Smoke and
Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini G
Tom Savini
isn't just that dude in From Dusk Till Dawn. He's an actor, stuntman, director, and, most
importantly, a special effects legend.
If you're a fan of horror movies from the Seventies and Eighties,
chances are you've seen some of his work (Creepshow, the original Friday
the 13th, Friday the 13th IV: The
Final Chapter, the original Maniac, The Burning, The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre 2, the original Dawn of the Dead, and Day of
the Dead are just some of the films he's worked on). I would imagine horror fans and/or fans of
the man himself would be the most interested in this documentary covering his
life from a young kid in Pittsburgh to his current life in Pittsburgh, but
those willing to learn a new thing or two and/or are open-minded with films
might not be disappointed. I learned a
thing or two and I've been a fan since discovering he wasn't just that dude in From
Dusk Till Dawn. Many
documentaries/biopics usually give the subject a human quality and this one is
no different. I met Mr. Savini in 2002 at
my first horror convention I attended in Maryland; nice guy, and he was one of
the only celebrities I recall that didn't charge for autographs (ironic,
considering this doc touches on the subject of conventions being his only
"work" at one time). 7/31/2020
To Hell and
Back: The Kane Hodder Story OK
Kane
Hodder. The man whose name and/or face
will likely be unrecognizable to non-horror fans. He's most famous for playing Jason Voorhees
even though it was only for parts 7 through 10 (you'll find out why he wasn't
behind the mask in Freddy vs. Jason).
This documentary traces his life as a young kid up to the present day
(he became famous again for playing Victor Crowley in the Hatchet
series). If you aren't a fan of horror
movies (particularly the ones he's starred in) or have zero knowledge of who
the (primarily) stuntman is, it's hard to say if you'll be interested. I mean, I've seen documentaries and/or
biopics on people I've had little to no prior knowledge of and, while I may
have learned a thing or two (as I always like learning), usually they didn't
maintain my interest or all I learned went completely over my head afterwards,
thus making the viewing experience kind of pointless. Therefore, you be the judge on deciding
whether to watch this. He is given a
human quality like most documentaries/biopics do; I've met Kane at a horror
convention once and he was a nice guy (most celebrities usually are; luckily
the ones I've encountered were). Hearing
of Kane being bullied as a kid may have been touching and could make others
feel less alone, but it wasn't exactly unique in terms of celebrity past
traumas, and while the incident of Mr. Hodder being severely burned early in
his acting career may have been relevant to his overall story, I felt they
spent way too much time on it. Sadly, I
think this documentary generally overstayed its welcome (perhaps it could've
been trimmed a bit) even though I may have learned a thing here or there. 8/1/2020
In Search of Darkness: A Journey Into Iconic
‘80s
Horror G
Ah, the Eighties. A
decade when effects were still practical.
A decade unappreciated until it was over. A decade that put out some of the best
movies, and not just horror. And, no,
I’m not a fan of all ‘80s horror
movies, nor have I seen every one, but I’ve seen many and I am a fan of many. I think the Seventies and Eighties were the
best decades for horror, and even the Nineties put out some iconic films. I’ll never get tired of talking about movies
(sometimes I enjoy talking about them more than actually watching them),
particularly horror, or reading about them, or hearing other people talk about
them, as in this almost 4 ½ hour documentary.
Yes, you did read that right, this is almost 4 ½ hours. I suggest watching it in segments, such as 90
minutes at a time, or however you see fit, because 4 ½ hours is a long time in
one sitting (even with the occasional bathroom break) regardless of how
interesting the subject matter is or how engaging the movie may be. Being that it’s subject matter I’m into, I
never felt like the film was too long, but I did watch it in segments, so who
knows if I could’ve sat through the entire thing with the occasional pee/poop
break (although I do wonder)? What they
did was discuss horror films from 1980 to 1989, picking a handful from each
year, while other topics were discussed in between, such as iconic scores, the
notion of the “final girl,” the holiday sub-subgenre, etc. I actually felt like they didn’t cover nearly
enough of the decade’s material, and, of course if they did, the film could’ve
easily been at least 30 hours. That
being said, I think they had a really good idea for a documentary here, but I
think an even better idea would’ve been to make a DVD collection (or series)
spending between 2 and 3 hours on each year in order to cover more films and
utilize more talking heads, because, I hate to say that even at 4 ½ hours, it
still felt a bit lacking. But, even
though it may not be the definitive documentary on the subject, I still enjoyed
it, as I always like hearing about films (as I’ve said), and I don’t see how
anyone else enamored with horror flicks from the Reagan era wouldn’t either. 8/4/2020
---Sean O.
8/6/2020
