I saw the
2010 version of The Wolfman some
years ago, but it was actually only a few weeks ago that I actually saw the
1941 original The Wolf Man. Its reputation precedes it, of course – I read a ton of books on
special effects as a kid, and the Wolf Man featured prominently in virtually
all of them.
The
original film isn’t really a horror movie in the sense you might think of in
this day and age. It’s not terribly scary, but it is quite depressing. A man falls victim to a curse through no real
fault of his own, has minimal control over his subsequent behaviour and ends up
getting killed. Most
werewolf films since have followed some variation of this theme – at least
until Dog Soldiers. And though I
didn’t enjoy it quite as much as The
Mummy and Creature From The Black
Lagoon, it’s still very well-made and it’s great to see where a lot of
modern werewolf lore originated.
So let’s take a look at the figure!
Now, I
think we all know that Lon Chaney Jr didn’t look much like a wolf in the
original movie. He was some kind of hybrid form; stuck somewhere between man
and beast. Thematically it worked well in the movie, but this figure…well, it’s
certainly not a bad one. I quite like it, actually. But the stylised nature of
Mystery Minis has rendered him looking a bit more like a weremonkey than a
werewolf. Take away the black on the nose and you’ll see what I mean.
Nonetheless,
it’s always nice to have another Universal Monster on the shelf. I think this
is an occasion where the original POP outdoes the Mystery Mini take, but it’s
still well worth your time and money. You shouldn’t have too much trouble
finding him, as he’s packed at a 1/6 ratio – so there are two in every case.
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