Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini

If you're interested in horror films or makeup effects, this is definitely the movie for you. It's a deeply personal and interesting look into the life of makeup effects master Tom Savini, warts and all. I never knew Savini had such an interesting life until this documentary. I'd known about his Vietnam days a bit, but I never knew he had such a passion for acting and it occurred to me that, perhaps, this might have been his true love. I'd always assumed that he'd fallen into acting due to his makeup effects work.

Savini comes across as an incredibly likable, intelligent, and warm guy and his daughters obviously think the world of him, which leads me to believe he's a wonderful father as well.

If you have Shudder, this is most definitely worth your time to get a peek behind the curtain of one of the most creative minds of horrordom.

The self-narrated life story of a respected horror effects master. Savini certainly has the credentials: he led the gore teams behind Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow and two early Friday the 13th entries, parlaying that cult stardom into a healthy fringe acting career later in life. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez are both longtime fans of his work, which led to small (but memorable) roles in From Dusk till Dawn, Django Unchained, both Machete movies and the like.

Savini seems like a genuinely nice guy, if a bit wacky and intense, but his story doesn't translate into an interesting biography. He's too polite to delve deep into the murkier aspects of his background - several rocky marriages, action in Vietnam and a difficult directing turn in 1990's Night of the Living Dead remake amount to nothing more than footnotes - which leaves very little dramatic meat on the bone. That void could've been filled with a more in-depth look at his special effects work, maybe a revealing glimpse into his creative process or running commentary on a few favorite scenes, but even that headline material is simply skirted and disregarded.

I'm not really sure how this chewed up ninety minutes. All the best bits are simple, regurgitated highlights from his filmography with no additional context or insight.

This was a documentary that I heard about through podcasts. It went on my list to see since I'm a fan of Tom Savini, like most horror fans. He also has worked on my favorite films of all time. This would include the likes of Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead remake, From Dusk 'Till Dawn and Maniac.

What this does well is giving us the history of this legend's life. We learn about his humble beginnings living in Pittsburgh, how he got interested in theater and cinema. It also gives us fun little stories about how he got a taste of the industry. There are also harrowing stories of his time in Vietnam and how that changed him forever. We then learn about how when he returned to the United States, how his personal life was affected by decisions and things that he did to make it in the industry.

Now I did see a buddy of mine pointing out that this is quite surface level. I do agree there, but since this is a documentary about this guy, I can see why they aren't delving deeper. Having a bit more of the other side, like when he was struggling in the industry would have made me appreciate even more how successful he is. This features the likes of George A. Romero, Doug Bradley, Robert Rodriguez, Alice Cooper, Bill Moseley, Greg Nicotero and others. Not that I want people to bad mouth him. I don't think it needs to go that far, but just more of the struggles.

This is still a fun documentary to learn more about this legend. The filmmaking is solid. Editing in footage and behind the scenes things work for me. This won't be for everyone. If you want a crash course of how Savini began and where he ended up, I'd recommend giving this a watch.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

I don't really need to make this review too long as it's so basically easily summed up. A great insight in to a master craftsman and a genuinely nice guy. Entertaining and highly recommended.

Smoke & Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015) is currently available on Shudder. The documentary tells the story of a poor immigrant kid raised in a large family in Pittsburgh who was artistic and surrounded by family members who nurtured his creativity. He started in theatre where his creativity and uniqueness caught the eye of Romero for his Night of the Living Dead project. Unfortunately due to his military calling that didn't work out, but when he returned home from the war he set out to work on projects that launched the slasher genre into what we know it as today.

This movie is directed by Jason Baker (Welcome to the Red Room and contains fascinating interviews with Savini, Alice Cooper, George Romero (Night of the Living Dead), Tom Atkins (The Fog), Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), Corey Feldman (Lost Boys), Sid Haig (House of 1,000 Corpses), Robert Rodriguez (Dusk till Dawn) and Bill Moseley (Devil's Rejects), among others.

They did such a good job with the human elements of this documentary, starting by establishing his family background and continuing with his personality traits as a big fun kid. They did a good job establishing how theatre inspired so much of his creativity and diving into his love of Pittsburgh and things he's done there throughout the various phases of his career. I also loved his storytelling of his Vietnam experience, his making of Night of the Living Dead as well as the final story of where his family is now.

Overall this is an absolute must see for fans of Savini and his work. This is a very well done production of his life that I'd score a 9/10.