I think I would like to see a repaint of Dracula from Universal Monsters. I skipped him in 2018 and picked him up in 2023, originally because I was pretty happy with Funko's releases and didn't feel a burning need to upgrade. And now that I have him in hand? I think I was right, this isn't any worse, but it's not any better either. The two ReAction Draculas are two perfectly fine takes on what may well be the most famous public domain supernatural monster in recent history. The original one looks fine - and so does the new one. The eye paint on the new one and the thick skin paint are things I'd like to see changed, but otherwise he's quite charming.
I thought the Dracula [FOTD #1,094] from 2014 did a nice job of pulling off the retro magic trick. Simple sculpting, limited deco, a bland but not awful pose, and a decent removable vinyl cape with thicker-than-usual vinyl. It got the job done well, with clean lines and there were some elements that were incredibly crisp on his torso.
The 2018 Drac has much larger hands that are almost comically huge, but the pose is more Kenner-esque. The limbs swing freely and the head turns smoothly, giving him a better overall feel - but the cape isn't removable, so he won't be doing a lot of sitting. He stands well, and looks like a vampire. From some angles he looks like Bela Lugosi, but thanks to the blue eyes and painted pale skin he looks a little lumpier than need be. Sure, the real guy had a somewhat round face but this just doesn't feel right. I bet it has to do with the paint and materials more than the sculpt, but this isn't a character that's famous for blue eyes. His eyebrows don't seem particularly dynamic, but they're perfectly fine.
The sculptor did a nice job, as you can see near the ankles of his pants and the tails of his coat hidden under the cape. (See below for gratuitous butt shot.) The star pendant looks a little too round, but the waistcoat is fine and the buttons on hus chest are generally good. The details on the sleeves aren't quite as good as the Funko one, which I should note also had a fly sculpted on his pants.
His creepy smile is good, and the hair looks a lot like publicity photos. I don't think this was a "let's pretend it's Bela" sculpt but I'm just not feeling that this is the same guy who got attacked by his own octopus, or indeed the kind of guy who is pulling the strings behind some evil plot. It's close, and I would be interested in seeing if a repaint could improve it.
If I saw this in person before buying it, I'd probably have skipped it. I was super interested in getting more monster toys but I'm just not feeling that this is is worth getting if you open your figures and you already have a Dracula figure that makes you happy. The cape with the collar cut out was a great call on their part, and the red lining looks fantastic. But I can't remove it to see the figure's sculpt, and some nice work went on back there. This is by no means a bad figure, it's just that it shows it can be difficult to improve on a retro figure if an already perfectly-good retro figure is in your collection. Recommended for carded collectors, or at a discount, or possibly as a repaint if they make one with a repainted head some day.
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