch most of the others at least once every October. I don’t dislike the film, but apart from a few brief sequences, it just isn’t all that atmospheric or spooky to me. Larry Talbot is a fine character and I genuinely feel for him throughout the movie, but the script feels so contrived that it’s hard to take it too seriously. And while the makeup is impressive for the time, I just don’t find it nearly as creepy as any of the other Universal Monsters. Anyway… the figure comes in the same style window box with front flap that we usually see out of NECA. The front features the movie poster and everything is collector friendly. Time to paw this thing open…

You get a couple ways to display Larry, either in his human form or his wolfified form. Starting with regular Larry, there’s nothing terribly exciting here, but everything is still extremely well done. He has a green button down shirt with a nice wash and lots of sculpted stitching and wrinkles. Below the waist he has a thin belt and brown slacks, which are rolled up to his calves revealing his bare feet. Yes, you can only display regular Larry sans shoes and it’s designed that way to make make the transformation work. NECA is one of the few companies out there who can make a compelling figure out of a guy in regular street clothes.

I really dig the head sculpt here. NECA not only nailed the Lon Chaney Jr. likeness, but also the gee-whiz, befuddled look he has on his face for most of the film. It’s a demeanor that definitely helps make him more sympathetic, providing he isn’t peeping into your bedroom window with a telescope and then telling you about it to get you to go on a date with him, because then he’s just a creep.

You get one accessory that’s meant for Larry in his human form and that’s the wolfhead cane he buys from the antique store while creeping on Gwen. This is a superb recreation of the prop used in the film. It’s perfect for stepping out on the town or beating the piss out of goddamn werewolf gypsies. You also get a human right hand designed expressly for holding the cane.

Larry can be transformed to the titular Wolfman by replacing his hands and feet, and obviously the head. The feet peg out where the legs connect with the pants, which works really well. The sculpted fur on the hands and feet looks great and the feet are even sculpted so that he is standing on his toes, giving them a slight hint of that doggie hind-leg anatomy. As a result you get a small disk stand to help out. I was able to get him to pose pretty well without resorting to the stand, but I will definitely use it when I put him on my shelf for extended periods of time.

You get two wolf heads and both are excellent. The sharpness and detail in the sculpted fur is top notch, as are the teeth jutting from behind his lower lip. I actually think the makeup design works a bit better for me on the figure than in the movie. I would have loved a bit of high gloss on that nose, but otherwise everything here is just fantastic.

The alternate head is a growly one, which is the one I will choose for everyday display. Here you get the mouth open and the upper row of teeth showing as well. He’s got a side eye going on here, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it doesn’t bother me at all. Again, I can’t say enough about how sharp and well sculpted the fur is on these heads. NECA really knocked it out of the park!

The articulation here is everything you would expect from NECA, which means lots of rotating hinges. I will say the elbow hinges give a lot more range of motion than I’m used to seeing in their figures, which is certainly nice. You get an additional pair of swivels where the feet connect tot he pants. You only get one pair of wolf hands, which seems a little lacking, but they work well for most poses, so it’s no big deal.

There’s one accessory included for the wolf form and that’s a pretty cool bear trap. This thing has a rusty patina to it and it’s fully articulated with a locking arm and hinged jaws. It always impresses me to no end how much attention NECA will spend on one-off accessories like this one.

I’ll admit, I almost skipped this figure, because I’m rather indifferent toward the film, but after getting him in hand, I’m glad I didn’t. He’s another fine example of how this license is in the best hands out there. NECA practically exists for just this thing, and it never ceases to amaze me that you can go to your local Big Box retailer in 2023 and buy a figure from a 1940s movie right off the shelf. He does feel a tad light on the accessories when compared to the other releases, but I can’t really think of anything critical that’s missing. It’s just another great addition to the classic monsters lineup.