Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015) Reviews

• A Decent Homage to a Unique Gentleman

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  Saw this at Sydney's A Night of Horror film festival in November 2016. Sat next to me was Tom Savini's sister-in-law. Well waddya know? Only a pity the great man himself couldn't be there. The documentary focuses on Savini's life from a young boy, through his service as a military photographer in the Vietnam war and up to his work with George Romero & beyond. While the documentary is genuinely fascinating, the 9/10 is because it focuses just a little too much on Savini himself and not on his work. OK, it's great to hear about his childhood and how Man of a Thousand Faces inspired him to become a special effects make up artist. It's also good to know how he loved/ loves theatre and acting. However hearing stories about his extended family, while welcome in small doses, detract a little from the pace of the story. This was however a "rough" cut so maybe things will be tightened up in editing before the film is given a commercial release. I've been a fan of Savini's since Dawn of the Dead which I saw way back in 1987. He comes across as a genuinely genuine guy who loves life and has a real passion for his chosen subject. The deleted scenes from Dusk Till Dawn are amusing as are the outtakes from various movies. Recommended, I just hope as I stated before, that this will be tightened up before it's given to the public. A-