Buffy The Vampire Slayer

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Der Kindestod - Sideshow Exclusive

The past couple of years have seen Sideshow Collectibles wonderful line of Buffy the Vampire Slayer figures expand, and I have eagerly awaited each new release. But I’ll admit I was pretty surprised when their latest figure was announced and it turned out to be... Der Kindestod? So far the line had mainly concentrated on the most popular main characters, along with one major villain, the original "Big Bad" himself, The Master. Of course, Angel, Spike, Willow and Faith (all Sideshow figures so far) have also all filled the role of villain from time to time, but then things often tended to get complicated in terms of good and evil on Buffy.

Der Kindestod though was a more standard MOTW (Monster of the Week) and frankly, while it had some nice moments, the episode he came from, "Killed by Death," is not an especially notable one for Buffy. It also had the misfortune of airing immediately after "Passion," a classic and pivotal Buffy episode that was a major part of the shows dramatic peak; the Angel turns evil arc. I think all of us fans were by this point dying (though not as much as poor Jenny Calendar) to know what was going to happen next with Angel, and not ready to take a break for a more routine one episode threat. French Rifleman

However, Der Kindestod was a solid MOTW with a fun pedigree. "Killed by Death" was one of the final Buffy’s to feature the show doing their version of a familiar movie monster. But unlike the Wolfman, Frankenstein and Mummy variations that previous episodes portrayed, this story was clearly the Buffy creators nod to a much more recent cinematic creature of the night: Freddy Krueger. While the ever silent Der Kindestod isn’t nearly as verbose as Freddy, the influences are obvious. Der Kindestod is a hideous, clawed, hat wearing child killer who kills his victims in their sleep at night. Sound familiar? The Buffy writers even threw in some witty direct references for Freddy fans that specifically mirrored the original Nightmare on Elm Street, such as making the first victims name Tina and including a sequence where someone is dragged down a corridor by an unseen presence. Der Kindestod

So how is the Der Kindestod figure and how does it measure up to previous Buffy releases? Let’s take a look...

The figure comes packaged in the standard Buffy Sideshow box, with the flip open, Velcro sealed cover which continues to be my favorite toy line packaging out there these days. It just looks so classy, and the flip cover allows a full view at the figure and accessories inside that is rare for most toy lines, which seem to inevitably have some writing or picture blocking some of the contents inside. The front cover features a close up picture of the face of the Der Kindestod figure, which was a minor disappointment for me. The Buffy line seems to go back and forth between showing photographs of the character as they appeared on the show or a photo of the toy itself, and I must admit, I prefer when it’s a picture from the show. Personally, I find something cool about being able to see how the character looked on TV first, and then flipping open the cover to reveal the toy version inside.

The side of the box has a good photo of the figure showing off one of his clawed hands. The back of the box has an attractive graphic design featuring a description of Der Kindestod along with some drawings of the character that appear like they would be right at home in one of Giles’ invaluable books. There are also photos on the back of two other recent Sideshow Buffy figure releases, Prophecy Girl Buffy and Vampire Spike.

I had some issues with actually removing the figure from the packaging once I opened up the box. The figure is held into place on the cardboard backing by one main twisty which proved to be wrapped far too intricately around the body of the figure. I eventually had to remove some of the figures clothing to unwind the twisty from the body, and while I suppose I can now write some Buffy fanfic about undressing and untying Der Kindestod, it seemed an unnecessary inconvenience. Der Kindestod

The figure itself looks great, using the standard, extremely posable 12" Sideshow male body. Der Kindestod had a distinct look, appearing as an old man melded with a witch-like monstrosity, and sculptor Brian Dooley has done an excellent job capturing all of his features. From the massively oversized and sharpened lower teeth, to his pointed nose and long, clawed fingers, the figure looks just like his TV counterpart. The mummified complexion and appearance of Der Kindestod is also captured well except for one notable issue: On the show, Der Kindestod’s eyes were surrounded by a circle of especially red skin, but this figure does not have the red circles around the eyes. As great as the face of the character looks, I can’t help but wish this element of his appearance were also captured.

