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Series: Clive
Barker’s Tortured Souls,1
Craftsmanship: 8.7
out of 10
- Mouth is
extremely detailed
- Disturbing
sculpt
- Will not
fall over
- Real
chains
- A
comparatively small figure
Playability:
2.0 out of 10
- Are you
honestly going to play with this?
- Nightmare
inducing
- All four
wrists are susceptible to snapping
- Chains
limit limb mobility
Points of
articulation: 10
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Mongroid (Tortured Souls)
by McFarlane
Toys
Question #1: Mongroid is:
a) having a really, really bad day.
b) a cross between Audrey Jr. and Seymour.
c) the most disturbing pen holder ever.
d) never in need of new shoes.
e) all of the above.
Question #2: What demographic is this toy aimed at?
I’m still trying to figure out the second one.
McFarlane Toys has a reputation of doing what it wants to do, no doubt due to
the personality of its founder, Todd
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McFarlane, but this is the first time I’ve really
been stumped when trying to understand the logic of producing a series of
figures that is so gruesome and disturbing. I’m sure there are lots of Clive
Barker fans chomping at the bit, just dripping in anticipation, for this series,
as are fans of McFarlane’s work and possibly subscribers to Heavy Metal
magazine. There’s certainly no
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mass-market appeal here – this is about as far from Shrek as you can get.
Mongroid is hard to describe. He could be described as the small animal sidekick
of the series since he’s on all fours and the gaping maw protruding from his
belly suggests animalistic qualities. The mouth itself reminds one of Audrey
Jr., the huge man-eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors. Only instead of
being a plant, it has somehow imbedded itself into Seymour, acquired a bondage
habit, and has gone mobile in search of fresh meat. The detail is quite high,
especially the mouth which features many sharp teeth. The lower jaw is rubber so
it can be moved slightly, but it won’t stay in that position. His skin is
textured and the paint (flesh, acid puke green, and blood red around the
restraint points) is expertly applied. The wrists and thighs are attached with
chains to the leather harness. The chains are real metal, although the little
meat hooks attached are plastic. I always like to see metal used in action
figures but it just adds creepiness here.
In all honesty, I didn’t play with Mongroid much – just as much as I had to, so
as to write this review, then I returned him to his box that I keep safely
buried in the backyard. However, there are some things of note if you really
must play with Mongroid. First, the hands (four of them since he doesn’t have
feet) are susceptible to breakage. The seam joints at the wrists are solid but
they’re so small – any good downward pressure might snap off a hand. Second, the
chains limit the mobility of the arms and legs. Most won’t find this a problem
though because Mongroid has been designed to just sit. Which is not all bad,
especially if you want to horrify co-workers. His open mouth displays his gullet
quite well and a standard pen will fit snuggly in the gullet. Or light a
cigarette, stick it in, and pretend he’s taking up yet another bad habit. People
will stop visiting your cubicle – guaranteed! (They should slap that on the card
as a "feature.")
It’s definitely a niche item, but Mongroid won’t disappoint those that seek it
out.
- Omni |
