Over the years, all of the big horror franchise icons have been immortalized in toy form countless times, usually by many different companies. Toy licenses are constantly running out and changing hands, and as a result we collectors have ended up with a wealth of vastly different toys depicting our favorite cinematic slashers.
In this recurring feature here on Dread Central, we dig into the toy box and pluck out the best of the best: the 10 must-own toys from each of those big time franchises. Today, we kick Halloween off early by shining the jack o’lantern spotlight on the coolest Michael Myers toys ever made!
In 1999, Myers joined previously released icons Freddy, Jason and Leatherface in the second series of McFarlane’s Movie Maniacs, still to this day one of the coolest toy lines ever made. Packaged with McFarlane’s trademark poster stand as well as a jack o’lantern and kitchen knife, this original Michael Myers figure has gone up in value in recent years and can often be found these days selling for around $50 on eBay.
Around the same time, Spencer Gifts put out an exclusive line of 18″ talking dolls under the banner “Thriller Series,” which included Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, Ghostface and our man of the hour – Michael Myers. The dolls were numbered and limited to 1,000, and Myers was given a regular doll and a battle damaged variant (above), the latter riddled with bullet holes from his run-in with Dr. Loomis at the end of Halloween. When you push the button in Michael’s belly, the iconic Halloween theme song plays. Talking Myers also goes for around $50 on today’s market.
When it comes to highly detailed 12″ toys, there’s no company that does it better than Sideshow Collectibles, who turned their attention to Michael Myers in 2003. Based on Myers’ look from the original Halloween, the heavily-articulated figure featured a real cloth jumpsuit and came packaged with a bloody knife as well as a white sheet and a pair of glasses to recreate the infamous scene where Lynda meets her demise. The figure was limited to only 7,500 pieces and nowadays will run you at least $100.
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NECA held the Halloween license for the subsequent few years, churning out what I personally consider to be the coolest batch of collectibles the franchise has ever seen. First up is the incredible “Night He Came Home” playset, which gave us our very first toy of the Ahab to Michael’s Moby Dick: Dr. Sam Loomis. The box set not only came with awesome figures of Michael and Loomis but also a backdrop diorama of the Myers house to depict the ultimate showdown of good vs. evil right on your toy shelf. The included jack o’lantern even lit up from within at the push of a button. This set has become increasingly rare over the years and often sells for around $150. Unfortunately, Loomis never saw release outside of the set.
Also from NECA came this “Evolution of Evil” two-pack, part of their Cult Classics line. Though the adult Michael Myers figure was the same as the one from the “Night He Came Home” set, what made this pack stand out was the inclusion of a figure of young Michael Myers from the opening sequence of Halloween. Young Myers came with a removable clown mask, and the package was rounded out with Judith Myers’ headstone. This is yet another rare and valuable Myers toy, which sells for about $100.
NECA once again brought a little something different to the table with this Cult Classics: Hall of Fame release, adding a removable white sheet and Bob’s eyeglasses to the mix. It’s the little touches that make all the difference, and the scene-specific homage of this toy ensured that it’d become a fan favorite. You can expect to pay upwards of $100 to snag one of these nowadays.
Rounding out NECA’s contributions to the list is this super-sized version of their Myers figure, which measures 18″ and features motion-activated sound. Much like Spencers’ “talking” doll, this figure also spits out Carpenter’s Halloween theme song whenever anyone walks past it. It should be noted that McFarlane similarly released an 18″ version of their Myers figure, but I personally consider this to be the better of the two. As with many of NECA’s 18″ talking figures, you’re not going to be able to get your hands on this for much less than $200.
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In 2007 Paper Magic Group released what is no doubt the most unique Halloween toy ever made in the form of this two-foot tall replica of a young Michael Myers in his clown suit. Though the doll could often be found soon thereafter on clearance at Spencer Gifts, it has in more recent years become quite sought after, selling for at least $100 on eBay. I’m not sure what’s up with the hair, but this is a must-own collectible nonetheless, especially for the hardcore Halloween nut.
We head into remake territory with Michael’s debut in Mezco’s Living Dead Dolls line, based on his look in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II. The Zombie Halloween movies have been given several different toys from both Mezco and NECA, but this is my favorite of the bunch. I’m not so much a fan of Zombie’s two installments in the franchise, but one thing I will say is that I absolutely love how badass he made Myers look with the tattered jumpsuit and that gnarly torn-up mask. These have recently sold on eBay for varying prices, generally between $30-$50.
We finish off the list with my most wanted Halloween collectible: the Halloween snow globe, which was included with Anchor Bay’s 20th Anniversary VHS release of the film back in 1998. Rather than snow, this particular globe was filled with drops of blood, and it’s based on the scene where Laurie and Michael duke it out in the living room. This is actually the first and only Halloween collectible to depict Laurie Strode, a character our toy collections have been missing for far too long. If you find one of these, be sure to snatch it up because they’re quite rare.
This is of course only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Michael Myers toys. If I left any out that you consider to be must-own pieces, leave a comment and let us know!