Trick or Treat for 31 Days of Toy Terror! Ghost Bob from John Carpenter's Halloween by Plastic Meatball

 

  

  Since the theme of this year's festivities, Trick or Treat with 31 Days of Toy Terror, is looking at toys that are really tied in with Halloween in some way, you can bet your black licorice that figures based on the Halloween series are going to show up on this list more than once. Today I'm checking out a release from earlier this year: Ghost Bob from Plastic Meatball's retro inspired John Carpenter's Halloween. I've reviewed a couple of these in the past but it's been a few years since Plastic Meatball has released anything new. This year they've had a few exclusive releases through Fright Rags: Ghost Bob, Young Michael Myers, and a Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers 2-pack. Ghost Bob isn't really Laurie's friend Bob Simms; instead, it's Michael Myers wearing a sheet with eyeholes and Bob's eyeglasses overtop. It's one of the only times that Michael Myers wears a unique outfit or disguise in one of the films and it definitely captures a weird part of his character that some of the later films are missing: Michael is somewhat of a practical jokester who will do weird, theatrical things for effect. Why? Who knows, but he does put some effort into his menace. Let's take a look at "Ghost Bob" after the break and see if this guy is worth adding to your collection...

The Facts:

Height: 4 1/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel hips and swivel shoulders.

Accessories: Telephone.

Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars

The Packaging:



* I'm reviewing these out of the package because, well, I rarely keep anything out of the package and I like to have all of my Halloween figures on one shelf. Still, these figures look amazing on the card. The character images and art are fantastic, the branding is spot on, and Plastic Meatball's package design really captures the little details of vintage packaging such as the little advertisement offer for a "Myers House Collector Case" on the bottom right corner. If  you kept this on the card, I wouldn't blame you at all. 

* The back of the card is also something of a masterpiece with lots of little jokes, a bio for Ghost Bob, and cross-sell art. Little things like the advertisement for the Myers House Collectors Case (which as of my working on this review in June wasn't officially announced yet) with a cute little animated Ghost Bob, a "Kill Point" proof of purchase, and a little inset showing the Ghost Bob action figure standing behind the Lynda van der Klok action figure that says "Looks like Lynda is going to get more than a beer!" just make this absolutely hilarious. Like, how wildly inappropriate would a Halloween action figure line geared towards kid have been? What would the commercials be like? It's one of the things I do love about these faux-retro figures. It's cool to get characters that should have had action figures in the late 1970s and 1980s, but it's even more fun to get figures of characters that should not have had action figures!

The Positives:

* What exactly is Ghost Bob? Like I mentioned earlier, this is actually Michael Myers in a sheet and wearing Bob Simms' glasses. Bob's dead at this point and Michael dons the sheet and glasses to play a "prank" on Lynda van der Klok. It's a really creepy, suspenseful scene in the movie and is a great example of suspense in Alfred Hitchcock's "Bomb Under the Table" analogy. As the audience, we know it's Michael, but Lynda doesn't; she's still acting as if it's Bob under the sheet. Brilliant! But what's really under the sheet? For this figure, it's an all black version of the Michael Myers body. The sheet isn't meant to be removed and I believe it's actually attached at the neck. The sheet is a plastic "shell" with a little bit of give. 

* There's not much of a likeness here to capture. It's the head of a classic ghost silhouette with the glasses sculpted on. Still, that's what you want here, right? Ghost Bob? You got it. 

If the glasses were removable, I think this would have been an even creepier figure but I'm not sure why. 

* From the back this is still just a guy in a sheet. The folds are nice but still simple and basic enough that this could have been an early 1980s Kenner figure. 

* While there's no way for him to really hold it, Michael Myers does include the telephone he uses to kill Lynda with. It's a vintage rotary phone with the long, curly cord which he uses to strangle her while she's calling Laurie.

* Check it out! The handset can actually come off of the body for real strangling action!

The Negatives:

* Underneath the sheet is a fully articulated body. Well, fully articulated for a faux retro figure like this. The hips and arms are articulated but there is next to no movement due to the sheet. Honestly, I wonder why a cloth sheet wasn't used? As it is, this is really just a figure for standing around. Then again, that's pretty much what Michael did in this outfit, right? Just stand around. 

   Let's be honest: This figure definitely isn't meant to be played with. It's a collectible that I'm guessing the majority of buyers are keeping in the package. It's an art piece that is humorous in how it take the horror elements of the film Halloween and turns them into the tropes of a vintage toyline for kids. As an action figure, it's Good. It's a great bit of character selection and it's just kind of fun and crazy that it exists. Unless you're adding these to a collection of figures, you're better off keeping it in the package. It's one of the rare, rare times when you'll probably appreciate the figure more when displayed mint on card.



Looking for more of Michael Myers, since that's who is really under that sheet? Check out these other reviews: The McFarlane Movie Maniacs Michael Myers, the One:12 Collective Michael Myers, the POP! Movies Michael Myers and POP! Town Michael Myers with Myers House #25, the ReAction Horror Series Michael Myers, the Funko Savage World Michael Myers, Mezco's Designer Series Michael Myers, NECA's Cult Classics Icons 2007 Michael Myers, Halloween 2018 Ultimate Michael Myers, Michael Myers (Halloween Kills), Michael Myers (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers), Michael Myers (Halloween H20: Halloween 20 Years Later), Michael Myers (Halloween: Resurrection), and Halloween II Ultimate Michael Myers, the Toony Terror Michael Myers, the Funko 5 Star The Curse of Michael Myers, the Michael Myers Candy Case from CandyRific, and the knockoff Lego Michael Myers.

For more figures from Plastic Meatball's John Carpenter's Halloween line, check out the following:
Annie Brackett
Dr. Loomis