"Love your suit."
A psychopath named Buffalo Bill is murdering women and believing it takes one to know one, Agent Clarice Starling is sent to interview
a demented prisoner: Hannibal Lecter, a cannibalistic psychiatrist whose fascination with the young agent is as great as his hunger for murder. As their relationship develops, Starling is forced to confront not only her own demons, but also an evil so powerful she may not have the courage to stop!
I've been enjoying these re-releases NECA's been doing lately. It puts older toys in new fans' hands without having to pay scalper prices, it gives NECA the chance to get a little more use out of expensive tools from years ago, allows them to gauge interest to see if it's worth doing a full modern update, and lets them correct old issues. I haven't felt a strong desire to get any of them so far, because the versions I already owned have been good enough, but I always kind of regretted passing on this version of Hannibal Lecter back in the day. So when I saw this one at Walmart, I snapped it up immediately!
The Straitjacket Hannibal Lecter was originally available in Cult Classics Series 5, so we'll just point you over to Rustin's very good review of that release for all the basics. This review will focus on what's been changed.
We begin with the paint. Gone are the "safety orange" prison pants, done here instead in a more muted color, just like Rustin asked for lo those many years ago. They may be a bit too dark, however: like Rustin said, a wash over the previous day-glo color might have been ideal, whereas these are verging toward "light brown" territory; someone who escaped in these might not immediately be recognized as a fugitive.
The straitjacket, on the other hand, is much brighter and cleaner, a pristine white without the grey wash. It does have some painted shadows where the arms cross the chest, but still looks like it just came out of the Baltimore State Hospital laundry room. You definitely don't have to worry about anyone passing this new version off as the old one - the colors are just too different.
That goes the same for the adjustable hand truck he's strapped down to. It's the same mold as before, but a few minor parts that were silver back then are black today, mostly down near the bottom, but also the center of the wheels. And speaking of, apparently the wheels on the old cart didn't actually turn, but this time they definitely do. As before, you can either pose him reclining or standing upright. I will say, though, I didn't realize the straps holding him in place were actually attached to the figure; you could remove him from the device and have him standing alone, but you'd need to come up with some excuse for why those are still stuck to him.
We do not, sadly, get the removable bite mask from before. Oh, it's still here, and it's still a separate piece, it's just permanently attached to the head it's on. Yes, the big draw of this set (if you already have the 2006 figure) is that Hannibal comes with your choice of four heads:
the one staring out wildly over the mask, one smiling, one stern, and one doing that teeth-sucking thing. They're all new, and they all have a superb likeness even if it's not Trevor Grove work. The biggest flaw here is the hairline, which seems to be in a different spot on each head. They did a much better job painting his bald spot this time, though - no more big perfect square of pink paint plopped on top of his head! The new sculpts also get a better range of motion, meaning Hannibal can now look forward even when he's leaning back. And no, we never see his bare face when he's strapped to his trolley, but getting these is still nice. And now I'm kind of wondering if they're swappable with the Ultimate Prison Escape Hannibal, and if maybe I should pick that one up too next time I see it. Damn you, NECA!
When I got the Cult Classics 6 Hannibal Lecter back in 2007, I paid $12.50 for it. This figure today cost $34.99. Granted, that's way less than the CC5 original was going for on the secondary market, so I don't feel too bad about it. The old-fashioned lack of articulation doesn't bug me much, either, since the entire point of this scene is that he can't move. It's a stretch to call this an "Ultimate" release, though the extra heads do help ease the pain.
And now that these are out, I bet we're not that far away from a fully articulated Hannibal in his blue jumpsuit, sold in a box designed to look like he's standing in his hospital cell.
-- 05/29/25
They've done Assassin's Creed, Beetlejuice, Saw, and now Silence of the Lambs; what other old figures do you want to see NECA rerelease? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.
|