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Der Kindestod - Sideshow Exclusive

The figure has rooted hair to match his TV show appearance, though none on the top of his head, as Der Kindestod seemed in need of some Rogaine. Unfortunately, my biggest complaint about the figure probably stems from this hair, which sad to say, tends to shed a bit. It’s not coming out in large clumps or anything, but just in handling the figure and looking him over, some strands of his gray hair came out and were very evident on his black clothing. The Prophecy Girl Buffy figure also had rooted hair, but thankfully it didn’t suffer from this problem (A balding Buffy? A true horror story!), so it was disappointing to find that for whatever reason, Der Kindestod’s hair wasn’t quite as sturdy as our heroine’s. Accessories

The clothing is, per usual for Sideshow, terrifically detailed. What I love about these figures is seeing touches that you didn’t even realize while watching the show. Who knew from his darkly lit TV appearance that Der Kindestod wore a tie? Der Kindestod is in fact a pretty sharply dressed murderous demon, wearing a well constructed cloth black suit, complete with pants and coat, vest, the aforementioned tie and a white shirt beneath it all. The vest is kept closed with two snap buttons at the top and bottom, but I would have preferred a third button in the center too, as the vest can sometimes open up a bit in the middle. The figure is wearing a pair of shoes that have great little touches, like little lines through them to make them appear worn. I do wish Der Kindestod had some socks though, since it’s a bit amusing if you pose him with a leg bent and you see his bare ankle.

When it comes to accessories, Der Kindestod is top notch, coming with way more then just the usual Buffy figure stand. In fact, Sideshow went far beyond the call of duty this time, throwing in several great accessories that come straight from "Killed by Death," including the book Giles and Cordelia found the information about Der Kindestod in, complete with a painting of his silhouette on the cover and the book opened to the pages we saw in the episode. Also, a really terrific inclusion are the two extended eyes you can press into place on the figures face, recreating the sequence in which he revealed his unsettling ability to make his eyes stretch out towards his victims.

Der Kindestod comes with his trusty hat, which looks very good except for one major problem... It doesn’t stay on the head of the figure very well. Unlike the Sideshow figure for Der Kindestod’s predecessor, Freddy Krueger, this hat doesn’t hold securely to the head and will fall off rather easily if the figure is moved around. However, this is nearly made up for by the very cool and funny inclusion of one last accessory; appropriately sized recreations of two children’s drawings that played a part in the episode. There’s the drawing of Der Kindestod done by the terrified boy Ryan early on in the story and the hysterical follow up drawing that ends the episode, revealing Ryan’s to the point recreation of Buffy doing her thing and killing Der Kindestod but good. This is the kind of much appreciated fan oriented addition to the toy that really goes a long way when it comes to the Sideshow figures. Der Kindestod

Der Kindestod is a somewhat strange figure for the Buffy line, mostly because it’s so surprising that he exists at all, especially this early on, before figures have come out for several main characters like Xander and Giles, or for more noteworthy villains like Glory, The Judge and Adam. Sideshow has made this figure available only as a Sideshow exclusive, which I think is the right move, since he will appeal more to the hardcore Buffy faithful then the fans that like the show but don’t recall every episode inside and out. There are some problems with the figure I wish weren’t present and cause it to not quite live up to some previous Buffy releases, especially the shedding hair and the hat not holding in place very well. However, this is another great looking figure, and up on my bookshelf next to The Master, Vampire Spike and Vampire Angel, he certainly looks appropriately scary and menacing. The figure is not a must have for all Buffy lovers, but if you’re a Buffy fanatic like yours truly, you’ll want to have Der Kindestod join your collection. After all, what’s a Slayer without those she slayed?

Overall rating: Three and a half out of five stars.

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Der Kindestod - Sideshow Exclusive