Masters Of Horror! (Tom Savini)

Actor, director, stuntman, magician, escape artist, makeup artist, special effects wizard, author, and now, columnist on the revived Gore Zone.
Tom Savini is just plain fucking awesome.
I had to grind my teeth to delay his entry this long.

Let's just get to it.
Keep in mind, this is just selected highlights, his whole career is massive.
(See IMDB page)


Martin (1978)

See here, here, and here.


Dawn Of The Dead (1978)

See here, and here.

Did gore effects, played Blades, and did his own stunts.


Friday The 13th (1980)

See here.

Gore effects.
"Dawn Of The Dead", was his instant resume.


Maniac (1980)

Gore effects, and played Disco Boy.

Ehh...it has its moments (particularly, the famous Savini shotgun head-splat), but overall, as a film, not so great, IMHO.
Hmm...probably better than "Friday", not quite as good as "I Spit On Your Grave", gets crushed by "Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer".
Worth one watch for horror junkies/historians though.

Features a cameo by Sharon Mitchell!


Knightriders (1981)

See here.


Creepshow (1982)

See here, and here.


Friday The 13th: 
The Final Chapter (1984)

See here.

Gore effects.
Still think it's the best one.


Day Of The Dead (1985)

See here.

Gore effects.
He'd really mastered his tricks by this one.

A marked improvement compared to "Dawn".


The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986)

See here, here, here, and here.

Gore effects.
His most disturbing up 'til this point, IMO.
Marvelous.


Creepshow 2 (1987)

See here.


Monkey Shines (1988)

See here.

Effects.
Haven't seen it, won't see it.
The linked review explains why.


Night Of The Living Dead (1990)

See here.

The remake.
Directed.


Two Evil Eyes (1990)

See here.

Uncredited cameo.


Innocent Blood (1992)

I really can't do better than the review Hyla did here.

Tries to be as good as "American Werewolf", and...doesn't pull it off.

Incredible cast, cool moments, but...eh.
Worth seeing once though.

Anyway, Savini has a nifty cameo.
But, aren't they all?


Mr. Stitch (1995)

See here.

He pops up in it.


From Dusk 'Til Dawn (1996)

See here, and here.

Okay, this movie is a bit overrated, but fun, and Savini has a really cool iconic character in it.


Dawn Of The Dead (2004)

All right, in every review of the '78 "Dawn", I slagged this one off, but I gotta eat crow.
I just wanted everyone to see and prefer the '78 one.

But, this was on TV just last night, and I watched it all the way through for the first time in years, and it's a damned good zombie movie.

It bears no relation to the original, except for the bare bones premise of zombies, and a mall.
Eeeverything else is different.

It's definitely not Romero-canon, cuz, y'know, fast zombies.
But, gotta say, it's way better than "Diary", and "Survival".

Anyway, Savini, as well as other key members of the '78 cast, pop up in this in cameos.

I'll have to add this to the collection.
I give in.

And there, that oversight (see comments here) is fixed.


Land Of The Dead (2005)

See here, and here.


Diary Of The Dead (2007)

See here, and here.


Grindhouse: Planet Terror (2007)

Haven't seen it, so don't know what capacity his appearance is, cameo, or fully-fleshed character.

I gotta say, I have mixed emotions about this whole "Grindhouse", thing.

It's big Hollywood ostensibly expressing love for b-cinema...but, so what?
Y'know? You really love the indie guys so fuckin' much, go ahead, and cut a 10-20 million dollar check to Lloyd Kaufman, and/or Roger Corman so they can do more of the real fucking thing.

I'm sure the people involved have genuine love, but from a corporate perspective, I'd rather see my hero Lloyd not have to struggle so much, rather than the usual Hollywood fat-cats just get richer.

A slick Hollywood flick imitating indie just feels like when rich boys try to be bikers, or white movie stars try to be blues singers, y'know?
There's a tinge of offense there.
No, more than a tinge, it actively bugs me.
I've seen the struggle and pain Troma goes through in the documentaries because of no money, and I know they aren't getting any from this.
Why is "Grindhouse", supposed to excite me, exactly?

The only plus I can see, is maybe, MAYBE it might get new kids lured over to indie cinema.

But then again, I'd rather a genuine indie filmmaker with a real message from his/her heart, get that theater screen that "Machete Kills", is hogging.


Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008)

See here.

Savini has a cool appearance at the beginning.


Zack And Miri Make A Porno (2008)

The best rom-com ever, because it's about porno, and has a guy getting pooped on.

Leave it to Kevin Smith to fix everything I dislike about this genre.

Also, Tom Savini pops up.


Sea Of Dust (2008)

Man, he was busy this year.

A tribute to Hammer films, and Mario Bava.
Gory, satiric, and has won awards.

I'll have to check this out.


His Name Was Jason (2009)

An hour and a half rough draft for "Crystal Lake Memories", and precursor to "Never Sleep Again".

Savini hosts.


Machete (2010)

See "Planet Terror".


The Theatre Bizarre (2011)

Directed a segment within an anthology.


Django Unchained (2012)

....I just don't like Tarantino.
He's not my vibe.
I can't get into it.
I've tried and tried.

Anyway, Savini's in this.


The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Well, that's an odd choice....


Machete Kills (2013)

See "Machete", and "Planet Terror".

Look, I don't like being the party-pooper, I don't like being that guy, I don't, I don't do this on purpose, but dammit....I have these stupid things called convictions.
I can't fucking help it.
It gets me into hot water, but I can't let it go.


Crystal Lake Memories (2013)

See here, and here.

Savini's in the segments on 1 and 4.

Ordered, and on its way.
Please get here, and please have the bonus disk.
Please..please...PLEASE.


And, that's Tom Savini.

Up next, Tom Holland.