POP! Games: Resident Evil – Licker

While plenty of zombie-themed media is content to play it coy about why so many zombies are running around, that’s never been the case for Resident Evil. Biological weapons and human experimentation drive proceedings, which means the series isn’t “just” restricted to human zombies – it also opens the door to all manner of genuinely freakish creations.

Today we take a look at another – the Licker. First appearing in Resident Evil 2, Lickers are genuinely disgusting to look at in both their game and movie incarnations. With a sort of flayed/inside-out look to their skin, and a seemingly exposed brain on their head, they’re impractical for real-world biology but definitely fit the horror aesthetic. Indeed, even if you’re not a Resident Evil fan as such, the Licker could still work on your shelf as some kind of Cenobite hellhound for Pinhead.  

Funko’s rendition is a great-looking figure, doing an excellent job of being both cutesy and totally disgusting at the same time. Personally I think it would have been good to see some gloss paint on the exposed innards for an even grosser "wet" look, but I suppose that’s something I could always do myself if it took my fancy.

I was lucky enough to pick up this bad boy for a song, and he’d certainly make a great army builder if you’re so inclined.  The whole Resident Evil range was one of Funko's better video game offerings, and hopefully we’ll see it expanded in future. But in the meantime, this is a great buy.

POP! Games: Tyrant – Glow in the Dark (Resident Evil)

As I said in my last review, I don’t really collect video game-based POPs…yet here I am reviewing my second one in just over a week! But the Resident Evil figures definitely fall under my guidelines for horror, and hopefully by purchasing them it will also encourage Funko to finally make a Silent Hill line too. So today we take a closer look at the Tyrant, one of two 6” figures in the line.

The Resident Evil games have always been good at providing the player with novel and freakish takes on zombies, and the Tyrant is no exception. His ghostly white skin, exposed internal organs and gigantic claw are quite a few steps removed from the Night of the Living Dead, but there’s no doubt that this is some kind of undead monster.

There are actually multiple different Tyrants throughout the game series, but this one seems to be based on the T-002 Model, which appears in the original Resident Evil game. It’s been a very long time since I played it, so I have to say I don’t remember it specifically – though it’s easy enough to find screencaps online of course.

POPs are never really built to scale, but making this guy a 6” figure is a lot more “accurate” that plenty of others that we’ve seen in the line. He’s probably a little too big in comparison to Nemesis, but he looks about right next to the average human character. Tyrants are big, terrifying bastards after all, and this guy delivers that scare factor it in spades.

Funko have done an excellent likeness here, bringing in considerable detail but never departing too wildly from the simplistic aesthetic. It’s really quite disgusting, with numerous family members commenting on its unsettling look. And even better, this guy glows in the dark, allowing him to be unsettling by night too!

My main criticism (and boy, have we heard this one before) is that the paint job could be a little tighter. Certainly the paint job is more complex than lots of other POPs, which elevates it above many of its contemporaries – look at the shading on the claws for instance – but it’s still quite fuzzy in parts, especially on the bright red veins.

Still, it’s clear that Funko has put a lot of effort not only into this POP, but the entire line. Capcom has no doubt held them to a fairly high standard, and when taken as a whole I’d say that I feel they’ve delivered a strong final product. An essential buy for Resident Evil fans and a great addition to the shelf for any horror fans.

POP! Games: Nemesis (Resident Evil)

The Resident Evil series is a huge name in horror, both in and out of gaming circles. It helped push zombies back into the horror mainstream and (initially at least) was a great twist on puzzle-based and action/adventure games.

The movies, though? Well, I liked Apocalypse...

Nonetheless, Nemesis here is one of the big bads in the series, making his debut in 1999’s Resident Evil 3 – which I’ve never actually played, but I’m assured it’s a rad game. Looking impressively disgusting with a Cenobite-meets-paramilitary design, he was an instant hit with fans. Since his debut, he’s been featured in a number of other Capcom games in cameo roles, and also spawned a variety of merchandise. He also appeared in the aforementioned Resident Evil: Apocalypse, though more as a tragic figure than an outright villain.

The sculpting on this figure is excellent. Nemesis’ body is relatively plain, as (in this form at least) he’s pretty much wearing an overcoat, and the only details that are really undersold are the parasite vein things around his neck. They’re still present, but due to the format they’re nowhere near as big as they are on the real character model. His face though – disgusting. I remember his look creeping me out a lot as a teenager, and it’s lost virtually none of its power in the ensuing years. Well done to the sculptor for making him cutesy and totally repellent at the same time. If my wife didn’t like Rat Fink, she’s going to hate Nemesis. Actually, he'd probably be a good base to make a custom Chatterer from Hellraiser, too. 

My main gripe is (perhaps unsurprisingly) to do with the paint. The application is reasonably neat, but I feel like his skintone, teeth and exposed muscle all look a little too light in colour and a little too flat. This could be fixed in any number of ways, but personally I’d go for a wash over the flesh, repainting the exposed muscle a darker red and then adding some gloss to it. Of course, like every other Funko POP I’ve ever dreamed of touching up or repainting, I’m very unlikely to ever do it.

(Also, when purchasing be sure to inspect the bazooka. It’s cast in a much softer plastic, and so it can be a little prone to bending.)

Nemesis is great for fans of the Resident Evil series and for wider horror fans alike. The whole series seems to have been selling quite well in Australia, which bodes well for more Resident Evil POPs in the future – and here’s to hoping we’ll finally get Silent Hill ones soon too.