Tom SaviniFilmography

Sea of Dust

Actors: Tom Savini, Ingrid Pitt, Stuart Rudin, Suzi Lorraine

Synopsis: First time director/screenwriter Scott Bunt pays tribute to the classic Hammer Studio films of yesteryear and the stylish shockers of director Mario Bava with this gruesome tale of an oppressive evil that washes over a small village of innocents. Inspired by the gruesome legend of Prester John Read More

His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th

Synopsis: In this look back at one of the most resilient slashers in horror film history, host Tom Savini reflects on thirty years of bloody carnage and gory mayhem as waged by Jason Vorhees, the hockey-masked mama's boy who always gets his victim, no matter how fast they run. Filled with classic clips from Read More

Drive-In Madness

Synopsis: At the peak of their popularity, there were nearly seven thousand drive-in movie theaters operating in the United States, where families could see a show in the great outdoors complete with popcorn and teenagers could park for a few hours without being bothered. While many drive-ins showed Read More

Planet Terror

Actors: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Jeff Fahey

Synopsis: Maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez details the violent struggle between a ravenous army of zombie-like humanoids who have taken control of the planet and the remaining survivors who refuse to go down without a fight. A dangerous government experiment has unleashed an abominable contamination that Read More

It's My Party and I'll Die If I Want To

Actors: Adrienne Fischer, Darcy Wood, Danielle Nortum, Tom Savini

Synopsis: A birthday bash becomes a zombie bloodbath in this gruesome, choose your own adventure shocker. Sara is determined to celebrate her 18th birthday in style, and what better way to keep things creepy than to party in Burkitt Manor, a former funeral parlor with a decidedly dark history. But when the Read More

Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film

Synopsis: For decades fright fans have cowered in horror as vicious killers stalked their helpless prey in the cold flicker of the projector bulb and in darkened living rooms with the curtains firmly drawn. Now, for anyone who has ever wondered just what motivated the filmmakers behind these brutal Read More

The Absence of Light

Actors: Tom Savini, Caroline Munro

Synopsis: Horror heavyweights Tom Savini, David Hess, Tony Todd, Caroline Munro, and Michael Barryman headline director Patrick Desmond's supernatural shocker about a pair of agents (Richard Conant and Eric Thornsberry) on a mission to prevent the apocalypse. A respected researcher is on the verge of Read More

Forest of the Damned

Actors: Nicole Petty, Tom Savini

Demonic

Synopsis: A remote forest harbors a seductive but satanic secret in a sinister tale of terror directed by Johannes Roberts' and starring horror icon Tom Savini. Legend has it that beautiful nymphs who were one angels dwell deep in the heart of Miranda Forest, and when five teens travel deep into the woods Read More

Death 4 Told

Synopsis: Time and space connect four bone chilling tales of terror in this horror anthology from filmmakers Bo Buckley and C. Michael Close. The first tale, entitled "The Doll's House" follows a writer experiencing a creative block as he moves into a new house that's unexpectedly occupied. The screams keep Read More

Unearthed

Beyond the Wall of Sleep

Actors: Tom Savini, Rick Dial, Fountain Yount, Kurt Hargan, Rachel Mellendorf, William Sanderson

Synopsis: The brutal murder of a Catskill Mountains family sets into motion a terrifying sequence of events as the horrors of H.P. Lovecraft come to the screen courtesy of directors Barrett J. Leigh and Thom Maurer. The year is 1908, and a mountain man named Joe Slaader has just committed the ultimate Read More

Vicious

Actors: Tom Savini, Brian Bremer

Synopsis: Director Matt Green and renowned makeup-artist-turned-actor Tom Savini teamed up a mere year after their first outing together, 2002's Blood Bath, for another straight-to-DVD horror flick. Vicious finds Savini playing a mysterious government agent who has been placed in charge of a top-secret Read More

Spy Kids

Actors: Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Alan Cumming

Synopsis: In this reteaming of actor Antonio Banderas and director Robert Rodriguez -- their first film together since the 1995 feature Desperado -- Banderas plays Gregorio; he and devoted partner Ingrid (Carla Gugino), comprise the greatest pair of secret agents working. Both are masters of disguise and Read More

Ted Bundy

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Michael Reilly Burke, Boti Ann Bliss, Stefani Brass, Marina Black, Tracey Walter, Wayne Morse

