Smoke & Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini
The most surprising fact about Tom Savini that hadn’t really occurred to me in watching Jason Baker’s documentary is that he hasn’t done professional makeup for film in years, and has committed himself solely to acting. As I began to really dig into film, Savini’s name is one of those whose synonymous with gore and monsters and makeup work, and rightfully so. What “Smoke and Mirrors” lays out further is that it was acting that is as much of a love for him as creating things to haunt your nightmares. With Savini as an executive producer, you know where the POV lies, but honestly, everything I’ve heard about him is glowing, so it’s easy to just enjoy watching this documentary, and getting to know one of the greats.
Like frequent collaborator, George Romero, Savini is from Pittsburgh, and you definitely feel as though he’s got a working-class aesthetic to his creation of monsters over the years. We hear about his childhood, and how going to see sci-fi and horror movies of the 1950s inspired him to get interested in makeup and prosthesis. We hear about how he made himself up like Dracula to become part of a magic and illusions show as a kid picked out of the crowd, and did such a great job he became a regular part of the show. We hear about his family struggles, and his time in Vietnam, and the reason he will not eat duck. We hear about his post-Vietnam life, and his beginnings in movies. And we see the evolution of his career from there, including directing a “Night of the Living Dead” remake, working on the stage, and even creating his own makeup school for people who have the same passion for makeup that he did.
If you’re interested in the process of some of Savini’s most iconic monsters and effects, whether it’s Fluffy from “Creepshow,” Jason in “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter,” or the zombies from the “Dead” movies, you will only get passing looks at how he made those effects. This is about the man behind the makeup, and that is a story as rich and detailed, and sometimes jarring, as what Savini put on-screen. If you’re a fan of filmmakers, “Smoke and Mirrors” is an entertaining look at one of the ones who helped define a generation of horror filmmaking.
