Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini

Jason Baker's 2015 documentary is about Tom Savini, one of the best-known make-up and effects artists in horror cinema. Savini worked on George A. Romero's films from the seventies onward and became one of the people who extended the limits of practical effects. The fact at the centre is that Savini served as a combat photographer in Vietnam. The wounds he saw there became the direct source of the work he later did in cinema, and the film draws that connection openly. Savini describes it himself. George A. Romero, Robert Rodriguez and Doug Bradley are among those who speak. The documentary is good in the technical sections, with mould-making, blood formulas and mechanical effects shown in detail. The passages about his personal life stay more superficial. Who it's for: viewers interested in horror cinema and the history of practical effects. Who it's not for: viewers uncomfortable with realistic wounds and blood; the documentary shows a great many effects examples.