Full disclosure: I have a slight addiction when it comes to collecting items related to The Walking Dead. And by slight addiction I mean entire rooms packed with merchandise, autographs, and all those bits and baubles associated with the show. So when it was announced that Horror Block was going to contain an exclusive TWD item, I knew the time was right to finally try out a subscription box service.
What You Need to Know:
The Cost: $19.99 plus shipping (Shipping is $8.75 to Canada, $9.50 to US, $12.50 Worldwide)
What’s In It: All Horror Blocks comes with a custom t-shirt (you specify the size) and 5 or so items including the latest Rue Morgue.
Ships to: US, Canada, and Worldwide!
The December 2015 Box Contents:
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the box’s merchandise as well as its packaging.
The first item in the box was an exclusive Wes Craven tribute shirt from Shirt Punch Tee featuring some of Craven’s most beloved characters. Listen, any time you give me the chance to adorn my body with Ghostface, I’m taking it! What was extra nice was that the shirt had a 10% coupon attached. Shirt Punch offers up some seriously well-made shirts and this one was no exception. It also bears noting that Horror Block is one of the few subscription box services I’ve found that offer women’s cut t-shirts. Yes dudes, that’s a big deal. Kudos too to Horror Block for finally offering up a shirt that isn’t black or white!
Next up, and my personal favorite, was a Horror Block exclusive zombie hula girl. I halfway expected it to be made of pretty cheap stuff and was happy to find that it had some weight to it. Unfortunately, it didn’t come with any way to affix it to a car dashboard and so she’ll be taking up residency on my desk.
The box also contained a Horror Box exclusive plush from A Nightmare on Elm Street. The craftsmanship of Freddy was fairly decent but I couldn’t help but think that he looked just a tad too friendly to be the sarcastic serial killer.
Every box also contains the latest copy of Rue Morgue. Given that it retails for $9.95, fans of the magazine will find this to be of particular value. This month’s cover story was on the upcoming The Witches and it is jam packed with all the latest industry news.
One item I wasn’t expecting to like quite as much as I did was the art print. Designed by Paul Hanley, the scene depicts Godzilla squaring off against Cthulhu. The colors are fantastic and I’m excited to get this one framed.
Rounding out this month’s collection was The Walking Dead exclusive I was initially most excited about. Because all the promo shots publicizing this item showed Carol and Daryl I was hoping for something that showcased both characters. Instead, it was a Daryl Dixon bloody variant key chain. It’s a decent figure but if I had one gripe, it’s that my Daryl only had marginal blood splatter. Yes, in the wild and wacky world of collecting, things like that matter. But to be fair to Horror Block that is more a gripe against Funko’s questionable quality control than against this month’s subscription box.
So is it worth it?
Based on this month’s haul, I’d have to say yes. The content of the box justified its cost and the items were an eclectic blend of kitsch. I will definitely be giving this one a second try!
