Most people who recognize this particular character know him as Nosferatu, but in fact, that’s the name of his movie and his species, not the man himself. He’s Count Orlok, the first onscreen iteration of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, uncredited as such originally but now long since public domain. Anyone can make a toy out of him, and nearly everyone has, but now it’s NECA’s turn, and before their Ultimate version, loaded with accessories, hits stores, their glow-in-the-dark variant with no other extras will hit Comic-Con.
Leave the Castle Door Open, Orlok?
Count Orlock will come on a retro-style card resembling Remco’s old Universal Monsters figure line of the ’80s. He never was one of those, but he fits in just fine as a horror icon of the black-and-white era. Hands and feet glow in the dark, emphasizing the face that NECA, perhaps more so than any previous toy company, sculpted to look just like actor Max Schreck.
A classic of silent cinema and German expressionism, Nosferatu helped establish much of what we think of as cinematic vampire lore today, including the idea that they catch fire and die in bright sunlight. That was never part of Stoker’s book. Dracula could operate in the daylight on, essentially, power-saver mode, but he generally chose to sleep then, as he must at some point in a coffin of his native soil.
Expect to pay around $30-$40 with standard convention upcharge/limited run pricing. If you are not attending Comic-Con, here will be limited quantities available at TheNECAStore.com June 26th-28th.
Nosferatu’s influence remains with us today, as a big-budget remake is currently in production, and blockbuster classics like Batman Returns, with its villainous “Max Shreck,” draw influences from its horror of the grotesque. NECA’s figure aims to appeal to horror fans first, but serious cinephiles should also enjoy it. Check out the official pics below:
