Month: September 2019

It’s that spooky time of year when we watch monster movies, visit haunted houses, and eat more candy than arguably any three people should ingest. Halloween is coming soon, and it’s never too early to get in the festive horror mood and amp up the nightmare quota in your life. What better way to throw a little gas on that fire than with some truly horrifying Funko pop vinyl figures?

Everyone knows Funko, and many people can’t get enough of the little vinyl toys. We love when they’re based on our favorite movies, when there’s a variety of options for our favorite characters, and even when the designs go horribly wrong and the end result is something that’s just, well, ugly. We want them.

So as your starting to put up your Halloween decor, take a look at these 19 Funko Pops and decide what kind of nightmare fuel they’d add to your life. Why not horrify a Trick or Treater visiting your house with a disturbing Pennywise or–even worse–Donkey from Shrek?

Take a look at the 19 most nightmarish Pops you can guy below. Then make sure to get caught up on all the exclusive Funko Pops that will be available at New York Comic Con this year.

1. Pennywise (It)

Following the conclusion of It Chapter 2, it’s fair to say we’ve seen Pennywise do some horrible things. This particular version of the dancing clown, though, is enough to send shivers down your spine. Do yourself a favor and place this one in the nightstand next to your bed, so it’s staring at you when you make up in the morning.

2. Pennywise (It: The Miniseries)

The original Pennywise wasn’t so blunt about being terrifying, but Tim Curry’s take on the dancing clown was nightmarish in its own right. The simplicity of his creepy clown look, along with the jagged teeth on this Pop, would make it a super scary addition to any collection.

3. Twisty (American Horror Story)

Why stop the clown scares now? Twisty may not be as iconic as Pennywise, but this AHS Pop and his disturbingly toothy smile are incredibly haunting.

4. Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal)

One last clown because they are all kind of awful. Sweet Tooth from the Twisted Metal franchise is amazing if you’re a fan of the video games. If you’re not, it just looks like this clown is plotting horrible ways to kill you.

5. Black Phillip (The Witch)

We all know The Witch is a masterpiece of terror. Still, chances are you never expected a toy goat to send a shiver down your spine. This smiling Black Phillip is creepy, soaked in blood, and just wants to be your friend.

6. The Grady Twins (The Shining)

The Shining still reigns as one of the scariest movies of all time, and it’s a scientifically-proven fact that there’s nothing more terrifying in a horror film than creepy kids. So naturally, the best way to commemorate your love of The Shining–and freak out your friends–is with the Pop version of the Grady twins. Come play with them, Danny.

7. Frozen Jack Torrance (The Shining)

While you’re thinking about The Shining, this Pop of frozen Jack Torrance is sure to give you some nightmares. It’s a little off-putting how much this actually looks like Jack Nicholson, given how little detail there is in his face. Those eyebrows, though, wow.

8. Donkey (Shrek)

What’s that? Shrek isn’t a horror movie? Tell that to this immensely haunting Donkey Pop. Why is he smiling like that? What’s wrong with him? Why is he looking at you like that?

9. Goofy

Speaking of untraditional nightmares, who allowed this Goofy Pop to be made? Honestly, it looks like the corpse of Goofy.

10. Xenomorph (Alien)

At first glance, this is honestly kind of an adorable take on the Xenomorph. Doesn’t look too offensive, right? But then you look inside its mouth and see the secondary head popping out and it’s game over. It turns out every version of the Xenomorph is creepy.

11. Chucky (Bride of Chucky)

There are a bunch of Chucky Funko Pops, all in various states of bleeding and stitched up. This one, though, is by far the worst. This Chucky has been nearly destroyed and is still determined to cut you. So have fun collecting him.

12. Regan (Exorcist)

A creepy child possessed by a demon and covered in vomit? That’s nightmare fuel if ever there has been. The Exorcist is a great movie, but we can’t suggest you stock your shelf with this cursed toy.`

13. Nemesis (Resident Evil)

Nemesis was always downright creepy in Resident Evil. The character design is just haunting, with its head essentially stapled together and skin pulled back to reveal its teeth. So, naturally, Funko decided it should be turned into a tiny plastic toy that’s just as scary as the one in the game.

14. Bad Ape (War for the Planet of the Apes)

As with Donkey and Goofy, the thing that makes Bad Ape so scary is bizarre character design. This Pop’s stare burrows into your soul and will absolutely give you ape-filled nightmares.

15. Gentlemen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Oh, the Gentlemen. These guys–who were not vampires–were one of the scariest villains to ever stir up trouble on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They move silently and never stopped smiling that horrifically toothy grin. Why wouldn’t you want that horrible smile aimed directly at you?

