Tag Archives: Tom Savini

Movie Review: Creepshow 2

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

(1987)
Directed by Michael Gornick
Starring George Kennedy, Dorothy Lamour, Lois Chiles, Tom Savini, Holt McCallany, David Holbrook, Frank Salsedo, Daniel Beer, Page Hannah, Tom Wright, and Joel Silver

One of the things that I really love about revisiting films, especially ones from decades ago that I’ve always considered “just okay” then realizing that I am seeing them much differently this time around. It might have something to do with age, becoming more of a seasoned lover of cinema, or just having more of an understanding of what goes into making a movie. I’m not trying to sound like I know everything or am some intellectual film scholar, but I do know that I see and understand film a lot more than I did 38 years ago when this film came out.

Continue reading →

Making Monsters!

by in Book News and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Back in 2022, Howard Berger, Oscar winning special makeup effects artist, and journalist Marshall Julius gave us Masters of Make-Up Effects: A Century of Practical Magic, which covered some of the best makeup artists and their work over the last 100 years. That volume is a real page turner, as well as a tome of a massive about of amazing information about these incredibly talented artists, many who don’t get the credit they deserve. Now they are back with a whole new book, entitled Making Monsters: Inside Stories from the Creators of Hollywood’s Most Iconic Creatures!

Due out this September, this 320-page hardcover edition (also available on Kindle for $24.99) is priced at $49.95, has Berger and Julius reaching out to dozens of legendary makeup effects artists from Hollywood, asking them a simple question: What makes a great movie monster? What we get is answers from a huge list of talented makeup and digital artists like Tom Savini to Phil Tippett, to directors like John Carpenter & Ti West, to actors such as Simon Pegg and Barbara Crampton, to composers, and writers. It also has a foreword by Robert Englund and Afterword by Alex Winter. Like their previous volume, this one is filled with hundreds of images, from film stills to person, behind-the-scenes pics, as well as plenty of stories from the brilliant minds that helped bring our nightmares to life!

Book Review: Making a Monster

by in Reviews: Horror Reference Book and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Making a Monster: The Creation of Screen Characters by The Great Makeup Artists
By Al Taylor & Sue Roy
Published by Crown Publishers, Inc., 1980. 278 pages.

In today’s world of horror fandom, everyone knows the names of Tom Savini, Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, and a dozen other names. In the ’80s, the films really made these people stars, and deservedly so! There were plenty of films I wanted to see simply based on who had done the makeup effect in it. They were sometimes more important to us fans than who starred in it or who even directed it. But what about the artists that came before them? Names like William Tuttle, Ben Nye Sr., John Chambers, or Phil Leaky? These are some of the few that took those first steps into helping filmmakers bring their ideas and imagination to life on screen.

This book highlights 25 different makeup artists that help create and elevate the industry to where it is today. Way before CGI or even basic special makeup effects, these guys were designing, developing, and even creating the makeup and techniques that helped advance the industry, some of which are still be used today. By reading this book, you will learn the important history of this crucial part of the filmmaking world that is so important to us horror fans. The ones covered in this volume are the forefathers and need to be remembered for what they help give us today. Even if you’re not a makeup artist, this is a lesson needed for any fan of the fantastic elements of cinema, bringing imagination and dreams to life on the big screen.

Creepshow 2 Book!

by in Book News and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The original George Romero film Creepshow (1982) is one of my all-time favorite horror films, no questions. I would consider it one of those perfect films that just couldn’t get any better. So, when the sequel came out, trying to reproduce the same feeling of the original, I was very excited but very apprehensive that they would be able to strike gold twice. Well, they didn’t. But it not only was entertaining, I think it still holds up today.

One of the best ways to enjoy a film even more is to know more about the behind-the-scenes. When you understand maybe some of the production issues they had, or problems with the funds, cast and/or crew, it makes you see the end results a little differently. Might not make it a better film, but at least you see it and understand a few things a little differently. So, I’m thrilled to see a new book coming out that is tackling this sequel.

The Making of Creepshow 2 by Lee Karr will be published in August of this year, from Plexus Publishing. Running over 300 pages, author Karr chronicles the film from the pre-production to the finished product. There is a day-by-day diary with production files, scripts, storyboard art, and notes from director Michael Gornick himself. We get to hear from a ton of people involved in the film, from costume designers, stunt coordinators, and other members of the cast and crew.

I can’t wait to dig into this one!

