By JAMES BURRELL
Since its inception in the mid-2000s, Mondo has been providing fans with unique alternatives to mass marketed collectibles. Beginning with custom printed T-shirts and movie posters, the company later expanded into releasing horror film soundtrack albums, licensed board games and limited-edition, premium quality figures. Now, Mondo has introduced a new product that is both a collectible and a piece of room décor: NIGHTMARE VESSELS. The ‘Vessel’ in the product name is the large, hollow plastic container – which houses a highly collectible Japanese-styled soft vinyl or ‘sofubi’ figure and accessories within. And keeping with the time of the year, the company has chosen one of the most fondly remembered slasher films of the early 80s to kick of the product line: Halloween II.
The 1981 Rick Rosenthal-directed sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece is considered a classic in its own right, and the film’s iconic movie poster artwork was the basis for the Vessel in this set. The beautifully sculpted, nine-inch-tall plastic container is a fantastic three-dimensional rendering of the skull-faced pumpkin depicted on the original poster and other vintage merchandise – and would look great on both a shelf and on the front porch on Halloween night. Removing the top of the pumpkin container will reveal orange shredded paper – looking here very much like pumpkin guts! – which not only helps cushion the contents but makes the unboxing process more enjoyable. Beneath the shredded paper, collectors will find four plastic pouches containing a terrific soft vinyl posable Michael Myers figure, two additional interchangeable heads and two weapon accessories.
The Michael Myers figure stands six inches tall and features five points of articulation (head, arms and legs) that is the hallmark of vintage toys. SPOILERS FOR THE FILM AHEAD! The additional heads consist of one with ‘bloodied’ eyes after the character is shot by Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis); with the other being the blonde-haired mask worn by the character Ben Tramer, who is accidentally incinerated after being mistaken for being The Shape by Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) and can be switched out very easily. Two of Michael’s favourite implements from Halloween II are included – a butcher knife and a syringe which easily fit into the figure’s hand. Despite the toy’s seemingly simple design, there are lots of great molded details here; the paint apps are top notch and the heads perfectly capture the look of the modified William Shatner Captain Kirk mask worn in the film by actor/stuntman, Dick Warlock.
The striking NIGHTMARE VESSELS packaging pays tribute to vintage toy lines of yesteryear, with the faux wooden crate look seemingly inspired in part by the packaging for the 1980’s Boglins toy line from Mattel. Also giving the box a retro vibe is the fantastic vintage-styled EC Comics-like artwork on the back of the packaging, which provides a fun little introduction to the NIGHTMARE VESSELS concept. (Future releases are said to include a An American Werewolf in London set.)
In addition to the standard Halloween II set, Mondo is also releasing a Glow-in-the-Dark exclusive variant (limited to 500 pieces) with glowing pumpkin and glow paint apps on the Michael Myers figure. Fans of vintage horror collectibles, Japanese-styled toys and spooky room décor are sure to love this release.
The NIGHTMARE VESSELS Halloween II standard and exclusive sets are currently available for pre-order from the Mondo website with a SRP of $105 USD each. The standard set will also be available from select retailers. For those attending the upcoming 2024 New York Comic Con (October 17th – 24th), Mondo is expecting to have some sets available on hand for sale.
*A thank you to Mondo for providing a sample for this piece.
