Nerd Block is a subscription mystery box that delivers geeky collectibles right to your door each month. You can choose whatever theme box you are into–there’s the Classic Block, Arcade Block, Sci-Fi Block, Horror Block, Comic Block, and even a Boys Jr. and Girls Jr. Block for younger kids. The sets always includes a t-shirt, along with 4-6 other collectibles that are often exclusive to Nerd Block subscribers. Today I am unboxing the September 2016 Horror Block.
The Horror Block subscription box has, since I’ve been a subscriber, usually been a mish-mash of items from random horror films or TV shows, some old and some new. This month’s box was a highly anticipated one for me because they actually went for a theme this time around, which also allowed them to provide items from several different films that many horror lovers enjoy. To celebrate September, the birth month of of The Master of Horror Stephen King, Horror Block featured all items from King-related movies and books. Constant Readers, let’s see what’s inside!
I’ll start with the item with which I am, sadly, still the least familiar. I can’t seem to get started on The Dark Tower series for some reason, but I know it has some massive fans out there, so they will be sure to love this item. It’s a Dark Tower art print from artist Tim Boyle, which I guess features the Gunslinger and the eponymous tower (like I said–haven’t read the books yet, so I don’t really know what I’m talking about). The print measures 8×11, and is a pretty cool design with the blue sky fading down from dark to light, and the red clouds surrounding the tower.
As the description card for the box says: Coulrophobics, beware! The next item is this awesome Pennywise mini-plush figure from the movie IT. This is an exclusive item created by Bleacher Creatures. Pennywise is 7 inches tall, and the likeness is great. They’ve got the outfit, the wild red hair (which is very soft and touchable), and the face is spot-on, with the red and yellow eyes and mouth full of sharp teeth. Since I now have this and the Freddy Krueger mini-plush from a previous block, I really hope Horror Block includes more of these because they are such a fun little collectible to have.
Next up is another truly awesome item from one of King’s most popular adaptations. Obviously inspired by The Shining, this exclusive is a key hook that features a piece of a door from the Overlook Hotel where little Danny wrote “REDRUM” in his mother’s lipstick. It has three hooks on the bottom for your keys, and measures about 4×5 inches. It is also about half an inch thick, so it is another really good quality item. There are two hooks on the back to support the quite hefty weight on your wall. This is a fantastic and ingenious item. Well done, Horror Block!
On to the t-shirt! As always, the shirt is from ShirtPunch, and this time we got a design from one of the best King adaptations–Misery! I love the shadowy figure of Kathy Bates’s Annie Wilkes wielding her sledgehammer as the main image. “Misery Lane” is rendered in a nice font, and the blood splatter from the words trickles down into snow for the image at the bottom, which features Annie’s home in the background and Paul Sheldon’s overturned car in the foreground. I love the fact that I now have a Misery t-shirt, because you just don’t see too many of them out there. Who needs to do laundry when you have Horror Block?!
Now we have probably my favorite item in the block. If you didn’t already know this about me from all of my past articles on the film, Carrie is one of my absolute favorites. So Horror Block totally surprised and impressed me this month by giving me a picture of Norma Watson from the film, autographed by PJ Soles herself! Soles is a genre icon that I have always wanted to meet at a convention, and hopefully it will happen someday, but for now I am totally thrilled to have this! Horror Block even included a certificate of authenticity so you know the autograph is legit. Totally!
Finally, for the one non-King item in the box, we have the Rue Morgue issue. I am a little disappointed that it is not the monthly edition of the magazine that we usually get (the Frankenstein cover for the latest issue looks awesome), but this is still very interesting. Monstro Bizarro: An Essential Manual of Mysterious Monsters is a 130-page collection of articles about creatures of folklore. Lyle Blackburn, author of The Beast of Boggy Creek and staff writer for Rue Morgue, curated this collection. Many of the articles are on Bigfoot, but they also touch on other cryptids like the Loch Ness Monster and Chupacabra. I don’t know much about the subject myself so I’m very curious to get into this.
Horror Block definitely made up for the disappointment of last month’s box with this tribute to Stephen King. I am beyond happy with all of the items I received. The next block will be for the great month of October, so I really hope they hit it out of the park once again with those items. The teaser card for October’s block promises five exclusives from films like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween (of course), and Hellraiser. If you like what you saw here, head on over to Nerd Block to start your subscription today!
