Home Depot has some surprisingly good Halloween props. I know when I think of big animated Halloween props Spirit Halloween and Halloween Express come to mind but you can’t forget about Home Depot. Home Depot doesn’t have as many props as Spirit Halloween every year. Usually Home Depot will put out a dozen or so props and some of which won’t be sold in every store.
This weekend I was strolling through my local Home Depot and came across an animated Grim Reaper with a moving hood. He’s made by Home Accents exclusively for the retailer. I’ve got several reapers already, most of which I’ve picked up really cheap after Halloween for $20 or so. But none of them come with a hood that goes back and forth to reveal it’s face.
Here’s the Home Depot Reaper in action.
The Reaper doesn’t talk. He only screams. Instead of screaming I’d much rather the prop say something creepy. A skeleton that screams isn’t very realistic. And being realistic is something I think every animatronic Halloween prop should strive to be. He is 6′ tall and has good size for a prop. The Reaper runs on three AA batteries which are included.
I think the animated Reaper would work better as a clown. He could still be in a similar outfit and when he is triggered the clown would reveal his scary painted face and laugh instead of scream. In fact, you could probably pick up a clown mask for $30 and clown hands on eBay for $20 to turn the Reaper into a creepy clown.
The Reaper is selling for $89.98 at Home Depot and is on the low end compared to other props they sell this year like the Motorcycle Reaper and the Gray 7′ Towering Werewolf which both retail for around $200.
My verdict is to pass on the Reaper unless you can find him much cheaper than the $90 price tag he has right now.
