As part of the new Now Playing line of action figures from SOTA, they picked up the license for this classic werewolf flick. But rather than do the werewolf right away, they have released a set of Nightmare Demons, a very visually interesting set of guys, but not necessarily the first thing you think of when you think American Werewolf in London. They storm the room during a nightmare sequence, dressed in military gear and sporting a variety of rather nasty heads.

There are 3 distinct characters in the first series of Now Playing. There's Dr. Peyton Westlake, better known as Darkman, the Toxic Avenger, and the Nightmare Demon. There are actually more variants than unique figures, but I'll get to that in a little more detail in just a minute. The figures retail for about $11 each, although you can find them as cheap as $10 if you try hard enough.

The Now Playing series is already planned out for two more waves, along with some other ancillary items. Wave 2 consists of The Creeper from Jeepers Creepers 2, a Killer Klown from Killer Klowns from Outer Space, and Imhotep from The Mummy Returns. Wave 3 includes Meg Mucklebones from Legend, Baron Harkonnen from Dune, and a werewolf from the hit film Dog Soldiers. There's also an 18" version of Darkness from Legend planned for this summer, and a boxed set of Macready vs. the Dog-Thing from the eighties film, The Thing.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"Now Playing Nightmare Demon (with Mohawk head)"

Ah, variants. Don't we just love them. There is a bunch here, so pay attention or you might get lost. There are two versions of the Toxic Avenger - regular and the translucent exclusive to SOTA's website. Darkman also has two versions, the regular and the Tower Records exclusive, which is a repaint and includes a third, partly bandaged, head.

The Nightmare Demon has a few more. Every Nightmare Demon comes with the standard bald head. Then there are three alternate heads packed with the figures. You can find the Wolf head or the Helmeted head at retailers, but the one reviewed here today, the 'Mohawk head', is exclusive to the SOTA website.

Not only are there three accessory head variants, but two (the two non-exclusive versions) of the three come in two versions - one with a knife, and one with a gun. That's five different Nightmare Demons in total!

Packaging - **
In my review of the Darkman figure, I mentioned the oversized and annoying packaging. Yes, it looks better in general than the Street Fighter work, but it's still far too large and bulky.

The convex front is intended to look like a movie poster marquee at the theater, but it ends up way too big for MOCers and openers alike. Don't even think about finding some place to store these, and they use a huge amount of peg space. SOTA needs to work on their packaging - although it's probably not something they need to lose any sleep over.

Sculpting - ****
This is a fantastic figure, from the top of his funky hair, to the cleats on the bottom of his boots. The detail is excellent, and both head sculpts are outstanding.

Looking for oozing flesh wounds and stylin' hair? Then go with the Mohawk head. Prefer the clean head with poor dental hygiene? Go for the bald head. Either way, you're getting a terrific sculpt that's extremely accurate to the film.

The body sculpt hits on all cylinders. There's good texturing, with lots of small detail work on the jacket, and realistic looking folds and creases in the pants. I mentioned that the boots even have tiny cleats, a touch that wasn't even necessary, but shows how much SOTA cares about the accuracy.

The hand sculpts are designed to hold either weapon, but work particularly well with the machine gun. The right hand holds the grip, index finger either in or out of the trigger guard. The left hand is sculpted with a tiny 'mouse hole' between the fingers, just large enough to fit the front grip, and it's another example of their attention to detail and quality.

Paint - ****
While both heads sport perfect paint ops, it's the mohawk head that really impresses me. The hair line is perfect, and the wounds on the cheeks, while not large, have not just unique color, but a nice gloss finish to imply that they are wet with blood. This shiny finish is used on the lips and teeth as well, but it's the eyes that are truly striking. Both heads have eyes that cast a weird glow, almost like they were real. I'm not sure how they pulled it off, but it's more than a simple gloss paint job.

The uniform has a wash over it to bring out the texture, and it's not overdone or outlandish. The small buckles are painstakingly painted, along with the tiny buttons. I can't imagine anyone complaining that this figure is weak in the paint ops department.

Articulation - ***
These aren't intended to be super articulated toys, but mini-statues you can pose. And for that, these have a nice amount of useful articulation.

First up is the Ferrari of joints, the ball jointed neck. The joint is up under the chin, where the various heads pop on and off. With this joint, your Demon can look pissed or quizzical, your choice.

Then there's the ball jointed shoulders, and cut elbows, waist, wrists and boot tops. Posing him with either of his accessories in several ways is quite easy, and allows you to pick up all the variants and still make each look a little different on the shelf.

The ball jointed shoulders are similar to NECA's, and some folks find them too thin and odd looking. I think they work fine however, and don't cause any major issues.

Accessories - ***
This version of the Demon comes with the mohawk head, my favorite of the alternate heads. The bald version is my second favorite, so this figure is the best of both worlds.

He also comes with a machine gun, which fits perfectly in his hands. The articulation and sculpt work together to allow you to hold the gun in a very natural position. The stock of the gun extends and retracts as well.

His final accessory is the flaming floor base. He doesn't require it to stand on his own, but it looks great, and has pegs for both feet. Flames are tough to pull off in solid form, but they manage it with a nice blend of sculpt and paint. Fortunately, the wind is blowing all the flame in the same direction as well.

Fun Factor - **1/2
This isn't a 'fun' figure per se, not in the same way as Darth Tater, for example. But if you have a kid who loves monsters, especially monsters from older movies, then this guy will be just what they're looking for.

Value - ***
The regular figures are available for as little as $10 each, and that's a hell of a good deal for a movie license figure of this quality. I'm assuming however that you'll pay the $11 - $13 each that most of the online stores are charging. That's still pretty good, if you keep it closer to $11 than $13.

Things to Watch Out For
None that I found. The joints are well constructed, and there were no issues with paint or accessories. You do want to be careful with the retractable stock on the machine gun though, as it's very fragile and could get broken if you try to force it.

Overall - ****
While Darkman was good, the Nightmare Demon is outstanding. It seems like we've gotten a flurry of great figures recently, but this one really stands out for me. Perhaps that's because I didn't expect much, or perhaps because he's a character I hadn't expected to really like. Or maybe it's simply because it kicks six kinds of ass.

One complaint I do expect though is that there are too many variants. It would have been nice if either the two accessories - gun and knife - or all more of the heads had been packed together. Once you start getting up around 5 or 6 versions of the same character, you're well into variant overload.

The quality does bode well though for future figures, and some of the upcoming characters will be must haves on my list.

Where to Buy -
This particular version is the SOTA Toys exclusive. You can get it at their website for $13. They have the other figures for $13 each as well, but you can find better bargains:

- omgcnfo.com has the helmet head and wolf head versions for just $11 each, and they also have them listed separately with the gun or with the knife! They have pre-orders up for series 2 at the same $11.

- Killer Toys has the figures for $12.

- CornerStoreComics has the regular Nightmare Demon for $12, and all three regular figures for $35.