Freddy Kruger (Movie Maniacs)

by McFarlane Toys

Even though I’m among the few that haven’t ever seen a Freddy Kruger moving picture spectacle, I know who he is.  He creeps into your dreams and tries to kill you. (I gleaned this from one of the Simpson Halloween specials.)  Looking at this figure I can almost imagine him climbing in my ear and terrorizing my subconscious.

Maintaining tradition, Fred’s looking to his left just like almost every Movie Maniac figure I can think of.  The paint job and detailed sculpt are the strongest of the series.  Fred’s head is very detailed with lots of burned and bubbled skin.  The likeness is strong.  The rest of Fred is equally well done, especially the gore-covered boots.  He wouldn’t be complete without his knife-spiked glove so it’s good to see some care and attention went into it.  (It’s too bad the fingers aren’t articulated.)  He’s a little more poseable than the bulk of the other figures in the series.  His right arm is articulated with seam joints at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist, which allows a lot of “just about to slash” poses.  The right arm only gets articulation at the shoulder and wrist.  There’s a specific position the feet have to be in so he’s not constantly falling over.  If Fred were this tippy in the movies he’d have a hard time chasing anyone down.  I’m not sure why he’s articulated at the neck, as the sculpt has been done in such a 

way as to make Fred look strange – well, stranger than usual – if you reposition it.

Not too many kids out there will show any interest in Fred.  He’s a little too disturbing.  His removable hat will be gone faster than you can say, “Hey look, I can take off his hat!”  Playability also suffers from the lack of articulation.  There are nine points but they’re rendered academic – they’re there but they’re pointless.  On the other hand, he’s solid.  His glove hand tends to get mangled under any kind of rough play.  Fred’s in good proportion to the other Maniacs so if you want to setup dioramas it’s an option.

Collectors of Movie Maniacs figures will snap up Fred if they haven’t already.  Fans of the movies shouldn’t be disappointed either.  He’s detailed and offers more poseability than most Maniac figures, just be warned of the “magic” position his feet have to be in so he’s not constantly falling off your shelf.

- Omni