I have found that one of the coolest aspects about collecting Funko’s Pop! Vinyls is how to diverse the line can be. Your favorite characters from television, movies, and comics are interchangeable with a beloved musician, wrestler, or even an advertising icon. Everyone has their own wish list of figures they’d love to see, and with the ever-expanding waves of exclusives, chases, and even the Specialty Series, I don’t think anything is too much to hope for now.
I have a confession to make: I am a horror junkie! There is nothing better than turning off the lights and putting on a scary movie (especially when you watch it with someone who actually gets scared). I’ve been itching to do a horror-themed list since I started this column, and as I worked on a list of ideas, I found I could fill twenty lists with the characters I summoned from my nightmares. It was hard to narrow it down to five, but I hope you can appreciate and approve of my selections this go around. Enjoy.
5. Moorwen (Outlander)
If you haven’t seen this little gem of a movie, you should really look it up. Forget the similarly named TV show about time traveler and Scottish hunks, this Outlander can be summed up as Vikings vs. alien. It’s a concept that could either be dumb made-for-TV fodder or amazingly epic, and thankfully it falls in the latter. Probably the most unique choice on this list (and a long shot at best), the Moorwen is an amazing product of creature design. It could easily be a super-sized 6” Pop (and one I’m horrified I didn’t think of last week), with glow-in-the-dark detailing that would really make it Pop (see what I did there?).
4. Crypt Keeper (Tales from the Crypt)
I remember watching the Tales from the Cryptkeeper animated series as part of my Saturday Morning Cartoon ritual. My father was a huge fan of the show, and when I was old enough, we rewatched a lot of it together, so forgive me for a little nostalgia value here. Less a villain and more the narrator to frame the stories of terror, the Crypt Keeper is nevertheless an icon in the horror field.
3. Dr. Decker (Nightbreed)
Often hailed as the Star Wars of horror films, you could fill an entire line with the ghouls from Nightbreed, which is ironic because the monster I want the most for my Funko delight is human. David Cronenberg (usually a man behind the camera) plays Dr. Decker to psychopathic perfection. With that chilling, button-eyed mask and large knife, I would buy one immediately.
2. Pumpkinhead (Pumpkinhead)
Keep away from Pumpkinhead, unless you’re tired of living.
His enemies are mostly dead, he’s mean and unforgiving…
Part dark fantasy, part slasher film, the original Pumpkinhead is one of my favorite creature features, and a large part of that is due to the titular character. While we have Freddy and Jason and Michael, can any horror collection of pops be complete without the Demon of Vengeance himself? Besides, he would look amazing.
1. The Creeper (Jeepers Creepers)
Jeepers creepers, where’d you get those peepers?
Why are horror villains so often identified with rhymes and songs? I’m sure it harkens back to the nursery rhymes we heard so often as children, speaking to those boogeyman-in-the-closet fears that we hopes we had outgrown. But enough with my ramblings. The Creeper is easily one of the coolest and most original slasher villains we were introduced do during the 2000’s. With a third film currently in production, I think we have a fair shot at seeing him sometime next year. Again, his details, from the overcoat and hat to the wicked axe, would translate wonderfully to a Pop.
Don’t worry. I intend to revisit the horror genre again soon, but in the meantime, what do you think of my choices? Who have I neglected?
Matt Norris