There are some of the old Cult Classics, Movie Maniacs and Sideshow figures that I regret not buying when they came out, because a lot of them go for high prices now. NECA's release(s) of Jason from Friday the 13th Part 2 -- the so-called "Tater Sack Jason" aka "Hillbilly Jason" -- is one of the figures I regret not buying. (Especially the box set that had Jason, Pamela and Jason's shrine for Pamela's decapitated head.) So, when I saw that NECA was releasing a retro-styled Part 2 figure, I wanted to buy it, even though I felt like I was just settling for that style of figure after missing out on the others. I'm not a big fan of the retro-styled dolls -- I can understand why people would like them, if that's the style of toys they grew up with. Me? I'm an '80s, Kenner kid, so I get a kick out of Funko's ReAction line more than the cloth dolls.
I had bought the Part 5 Jason/Roy retro-styled figure a few months ago basically because I'm one of the few fans of A New Beginning, and it was the first figure to represent that movie. It looked alright, but it didn't make me want to rush out and buy the other retro-styled horror figures NECA's done. But the newly released Part 2 figure, man...it's pretty nice. It kind of makes sense to have this look of Jason's be in the *clothed* retro style: the layered hillbilly get-up, the tater sack head... It's a nice looking figure, with neat little details like the dirtied sack. I'm very surprised by it and very pleased with the purchase. In my opinion, it definitely looks better and more screen accurate than the Sideshow version of Part 2 Jason and the molded action figure versions previously released by NECA. The look just really pops and comes across nicely in the retro style.
I'm a nerd, so I didn't want to open the packaging, so I'm curious how Jason looks under that hood. I'm assuming he has rooted hair and not molded hair, due to the way the sack is a little misshapen. Even if I opened it, I'd be afraid that I wouldn't get the sack tied on the same way and that would bug the heck out of me.
Jason's look in Part 2 is unique; his ordinary clothes, simple sack over his head and the way his make-up looks -- along with the way Steve Dash portrayed him -- made Part 2's Jason the most human seeming. The long haired Jason, the beard -- he certainly looked like someone who was presumed to have died and raised himself in a forest. (Someone also recently pointed out to me the way Part 2's Jason looks like a scarecrow. That's a neat idea, like Jason is a scarecrow scaring people away from his turf at Crystal Lake.) It's not a look that would have worked out for the entire series -- the popularity of the hockey mask proves that -- but I appreciate this different Jason look.
A neat figure, I recommend it. If you've been on the fence about these retro styled, clothed figures like I've been, I think this one will surprise you.
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