16. Weeping Angel (Doctor Who)

Of course one of the scariest villains in the history of Doctor Who are also one of the scariest Pop Funkos. Make sure to keep an eye on this Pop and don’t let it touch you.

17. Wendigo (Hannibal)

The Wendigo, or the Stag Man, was one of the most haunting visuals that appeared on-screen on Hannibal. The Pop version isn’t quite as scary, but it certainly stirs those same feelings and the foggy grey eyes on it are upsetting.

18. Dementor (Harry Potter)

Why is the Funko version of the Dementor somehow scarier than the actual character in the Harry Potter films? This Pop is horrifying, especially its creepy mouth.

19. Pale Man (Pan’s Labyrinth)

Its eyes are in its hands. What else do you need to know? Guillermo del Toro is good at creating disturbing creatures for his films and Pale Man is one of the best. This Pop manages to capture the upsetting aspects of the character and put them in doll form, to creep you out until the end of time. Sweet dreams!

Reigns: The Council, an asymmetric party game based on the mobile hit simulation, has crossed its crowdfunding goal and will move forward with production. The game had set a goal of $80,000 on Kickstarter, and crossed it on September 13 with approximately $83,000 pledged as of the time of writing.

An update to the Kickstarter page celebrated the milestone and, true to the game, presented a binary choice for its first stretch goal: shiny golden cards or an improved Kingdom game board.

Reigns: The Council is a party game for 3-6 people. One player assumes the role of monarch while the rest are his or her advisors. They each draw a secret goal card defining what they want the state of the realm to be as of the time when the reign ends. That means their advice isn’t necessarily trustworthy, since they might be steering the monarch wrong to achieve their own ends. The monarch will have to decide which proposals to select to balance four attributes: church, people, army, and wealth. If those traits get out of balance, the monarch’s reign ends and the round is over.

It’s based on Reigns, which originally released on mobile in 2016. That single-player game had you selecting from between two proposals at a time, in a similar effort to balance those four kingdom traits. A sequel called Reigns: Her Majesty was released in 2017. Then in 2018 the game received a spin-off, Reigns: Game of Thrones, based on the popular (and now concluded) HBO series.

My Hero Academia fans won’t have to wait much longer for the series to return, as Funimation announced that My Hero Academia Season 4 will stream on October 12.

Funimation tweeted the announcement, with a picture of Class 1-A’s Izuku “Deku” Midoriya and Mirio “Lemillion” Togata against a red background. The tweet confirms My Hero Academia Season 4 will air on Funimation and Hulu across the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Australia. FunimationNow will also SimulDub on the same day and date.

Funimation published a dubbed trailer for My Hero Academia Season 4 in July. In the trailer, below, Deku wrestles with the gravity of All Might’s retirement and the impending threat led by a new villain named Overhaul. It seems the heroes in Class 1-A are on a quest to save a little girl with a horn, with Deku striving to be the best and reach the number one spot.

The anime’s first film, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, screened in August 2018 after premiering at Anime Expo in July 2018. In our review, we said, “While My Hero Academia: Two Heroes may not hit ‘Plus Ultra’ levels of excitement, and it never matches the highest moments of the show, if you’re looking for a fun extra dose of My Hero, Two Heroes is certain to satisfy that craving.” A second film, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, is scheduled to release December 20 in Japan.

Guardians rejoice! Xur this week has pleased the RNG gods and has some top notch unflinching perks to choose from. To get your own exotic armor piece, here’s where to go to find Xur this week in Destiny 2.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

Control is one of the more unique games we’ve seen–there really isn’t anything else like it. Sure, its blend of superhero-like action and Metroidvania-style exploration reminds us of the Infamous series and Batman: Arkham Asylum (both of which you should play), but it’s the supernatural surrealism that makes Control so unique and alluring.

That combination of “What am I seeing?” and “Can I trust what I’m seeing?” is so rarely done with the confidence and mastery that we see in Control. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve already scoured the internet for new experiences that scratch that same itch. That’s why we put together this list of games, movies, shows, books, and more that you should check out after playing Control.

We’re always on the hunt for surreal experiences like Control, so we’ll come back to update this article if anything else catches our eyes. For now, we hope you enjoy our suggestions–feel free to drop your own recommendations in the comments below!

The best games like Control

Alan Wake (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC)

With its connections to Control–not to mention, the DLC teaser image Remedy recently released–Alan Wake is a no-brainer. It’s an incredible journey about a man searching for his missing wife while battling supernatural forces and small-town folk questioning his sanity. | Mat Paget

Xbox One/360 at Amazon

Xbox One/360 at GameStop

PC at Steam

Alan Wake’s American Nightmare (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC)

The follow-up to Alan Wake, American Nightmare explores what’s going on with the protagonist after the first game. While not the satisfying conclusion some hoped for, it’s still worth playing for anyone who wants to spend more time in this universe. | Mat Paget

Xbox One/360 at Xbox

PC at Steam

Quantum Break (Xbox One, PC)

This Remedy game released between Alan Wake and Control and isn’t as linked into the larger fiction, but Quantum Break feels like a proving ground for a lot of the gameplay ideas that make Control feel great. It’s also a weird, science-heavy time travel story with lots of similar elements and plenty of cool story stuff to uncover. | Phil Hornshaw

Xbox One at Amazon

Xbox One Digital at Xbox

PC at Steam

Prey (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

Supernatural powers, a huge space station inhabited by monstrous aliens, and a sinister, secretive organization make Prey a compelling adventure that had me hooked from beginning to end. | Mat Paget

PS4 at Amazon

Xbox One at Amazon

PC at Steam

The Evil Within 2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

Trapped in a shifting mindscape full of unnatural terrors, The Evil Within 2 opens up the ideas of the first game in a more open setting. It’s much more of a horror game, but it still captures the same strange, shifting aesthetic and the weird collision of worlds seen in Control. | Phil Hornshaw

PS4 at Amazon

Xbox One at Amazon

PC at Steam

The best movies like Control

Annihilation

A film adaptation of the first book in the Southern Reach trilogy, Annihilation finds its characters losing themselves in a frightening locale that could have been the setting of an Altered World Event in Control’s universe. It’s built around the same frightening uncanny feeling that makes the game so compelling. | Phil Hornshaw

See it at Amazon

Stream it with Prime Video

Stalker

Following a writer, a professor, and a guide into a mysterious “zone,” Stalker transforms the familiar and mundane into something altogether foreign and inexplicable. As Control’s Oldest House bends reality, Stalker toys with our expectations of nature. | Mike Mahardy

See it at Amazon

The Resolution

What starts as a simple story of a man trying to forcibly detox his drug-addicted friend takes on a sinister bent as unexplained phenomena start to show the two protagonists their future. Like in Control, there are forces at work beyond human understanding. | Phil Hornshaw

See it at Amazon

The Endless

Another film by directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead, The Endless is something of a follow-up to Resolution (in much the same way Control is a follow-up to Alan Wake). It further explores the weird stuff that goes on in Resolution, playing on ideas of unknowable forces intersecting with unsuspecting people, finding themselves suddenly mired in supernatural phenomena. | Phil Hornshaw

See it at Amazon

Stream it with Netflix

The best shows like Control

Twin Peaks

David Lynch’s masterpiece has influenced Remedy’s work in the past, and it’s certainly got “weird” covered in spades if that’s what you find yourself craving post-Control. Season 3 is most like the game with its focus on governmental investigations, but make sure to start at the very beginning for a strange, wild ride. If finishing Control has kept your mind busy with devising theories, just wait until you watch Twin Peaks. | Chris Pereira

See it at Amazon

Stream it with Prime Video

Stream it with Netflix

The Twilight Zone

Image: CBS.com

Remedy has clearly drawn a lot of inspiration from The Twilight Zone over the years (Alan Wake’s Night Springs is essentially a short-form riff on it). The show is full of stories of people getting wrapped up in the unexplained, as it uses all kinds of supernatural, paranormal, and just plain strange phenomena to explore the human condition. | Phil Hornshaw

See it at Amazon

Stream it with Prime Video

Stream it with Netflix

Dark

Dark follows the characters of a small town as they struggle to unravel a murderous conspiracy that spans decades. The twisting story goes to some–ahem–dark places, and is mired in the same frightening dread Control trades in as its characters try to wrap their heads around the things happening to them. | Phil Hornshaw

Stream it with Netflix

The X-Files

If the investigation of paranormal phenomena and government cover-ups in Control appeal to you, The X-Files–with its mixture of horror and comedy–should be right up your alley. | Chris Pereira

See it at Amazon

Stream it with Hulu

Fringe

A slightly lighter follow-up to The X-Files, Fringe leans hard into the idea of other dimensions crossing over into our own, bringing all kinds of weird and spooky stuff with them. Fringe is kind of like what one imagines the Investigation wing of the Federal Bureau of Control gets up to out in the world. | Phil Hornshaw

See it at Amazon

The best books like Control

The Southern Reach Trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance) by Jeff VanderMeer

Jeff VanderMeer’s trilogy focuses on the investigation of an AWE-like event. Starting with Annihilation, the books deal with the incredibly strange things its characters encounter, and more importantly, how the characters are changed by those things–in more ways than one. | Phil Hornshaw

(Note: Area X (pictured above) compiles all three books.)

