MONSTROUS MASK REVIEWS: Unleashed Wickedness by Zagone Studios
I started collecting masks in 1985, with the first called Shrunken Head by a company called Be Something Studios, later to be called Zagone Studios. To this day, 35 years later, they are still one of my favorite mask companies of all time. They offer a wide variety of masks, all of great quality, known for their ease of wearing. Most latex masks provide either poor viewing holes or poor breathing holes; this is not the case with Zagone masks. They are all comfortable to wear with great vision and breathing.
In the late 1980s I came across one of their masks called Unleashed Wickedness, at a local costume shop (this was well before the box Halloween stores like Spirit). When I saw this mask I just could not stop looking at it. I would visit this store weekly and every time this one mask called out to me and I ended up buying it. By this time, my collection had quite a few masks by this company. This was used for many years in my yard haunt, getting great reactions year after year. In fact, more masks by this company were used in my yard haunts than any other company because my actors loved how comfortable they were and the ability to see and breathe.
Unleashed Wickedness, like all of their masks, is highly detailed. It was sculpted by Bill Ystrom, who created many of their great characters over the years. As with many of their masks it also included three-dimensional teeth and undercuts that must make them difficult to remove from the mold. A feature I was not aware of is that there is a strip of latex glued to the inside of the mask from between the eyes to the snout. This extra support helps in preventing that mask from rotting at the nose area. Thanks to David Lady for that tidbit of information!
This mask also includes a deluxe plush hood, with a reflective silver lining. There is also a wire inside the hood along the edge that helps it to keep its shape, a nice added touch. The hood also includes an elastic strap and Velcro to assist in it fitting the best it can! These little touches are really what helps these masks to stand out!
This mask is thankfully still available today, in two versions! The first is the regular edition that sells for about and it can be ordered HERE. The second is a deluxe version that comes with a Styrofoam head for display as well as a pin of one of their other famous masks Fang Face. This one can be purchased HERE! Make sure to check out my other entries in my MONSTROUS MASK REVIEWS series.
~David Albaugh
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