Ghost Face (Scream) Review

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Ghost Face (Scream) Review

Ghost Face
Scream (Neca)There's a lot of recognizable slasher flick characters. Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, etc. But one of the more "modern" slashers is Ghostface, the main villain of the Scream series. In addition to being a typical Halloween mask, Ghostface is a horror icon.

Back in 2014, NECA, who loves horror films, made a "retro" Ghostface in an 8" scale and a cloth outfit. This year, NECA got the rights to Ghostface again, but not the Scream franchise itself. In addition to an ultimate Ghostface coming out in November, NECA has just put out a new retro one. He's hitting various retailers and online stores now, including Target, and he usually retails for around $31-35.

Packaging - 5/5

Usually when doing clothed figures, NECA either goes with a box or a resealable clamshell, and here they went with the latter. And when I say "resealable", I mean that you can open and close the clamshell firmly. It's a bit tough to get open, but using an X-acto knife can make it easier.

The insert is made out of thick cardboard, and the artwork they used is great. Ghostface is there with a bloody knife in hand, and he's beautifully painted.

The packaging is nice, although I wish it only had one hanger instead of two. Being the kind of guy who leaves their figures in their boxes when he's not playing with them, having a single hanger would be more convenient.

Sculpting - 4/5

Although you'll see more cloth than plastic when Ghostface is on display, NECA still did a good job. The mask looks pretty accurate, and it's easy to sculpt such a simple design.

The rest of the body isn't much, however. His body is made entirely out of black plastic, and the proportions are okay. His legs are designed weirdly, with them getting thinner as they go into the feet, but the shoes look nice and detailed. The hands are done nicely as well, and they look quite realistic. This is the "2.0" body NECA uses for these types of figures

Being a "retro" figure, Ghostface stands taller than the typical 7" figure from NECA, being 8" tall, but he's meant to replicate the scale of the old Mego figures the line is based off of.

Paint - 4.5/5

While the figure is mainly black plastic, the head and hands are the only things here that painted. They're a lighter shade of black than the underlying body, and they did an okay job with the paint. I feel that the paint on the mask is kinda caked on, but there's no noticeable bleed or slop at all.

The shoes are brown plastic, and are not painted, but I wish some wash was added onto them to make it look more realistic.

Articulation - 4/5

The underlying body allows for plenty of poses, but it's not as much as I had hoped.

The ball-jointed neck tilts up and down well, but side-to-side motion is limited. It still allows for a bit of expression, at least about as much you'll get from a guy in a mask.

The arms have plenty of motion, with swivel-hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, and swivel-hinge wrists. All of these joints allow for plenty of menacing poses.

The waist is just a swivel, and I would've liked a ball-joint among it or the chest to allow for hunched poses. Below that are swivel-hinge hips, swivel thighs, and hinged knees and ankles. The fact that the ankles aren't the swivel-hinge joint the more recent retro figures use is disappointing, since it means he can't hold medium depth stances well.

Accessories - 4/5

There's not a lot of accessories here, but what is included fits with the character.

What we got here is a knife, Ghostface's weapon of choice, and a voice changer device. There's also an extra right hand with a tight grip to hold the knife, and the hands swap out easily.

My main complaint about the accessories is that there's no phone at all. The old figure had a typical brand mobile phone, but nothing here. I would've liked for him to come with a old model phone with cord, and it would've fit well with the character.

Outfit - 5/5

Ghostface's outfit it simple but very well done. The robe he wears over his body is made out of somewhat stretchy fabric, and it has no hinderance on the joints. The hood of the costume has a wire armature as well, which allows you to fit it over the head easily. And the sleeves on the outfit look nicer than the old figure.

The pants are fabric as well, and they look nice. There's velcro in the back of the pants, so you can pull them down and get a better look at the articulation. And like the robe, they don't hinder the articulation.

Quality/playability - 4.5/5

The figure is very well-made, with plenty of articulation and a nice fabric outfit that doesn't restrict any of it. NECA did a good job reinventing the type of figure made by Mego with their own techniques. Let's just be thankful they didn't use those crappy joints held together by rubber bands that have a minimal range of motion.

When it comes to playability, he's good. It's just that the lack of rocker ankles and the ball-jointed chest that are used on the new 8" figures means you can't get as much poses out of him as you want. And like I mentioned earlier, it can be hard to keep him standing up in more dynamic leg poses, especially with the lack of peg holes in the feet.

Value - 4.5/5

This figure is priced a bit higher than NECA's 7" figures, with a $30-35 price on him, but that's really because of the cloth outfit. With good quality and some nice accessories, you're definitely getting what you paid for.

Overall - 4/5

Ghostface is a classic slasher icon, and NECA's new take on him is done greatly. Though add a few extra points of articulation, make the legs look nicer and give him a phone, he'd score much higher.

Scream isn't a true classic like Friday the 13th or Halloween, but Ghostface is still a recognizable character, and NECA did a good job, but I'm more excited for the ultimate figure than this one.