See it at Amazon

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Intertwining two stories, House of Leaves deals with a character who finds a document called the Navidson Report, which details people investigating a house that’s larger inside than outside. The building’s shifting walls and interior labyrinth sound a lot like Control’s Oldest House, while the story also deals with the increasingly unnerving effects the report has on its reader. | Phil Hornshaw

See it at Amazon

The Secret History of Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier by Mark Frost

The Twin Peaks books by series co-creator Mark Frost are incredibly interesting reads for any fan of the show. It’s a lot like reading Control’s in-game documents; the two books reveal details about characters, places, and events that fill in the blanks of the wonderfully weird world of Twin Peaks. | Mat Paget

See The Secret History at Amazon

See The Final Dossier at Amazon

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell again uses multiple protagonists and time periods to tell a larger story, but this one is decidedly more paranormal. The Bone Clocks concerns immortal creatures, psychic phenomena, and more things you’d expect to read about somewhere in redacted Bureau memos. | Phil Hornshaw

See it at Amazon

The best podcasts like Control

Welcome to Night Vale

Presented as a community radio broadcast in a strange desert town where the supernatural or odd are treated as normal, Welcome to Night Vale seamlessly blends together humor, drama, and the bizarre. The very beginning of the podcast is the best place to start, but the standalone novels are a fine place to dive in as well. | Chris Pereira

Listen at Welcome to Night Vale

See Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel at Amazon

Alice Isn’t Dead

Alice Isn’t Dead is a disturbing but endearing road trip adventure that stars a young woman looking for the wife she thought she had lost. Much like Control, it supposes a version of the world we know where much more is going on than the average person realizes. | Chris Pereira

Listen at Night Vale Presents

See Alice Isn’t Dead: A Novel at Amazon

PES 2020‘s release date has arrived, and Konami’s soccer game, newly rebranded to be called eFootball, is in the hands of both players and critics alike. You’ve seen all the pre-release talk of Juventus’s exclusivity, of the Manchester United partnership, and of the lack of women’s football. However, the big question remains: is the game any good?

GameSpot’s reviewer certainly thought so: Richard Wakeling awarded it a 9/10 in our PES 2020 review, and you can read a snippet of that below. You can also take a look at a roundup of the game’s critical reception, though if you prefer, you can head on over to GameSpot sister site Metacritic to get the full picture.

• Game: PES 2020
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
• Developer / Publisher: Konami
• Release date: Out now
• Price: $60 / £45 / AU $85

GameSpot — 9/10

“The licensing issue revolving around PES will likely never going go away, and people are still going to download option files to get all of the official kits and badges anyway. Like its predecessors, eFootball PES 2020 continues to do its talking on the pitch, refining and improving on last year’s game to present what might be the greatest football game ever made. Sure, it’s disappointing that you still can’t play as Borussia Dortmund and the majority of the Bundesliga and a few other leagues, and its single-player offering is almost identical to what was included three years ago. But all of this effortlessly drifts to the back of your mind once you step between those white lines and simply start playing the beautiful game.” — Richard Wakeling [Full review]

GamesRadar+ — 4/5

“For the most part, eFootball PES 2020 offers up a faithful replication of the beautiful game. It’s easily the most realistic PES to date, with various visual tweaks and gameplay enhancements proving key additions. It’s also a more immersive game than last year, particularly in terms of the new TV-style camera and growing number of major licenses, boosting its sense of legitimacy both on and off the pitch. The lack of inventiveness applied to some modes–such as the ever-popular myClub–is a shame, and even Master League isn’t yet the finished package. But when the quality of the football is this good, it’s easy to forgive a few own goals.” — Fraser Gilbert [Full review]

Game Informer — 8.0/10

“PES 2020’s small details create moments that bring into focus the fine margins that determine the results of many soccer games. When compared to the game’s similarities to last year it seems like minutia, but these are the things that elevate it from previous efforts and make PES 2020 look and feel correct. It’s a better game, even if it’s not evolved in every way. It’s like when a manager expresses how pleased they are of the team after a draw: You know they wanted the outright win, but they are also satisfied with the team’s overall performance. PES 2020 can be a familiar experience, but that shouldn’t blind you to its finer moments.” — Matthew Kato [Full review]

