Action Figure Review: Hysteria Alice from Alice: Madness Returns by Diamond Select Toys

     Alice: Madness Unleashed  is a dark video game sequel to the original Lewis Carroll Alice stories and to the 2000 video game American McGee's Alice. Today, as part of 31 Days of Toy Terror, I'm looking at the very cool variant action figure Alice in Hysteria mode. When close to death in the game, Alice is able to go into Hysteria mode. She becomes tougher, stronger, and takes on a gruesome, blood soaked visage. While the only difference between this figure and the basic Alice figure is the paint scheme, Hysteria Alice is still a well done, very creepy action figure. She's around 6-7 inches tall and comes with the same terrific accessories as the basic Alice figure did. Here's a brief look at Hysteria Alice on our 31 Days of Toy Terror....



The Facts:

-Articulation: Hinged Ankles, swivel shins, peg/ post knees, peg/post thighs, swivel waist, peg/post ball jointed shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel forearms, ball jointed head.
- Accessories: Vorpal Blade, stand, pepper grinder, Hobby Horse.

The positives:

*The biggest draw on this figure is the paint job. She's white all white and black with a massive smattering of dark red blood across her dress. She is an extremely creepy figure. Even if you're not a fan of the Alice games, you might appreciate her because of the sheer horror emanating from this toy. Very effective.

*I always applaud any action figure which comes with a stand. They are just so convenient and help make much nicer displays.

*As seems to be fairly common with Diamond Select products, Alice has some excellent accessories. Her Vorpal blade, pepper grinder cannon, and rocking horse are all excellently sculpted and painted with multiple paint applications. The handle on the pepper grinder is even able to rotate. The accessories perhaps have more paint applications and intricate sculpting than many of the action figures you might find at Wal-Mart or Target.

The negatives:


*Alice looks great with her vorpal blade, but you are really going to have to work to get her to hold her pepper grinder or rocking horse. She has a difficult time holding these accessories properly.

*While Alice is a nice variant, I do wish that she had come with a unique accessory to differentiate her in some way (other than just paint) from the basic Alice. Perhaps the clockwork Rabbit might have been a nice inclusion in place of the hobby horse?

Overall: Alice's paint job is quite nice and very creepy. As it is, she is a solid 4 star figure which is excellent. Beautiful work here on a really fun property. I think Diamond did a nice job and consistently puts a great deal of effort into their releases. While Alice is simply a paint variant, she is a very nice one.

Confirmed: Good and a 1/2