Synopsis: Director Matthew Bright (Freeway) directs this tale of one of the most notorious serial killers in the annals of crime. Standing in stark contrast to the generally accepted view of serial killers, Ted Bundy (Michael Reilley Burke) was intelligent, quick-witted, and handsome. Engaged to a beautiful Read More

Children of the Living Dead

Actors: A. Barrett Worland, Jamie McCoy

Synopsis: It's never a good idea to have a dead person mad at you, as you will learn from this horror opus. As a child, Abbot Hayes (A. Barrett Worland) was tormented by his emotionally unstable mother, and he grew up to become a sexual predator and mass murderer. But Hayes' evil didn't come to an end with Read More

The American Nightmare

Actors: George A. Romero, John Carpenter, Tom Savini, David Cronenberg, Wes Craven

Synopsis: In the late '60s, the tone of American horror films began to shift in the wake of the startling success of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead -- horror films became gorier, bleaker, and began to subtly reflect the political and social upheaval gripping the country. Through the '70s and Read More

Demon Lust

Actors: Tom Savini, Brinke Stevens

Synopsis: A pair of down-on-their-luck friends in debt to the mob find that a demented mafia hitman is the least of their worries when they attempt to rob a mysterious newcomer to their town in this sexy tale of terror starring scream queen Brinke Stevens and special-effects wizard Tom Savini. Nick and Tony Read More

From Dusk Till Dawn

Actors: George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Cheech Marin

Synopsis: In this action-horror flick from director Robert Rodriguez and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino, Tarantino stars with George Clooney as a pair of bad-to-the-bone brothers named Seth and Richie Gecko. After a string of robberies that left a river of blood in the Geckos' wake, the sadistic siblings Read More

Mr. Stitch

Actors: Rutger Hauer, Nia Peeples, Ron Perlman, Wil Wheaton, Taylor Negron

Synopsis: This sci-fi thriller takes the Frankenstein story a few steps further and sets it in the near future. Using a variety of human body parts, a scientist (Rutger Hauer) creates Lazarus, a young man (Will Wheaton) with superior mental and physical capabilities. Poor Lazarus would be perfect but for Read More

The Demolitionist

Actors: Nicole Eggert, Richard Grieco, Susan Tyrrell, Bruce Abbott, Sarah Douglas

Synopsis: Set in a future American metropolis, Metro City, this sci-fi-thriller features a policewoman heroine who like the hero in Robocop was brought back from the dead and turned into a super-human fighter. Unlike the aforementioned robot-man, however, she is brought back not with hardware, but with Read More

Trauma

Crew: Makeup

Actors: Chris Rydell, Asia Argento, Piper Laurie, Frederic Forrest, Laura Johnson

Synopsis: In this suspenseful horror movie, a lovely runaway and a helpful hero go looking for the fearsome "Headhunter," the ghoulish hooded killer who sawed off the heads of her parents. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Innocent Blood

Actors: Anne Parillaud, Robert Loggia, Anthony LaPaglia, David Proval, Don Rickles, Don Rickels

Synopsis: An uneven but entertaining blend of graphic horror and black comedy from John Landis, very much in the mode of the director's successful An American Werewolf in London. French actress Anne Parillaud -- star of Luc Besson's acclaimed thriller La Femme Nikita -- plays Marie, a lithe and lovely Read More

Heartstopper

Synopsis: This horror movie chronicles the revenge of a Pittsburgh physician who was wrongfully accused of being a vampire and horribly executed two hundred years ago. As the story flashes to the present, his grave is accidentally dug up. The newly wakened doctor proves to be very much alive and anxious to Read More

Two Evil Eyes

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Adrienne Barbeau, E.G. Marshall, Harvey Keitel, Madeleine Potter, Ramy Zada

Synopsis: Two well-known directors each adapt stories by Edgar Allen Poe in this horror drama. George Romero's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" tells how the wife of an elderly, wealthy man and her lover--who also happens to be the husband's private physician--scheme to control his assets. Dying Read More

Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh

Crew: Makeup

Synopsis: This daffy, hit-and-miss gore comedy was apparently conceived as a parody of Herschell Gordon Lewis' splatter landmark Blood Feast, which, frankly, represents too easy a target. There are no actual Pharaohs involved, only a crazed figure in a fez who roams the streets of Pittsburgh slicing, axing Read More

Night of the Living Dead

Crew: Director

Actors: Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, Tom Towles, McKee Anderson, William Butler, William Anderson