Trusted Reviews — 4/5

“It’s undoubtedly the definitive football sim of 2020. PES 2020 takes what you love about the series and makes it more satisfying and fun, without sacrificing its simulation pedigree. The lack of captivating online and offline game modes hold it back, however.” — Adam Speight [Full review]

Metro UK

“Issues aside, this is another hugely exciting entry to the series. Minor surgery is needed in some areas and sure, you need an overhaul in others but you have to hope Konami will be going all-guns-blazing into the next-gen console era because the on-pitch quality is so impressive. For matchdays, it is leagues above FIFA.” — Jay Jaffa [Full review]

Pokemon Sword and Shield‘s release date of November 15 is fast approaching, with new information about the Nintendo Switch games coming all the time. Now, we’ve got our first glimpse of a new Pokemon who looks a little familiar.

The official Pokemon website currently features a fun, intentional glitch whereby an unknown creature moves around the screen, evading your mouse. Once you manage to catch it, you’re taken to a Pokedex listing for the monster, but many details, including the image, name, and parts of the description, are obscured.

What we do know is that the creature is a Fighting type who weighs 257.9 lbs. It possesses the Steadfast ability, and its description reads: “Only [BLANK] that have survived many battles can attain this [BLANK]. When this Pokemon’s [BLANK] [BLANK]ers, it will retire from combat.”

While the creature’s glitchy appearance has drawn comparisons to Pokemon Red and Blue‘s MissingNo bug, some fans have speculated the unknown creature is actually an evolved form of Farfetch’d. Others say it could be a successor to Marowak. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

Elsewhere, it recently emerged that Pokemon Sword and Shield may utilize autosave for the first time in the mainline series’ history. A recent trailer also brought us a glimpse at new Gen 8 Pokemon, trainer customization, camping, and more.

All September long, IGN is highlighting the best TV coming your way in the 2019-2020 season. Today we’re featuring Netflix’s new superhero drama Raising Dion, executive produced by Michael B. Jordan, and based on the comic and short film adaptation by Dennis Liu. According to Netflix, Raising Dion “follows the story of a woman named Nicole (Alisha Wainwright), who raises her son Dion (newcomer Ja’Siah Young) after the death of her husband, Mark (Michael B. Jordan). The normal dramas of raising a son as a single mom are amplified when Dion starts to manifest several mysterious, superhero-like abilities. Nicole must now keep her son’s gifts secret with the help of Mark’s best friend Pat (Jason Ritter), and protect Dion from antagonists out to exploit him, while figuring out the origin of his abilities.” Ahead of the show’s October 4 premiere date, we spoke to showrunner Carol Barbee and star Alisha Wainwright to discover how they brought this new twist on a superhero origin story to life.

Continue reading…

We all know about the video game movie curse, but what about the anime curse?

Live-action and anime have rarely gone together well, but still, just about every major Hollywood studio is trying to jump in on anime with live-action remakes these days.

Would you have ever thought that an Alita movie would make $400 million at the box office? Imagine what a good Naruto or Attack on Titan movie could do. Or imagine how much attention a Cowboy Bebop or Sword Art Online remake could bring for a company like Netflix. Those are just four of the live-action anime remakes that are reportedly in the works at the moment. Some are further along than others in their development — and some may be stuck in development hell for that matter — but with Tokyo Ghoul S about to get a theatrical release, we figured it was a good time to check up on the status of them all…

Continue reading…

October is right around the corner, and the focus will be on the world of horror movies. And one such film, which arrives on October 25, is called Countdown.

The movie follows a nurse who downloads an app that tells you when you are going to die, only to find out she has three days to live. With others users dying mysteriously, she needs to figure out how to stop her impending doom. Check out the trailer above.

Why didn’t she read the user agreement? There are plenty of apps on the various mobile stores that do this very thing, except it’s a random algorithm and not a real prediction. Interestingly enough, this movie takes that simple premise down a dark path, and that first trailer gives the film a thriller feel while introducing some hideous beast with long, black fingers.

The horror movie stars Elizabeth Lail, Jordan Calloway, Talitha Bateman, and Tichina Arnold, and is directed and written by Justin Dec. This is Dec’s first feature-length film.

If you’re interested in more horror content, check out all of our It: Chapter 2 coverage, including the all the Easter eggs in the movie, the differences between the book and the films, and the review of the film itself. As for general horror, make sure to check out the Biggest Horror Movies of 2019 to Look Forward to, where we recommend upcoming movies that will surely scare your pants off.