Frequent readers may recall that our
previous unboxing didn't go so well. In fact, Cryptocurium's Parcel
of Terror may have marked the only time when a mystery box left me in
a state of irritated disbelief to the point that I wanted to take a
break from mystery boxes. That wasn't an immediate option however as
I already had another box on order from another service. After a
series of delays due to hurricane season I finally have my first
experience with Fright Crate. Does this service have what ti takes to
wash away the disappointment of Cryptocurium? Let's find out.
Let's get the details outta the way
first. Fright Crate is a horror themed monthly mystery box that in a
welcome change of pace is not a subscription service. No sir, they
simply make a certain number of boxes and you either buy it or you
don't. Excess items are also made available on their store. The box
comes in two versions, a twenty dollar 3-4 item option or the full
5-6 item thirty dollar version that I opted for. Note that price does
not include shipping or the potential extra cost for larger t-shirts.
When all was said and done my full crate with an XXL shirt cost $39.
It's a pretty hefty price tag. It may actually be the most expensive
box I've tried thus far. Lucky for them they had a couple of my
favorite horror topics on offer, encouraging me to go through with a
purchase.
On the matter of shipping and
packaging they simply add some of their stickers with quotes from
famous horror personalities (John Carpenter and Clive Barker in this
case) to a USPS flat-rate box. The average mail-date is near the end
of the month which means there's actually a chance of getting a box
within the intended release month. Imagine that! Sadly all the
hurricane activity in Florida during September lead to delays and
this edition wasn't complete and mailed out until Friday October
13th. Enough about logistics. Who wants to see what's in
this thing?
First up we've got an exclusive shirt,
my first in quite some time and an item type I've missed. Of all
things this is based on the 2001 remake of Thirteen Ghosts
which if I remember correctly was pretty terrible. People do vote for
themes though, so this thing must have garnered some sort of
following over the years. Shirt wise it's not so bad. A little odd,
not based on a property I care about, but where else are you going to
get a spooky shirt featuring the upper half of Tony Shalhoub's head?
The material is a bit clingy at first though I imagine a little bit
of wear will take care of that. Still curious if anyone will
recognize these ghosts when I wear this out in public.
Next up is a resin bust of Deadite Ash
from Evil Dead 2 made exclusively for the this box by Serial
Resin Co. Once again I'm a bit surprised as this is a more dignified
and series item than the usual Evil Dead fare. It's solid,
well-built, and nicely painted. Beyond that it's a first for me as
figures in these boxes are usually closer to a regular toy whereas
this is my first ever bust. Currently it resides near my bed as the
newest Halloween decoration.
Behind the bust is an art print for
Night of Something Strange. Hadn't heard of the film before
receiving this, apparently it's about an STD that turns folk into
zombies. Sort of an over the top version of Shivers. From the
trailer it doesn't look very good but ya never know. What makes this
more than mere filler is that it's sighed by the writer/director
Jonathan Straiton. I may not know his work but he joins the ranks of
Derek Mears, the folks from that Third Day short I interviewed
last year, and a seemingly legit James Garner in my small autograph
collection.
Next we have an elusive pin of the new
Pennywise from It. I have yet to see the new version, haven't
seen something in the theater since early August actually. My point
is that while I have no basis one way or another towards this clown,
the pin is great. Good weight, nice sculpt, double clutch. Plus it
inspires jealousy from both my sister and nephew which is always fun.
Now we move on to a crossover item.
Cryptocurium created a wall plaque of the poster art for the original
Fright Night. In all fairness they are playing to a weakness
of mine since that movie is pure gold and it didn't take long before
I hung it above my light switch. I love totally love this thing, got
zero complaints about it. It's a reminder that for as poorly as I
think of his subscription service, Jason Mckittrick makes some boss
items. I only wish something like this could have come in his last
parcel so I wouldn't have felt totally swindled by that 35 dollar
magnet. Yes, I'm still bitter. Jason, you're capable of great work,
let me know when you make a better service.
Since the horrid Florida weather
delayed the box by weeks, an extra item was tossed in for fun.
According to the inventory sheet some boxes simply received temporary
tattoos, one in three however got some old school Nightmare on Elm
Street stickers. I've seen many a retro bloggers write about
these over the years as a prime example of a time when violent screen
villains were readily marketed towards kids. Most of mine seem to
originate from Freddy's Revenge, the black sheep second entry
in the series though one I hold some affection due to it's unique
approach to the format and awesome score by Christopher Young. The
goofy thing about these stickers is that many of them serve as puzzle
pieces meant to be put together within the matching sticker book.
Without the matching pieces you end up with stickers of somebody's
shirt or forehead. There's more entertainment on the back of each
sticker where you'll find advertisements for posters, the board game,
and the legendary Freddy's Greatest Hits tape.
Is Fright Crate an excellent offering
in the overcrowded world of mystery boxes? Yes, yes it is. There was
enough quality and such a wide spectrum of item types that I was was
almost confused. With most boxes the format is between one and three
cool things and then some junk to fill in the blanks. Here there was
an honest attempt to make every item special. The only one that
counted as traditional filler was an apology for late shipping, a
phenomenon I've never encountered in this market before. Pretty much
everything here will see usage. Even the heavier price point is
alright since the value is immediately apparent. I'm satisfied, and
those of you who read my unboxings know I'm not easily won over. I
would buy another Fright Crate down the line. Almost bought the
October edition as it is supposed to be bigger than usual. While I
sort of regret skipping, this has been an expensive enough month that
I'm happy to have saved the money.
That's a wrap for tonight, kids. This
is gonna be an odd week for yours truly as I have more
responsibilities than normal, basically have yet another job albeit
temporally. At the same time I also have a couple nights completely
cleared for me to vedge out with Boo Berry and horror flicks. If
there's nothing more on here by the end of this week, then look
forward to a report from the annual haunted house trip. Going back to
Awaken in Leslie MI this year. If you're in the area I highly advise
paying them a visit. If you're lucky you might hear me scream like
a lady.
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