Synopsis: Makeup wizard Tom Savini's color remake of George A. Romero's 1968 classic follows the original almost shot-for-shot, so quality comparisons are somewhat pointless. The film was clearly made for younger viewers who refuse to watch black-and-white films, no matter how good they may be. The result Read More

Red Scorpion

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Dolph Lundgren, M. Emmet Walsh, Al White, T.P. McKenna, Carmen Argenziano

Synopsis: Dolph Lundgren stars in this controversial action film directed by Joseph Zito (Missing in Action). The beefy Swede plays Soviet KGB agent Lt. Nikolai, who is sent to Africa with orders to eliminate a black rebel. Eventually, Nikolai begins to side with the locals, has a red scorpion tattooed on Read More

Monkey Shines

Crew: Special Effects

Actors: Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil, Joyce Van Patten, Christine Forrest

Synopsis: A quadriplegic former athlete finds his darkest urges being acted out by an animal familiar in this psychological horror film. When Allan Mann (Jason Beghe) loses the use of his legs and arms in an accident, he becomes bitter -- no surprise given that his girlfriend dumps him for his surgeon, his Read More

Creepshow 2

Actors: Lois Chiles, George Kennedy, Dorothy Lamour, Tom Savini, Domenick John

Synopsis: This less-satisfying sequel to the 1982 George A. Romero/Stephen King anthology presents a new trio of King stories, framed in a similar EC Comics-style format -- this time featuring some rather lackluster animated segments involving horror-host "The Creep," who introduces each chapter with Read More

Horror Effects

Synopsis: The special effects wizard behind such legendary horror films as Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow, and Friday the 13th shares his many trade secrets with aspiring special effect make-up artists in this informative instructional video. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide Read More

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Bill Johnson, Jim Siedow, Bill Moseley

Synopsis: Over ten years after making the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tobe Hooper returns to his deranged family of reclusive cannibals for another round of chainsaw chases and non-stop screaming. Hooper brings a real budget this time (having recently directed Poltergeist for Steven Spielberg) and the Read More

Dario Argento's World of Horror

Actors: Dario Argento

Synopsis: This documentary showcases the career of Italian horror-film director Dario Argento. Included are clips from his films and behind-the-scenes footage from all of his films from the 1970s The Bird with the Crystal Plumage to the 1980s Creepers. Argento himself is interviewed several times during the Read More

Day of the Dead

Crew: Special Effects

Actors: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Jarleth Conroy, Antone DiLeo, Jr.

Synopsis: Day of the Dead, the third and concluding chapter in George Romero's zombie trilogy is the most distinctly 1950s-style science fiction version of the lot. Set in Florida, as the film begins the dead have taken over the world, outnumbering humans 400,000 to one. The handful of surviving humans have Read More

The Ripper

Crew: Special Effects

Actors: Tom Savini

Synopsis: When a college professor gets hold of a ring billed as once belonging to the infamous killer Jack the Ripper, he finds that powers emanating from the ring turn him into the second coming of the once-feared slasher. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Crispin Glover, Kimberly Beck, Barbara Howard, Erich Anderson, Corey Feldman

Synopsis: Hockey-masked killer Jason Vorhees returns to terrorize a lakeside family and their rowdy teen neighbors in this fourth installment of the long-running slasher series. After the events of Friday the 13th, Part 3, Jason's seemingly lifeless body is brought to the morgue, where horny attendant Axel (Bruce Mahler Read More

Scream Greats, Vol. 1: Tom Savini

Synopsis: Produced by Starlog and Fangoria magazines, this documentary gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at how special effects are created. Featured is make-up specialist Tom Savini, who was responsible for the make-up effects on such films as Night of the Living Dead, Friday the 13th and Dawn of the Dead. Read More

Creepshow

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye

Synopsis: Two of the most venerable names in the horror field, author Stephen King and director George A. Romero, present this anthology of original twisted tales inspired by the E.C. horror comics of the 50's and 60's (themselves a more direct basis for the popular Tales from the Crypt TV series). The five Read More

Till Death Do We Scare

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Alan Tam, Olivia Cheng, Eric Tsang, Raymond Wong

Synopsis: Lau Kar-wing spins this restrained horror-comedy flick about a beautiful lass cursed with terrible luck. Irene Leen (Olivia Cheng Man-ar) has the misfortune of having three husbands die on her wedding day. After consulting a slew of fortunetellers, she understandably vows never to marry again. The Read More

