Review of Sam - Trick 'r Treat
Ultimate Action Figure

Introduction

One of my very favorite Halloween movies is Trick 'r Treat, an anthology film with a series of tightly interwoven stories occurring on all Hallow's Eve. With some terrific acting from Anna Paquin, Dylan Baker, and Bryan Cox, and a great script by Michael Dougherty (who also directed), it was a hidden gem for many years.

Unfortunately, the movie is also a textbook example of the nightmare abyss films can fall into with the politics and changing landscape in Hollywood. The film was first screened in 2007, but took almost two full years to make it to a wide release.

It has gained a pretty solid cult following, and Sam, the impish trick or treater who ties the whole film together, has had several figures produced over the years. The most recent is this "ultimate" release by NECA, available for around $30 at most retailers.

Packaging - ***1/2
The hanger box shows off the figure nicely under the flip lid, and has some excellent graphics taken from the film's marketing campaign. It's all collector friendly too, although getting some of the accessories out of the plastic tray can be challenging.

Sculpting - ****
The figure includes four head sculpts - four!  He comes wearing his traditional sack, with button eyes and sewn mouth. They include one with the mouth torn open, one unmasked face, and one unmasked face 'bleeding' from a wound.

The sculpts on all four are terrific. The masked heads have a perfect burlap pattern, mimicking the look of cloth perfectly. The soft, subtle texture on the body does this as well, making it as though you can almost feel the fuzziness of his pajamas.

The unmasked heads are gruesome and grim. They both bear the same wry, grinning expression, with a ton of detail in the pumpkin-like skin texture. This is a small figure, coming in at about 5" tall. He fits in nicely with the rest of the 7" horror line up from NECA - remember, he's supposed to look like a child.

The wounded version is spurting his orange goo, a nice touch based on his interactions with Bryan Cox's character Kreeg.

The heads swap easily, and having four different looks really adds to the overall potential of the figure.

Paint - ****
The overall paint application is quite realistic and life-like, bringing out the detail in the textures and sculpting.

The wash on the costume is softer, less extreme than their earlier Sam, and it creates a much more cloth-like appearance. The darker wash on the pumpkin heads brings out the wrinkles and cracks, and the smaller details are super clean. Just look at how perfect the tiny X's on the eyes are!

Considering the scale and price point, this is an extremely nice production paint job, well above the average.

Articulation - ***1/2
The figure is much more articulated and posable than I was expecting, considering the small size and overall character design.

The ball jointed neck works well, particularly with the unmasked heads. The hooded heads have a little less tilt and lean, but that's to be expected.

The rotating hinge shoulders, elbows, and wrists allow for lots of good arm poses, and break up the sculpt less than traditional pin joints. The joints work great on the ball hips, rotating hinge knees, and rotating/rocker ankles, and the ankles are of particular note. There's plenty of rocker and forward/backward movement, allowing for deeper stances.

The heads and hands swap easily too, always an important factor.

Accessories - ****
He's an 'ultimate' figure, which means lots of goodies.

There's the three extra heads I already mentioned, but it's no surprise that they are a big part of the top score here as well.

He has two extra hands, but only one is meant to be swapped onto his wrist. This is a tighter grip right, perfect for the small lollipop stick. The other is a severed hand, trailing tendrils of pumpkin guts. This is another screen accurate extra, straight from his battle with Kreeg.

He has two weapons as well. There's a candy bar/knife, which we saw in the movie, and of course, his trademark lollipop. Both have great sculpts and paint work.

He comes with a soft, rubber bag, which is designed for him to hold in his right hand and to sit flat on the ground.

Finally, there are two jack-o-lanterns. One is a straight up spooky sculpt, while the other has a flame effect shooting from the top, and a light feature. More on that in the next section.

Light Feature - ***1/2
The light feature is pretty simple. There's a battery compartment on the bottom of the flaming pumpkin. Pull the little plastic tab (batteries are already inserted), and press down on the flame effect. The light turns on, illuminating the eyes, teeth, and flame.

It worked pretty well, although the flame itself was much brighter than the eyes and teeth.

Fun Factor - ****
Thanks to all the great accessories and the better than anticipated articulation, this guy is a ton of fun to pose and work with.  He's going to fit in great with a variety of horror action figures, and the scale works well with the majority currently on the market.

Value - ***
At $30, you're getting a great figure with plenty of extras. It's a solid value, and you'll feel like you got your money's worth.

Things to Watch Out For -
I'd take a little care working with the tiny lolly pop stick when inserting it into the gripping hand. I didn't have any issues, but it is quite thin. Otherwise, you should be good to go!

Overall - ****
This is not the first time NECA has tackled this figure. But this release shows how far they've come over the years, with every aspect of this figure surpassing their first attempt back in 2009.

I don't pick up a lot of horror figures any more in this scale, but when I saw this guy on the pegs, I simply couldn't resist. I'm quite glad I didn't - he's a must have. He's definitely 'ultimate'!

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ****
Light Feature - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***
Overall - ****

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is also at $27.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Sam figures include the large Mezco version, the early Sideshow version , and the earlier NECA release.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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