The Burning

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Brian Matthews, Leah Ayres, Brian Backer, Larry Joshua, Jason Alexander

Synopsis: Apart from early appearances by Jason Alexander and Holly Hunter, an interesting score by Rick Wakeman, and some typically effective work by effects icon Tom Savini, this slasher film is also among the more frightening of its kind. The plot concerns a summer-camp caretaker named Cropsy (Lou David) Read More

The Prowler

Crew: Special Effects

Actors: Vicki Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Cindy Weintraub, Farley Granger, John Seitz

Synopsis: In this gory (the special effects are especially well done) slice-n-dicer, the happiness and the sanity of a W.W.II vet is destroyed when he returns home and finds his girl in the arms of another at the town's annual dance. Outraged, he kills both with a pitchfork and the town does not hold the Read More

Midnight

Crew: Makeup Special Effects, Special Effects

Actors: Lawrence Tierney, Melanie Verlin, John Hall, Charles Jackson, Doris Hackney

Synopsis: In this occult horror film, director John Russo, best known for Night of the Living Dead, has created a few twists on the plot of a heroine escaping one evil, only to encounter another, even worse. Some asides on the nature of racism are thrown in for good measure. After Nancy Johnson (Melanie Verlin Read More

Knightriders

Crew: Special Effects

Actors: Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman

Synopsis: Knightriders may well be the only cycle flick ever to be played out in suits of armor. A hardcase motorcycle gang led by Ed Harris has found itself a neat money-making gimmick. Dressed as the knights of the round table, the cyclists pick up a few bucks at local "renaissance" fairs, selling Read More

Friday the 13th

Crew: Makeup Special Effects, Stunts

Actors: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Robbi Morgan, Mark Nelson

Synopsis: One of the longest-running horror film series began with this gory shocker from director Sean S. Cunningham, who had previously produced Wes Craven's classic Last House on the Left. Entrepreneur Steve Christie (Peter Brouwer) re-opens Camp Crystal Lake after many years during which it has been Read More

Maniac!

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Gail Lawrence, Kelly Piper, Rita Montone

Synopsis: Joe Spinell, who appeared in Taxi Driver, stars in this unsavory horror film as Frank Zito, a character reminiscent of an even more disturbed Travis Bickle. Frank is an embittered loser who talks to himself and his dead mother, stalks a pretty model (Caroline Munro), and spends his spare time Read More

Effects

Crew: Special Effects

Actors: John Harrison, Susan Chapek, Joseph Pilato, Bernard McKenna, Debra Gordon

Synopsis: This low-budget, Pittsburgh-lensed thriller takes a semi-satirical look at the low-budget horror film industry. The story centers on an insane filmmaker who hopes his crowning achievement will be a "snuff" documentary about the actual demise of a film crew working on a horror-movie shoot. Read More

Martin

Crew: Makeup, Special Effects

Actors: John Amplas, Lincoln Maazel, Christine Forrest, Elayne Nadeau, Tom Savini

Synopsis: Nearly a decade after George A. Romero changed the face of modern horror films with Night of the Living Dead -- and following the less successful projects Season of the Witch and The Crazies -- the Pittsburgh-based auteur returned to top form with this superb vampire tale. Set in a rapidly Read More

Dawn of the Dead

Crew: Makeup, Makeup Special Effects, Special Effects

Actors: Scott Reiniger, Ken Foree, David Emge, Gaylen Ross, Tom Savini

Synopsis: Director George A. Romero's epic sequel to his legendary Night of the Living Dead has firmly established itself as the equal of its ground-breaking predecessor. Though shot in 1978 -- ten years after the first films' release -- Dawn's story begins as if the events in Night had happened only a few Read More

Deranged

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Pat Orr

Synopsis: Unlike its contemporary The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and predecessor Psycho -- both of which were very loosely based on the gruesome antics of notorious Wisconsin killer/graverobber Ed Gein, who killed, skinned, devoured or made furniture out of his many victims in the late '50s -- this gritty Read More

Deathdream

Crew: Makeup Special Effects

Actors: Richard Backus

Synopsis: This dark, brooding low-budget effort opens in Vietnam, where young infantryman Andy Brooks (Richard Backus) is struck down by a sniper's bullet. At the same time in Andy's hometown, his poor mother is uttering a desperate prayer for Andy to come home... and shortly thereafter, he does. Despite Read More