Howlin’ Wolf Gives Us The Prowler

by in Misc. Ramblings and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’m always excited when someone decides to release the soundtrack from a film that you wouldn’t expect to ever see happen. Well thanks to Howling Wolf Records, you will now have the chance to get a release of the 1981 slasher film The Prowler!

With the flood of slasher films coming out in the wake of Friday the 13th, Joseph Zito’s film about a revenge killer is one of the better ones, especially due to Tom Savini’s makeup effects. But Richard Einhorn’s score also helped. And now for the first time, the complete score will be available on CD, with over an hour’s worth of music! It has been assembled and masters for CD from the 15 ips master tape, and will contain 35 tracks, liner notes by Ian Zapczynski, and a 16-page full color booklet.

For all the ordering information, head over to Howlin’ Wolf Records by clicking HERE.

Movie Review: Deranged (1974)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

derangedbanner

Deranged (1974)
Directed by Jeff Gillen and Alan Ormsby.
Starring Roberts Blossom, Cosette Lee, Micki Moore, Robert Warner, Pat Orr

Of all the films based on the real life story of Ed Gein, I would say this one is the most accurate. Since I grew up in a small town in Michigan, I’ve always found this film to be very creepy, since there were a few people in my town that could easily have been another Ed Gein. In case you’re not aware of the facts, Gein was from Plainfield, Wisconsin that murdered at least 2 people, but also had dug up several people from the local graveyard, using their body parts for nefarious things, before he was caught in 1954. How something like that could have be going on, and nobody would have ever know, boggles the mind. According to author Robert Bloch, that is the one thing that he took from the whole Ed Gein affair for his book Psycho, that a small town America could be housing a terror that nobody was aware of. Tobe Hooper also took a lot of ideas from Gein for his film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), including the fact that Gein had face masks made from human skin. Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Prowler (1981)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

prowlerbanner

The Prowler (1981)
Directed by Joseph Zito
Starring Farley Granger, Vicky Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Cindy Weintraub, Lawrence Tierney

While overseas during World War II, a soldier receives a “Dear John” letter from his girlfriend. Once he returns home, he gets revenge during the local graduation dance by stabbing a pitchfork through her and her new boyfriend. We now move ahead to present day (or 1980, for that matter), where the town is planning on its first graduation dance since those unsolved murders back at the end of the war. The sheriff is on his way out for his yearly fishing trip, and leaves the town in the hands of his young deputy. When the news of a fugitive on the loose in a nearby town, the deputy and his girlfriend start to get nervous. More importantly, who is this guy sneaking around in the army gear, armed with a bayonet and pitchfork? Continue reading →

Savini – The Biography

by in Book News and tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Savini BiographyYou can’t be a horror fan and not know who Tom Savini is. It really is simple as that. Growing on horror in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Savini was simply a god to us fans. We knew that if he worked on a movie, it was going to be worth going to see, on that fact alone. And he never disappointed. Just look at this filmography from that time. Friday the 13th, The Burning, Maniac, Prowler, and the list goes on and on. Over the years, fans idolized Savini because he even though he was a master in the special makeup effects world, he was also just like us… a fan.

Now we will get to read a little more in depth about this master of makeup effects, actor, director, and so much more, with the release of his biography, simply titled Savini.

Released by AM Ink Publishing, it will come out on Nov. 3rd, which just happens to be Savini’s 73rd birthday! There is a Limited First Edition Signed by Savini that is priced at $99.99. There is also a regular Limited First Edition that is $74.99. Or you can get it from Amazon priced at $59.99. It is 212 pages, and filled with over 400 images from Savini’s work and career. Truly a must for all horror fans. Our movie memories just wouldn’t be the same without Tom.

 

Movie Review: Creepshow

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

creepshowbanner.jpg

Creepshow (1982)
Directed by George Romero
Starring Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye, E.G. Marshall, Viveca Lindfors, Ed Harris, Ted Danson, Stephen King, Warner Shook, Robert Harper, Elizabeth Regan, Gaylen Ross, Tom Atkins

One question that horror fans get asked a lot is “what’s your favorite horror movie?” I know a lot of fans do have a particular one that is their favorite. For me though, it really would be impossible for me to narrow it down to even 20, let alone a single one. But I do know that if such a list was ever conceived in my brain, somewhere near the top would be George Romero’s Creepshow. In fact, it is my favorite of all of Romero’s work, even above Night of the Living Dead. Maybe it was because I saw this in the theater at the time my obsession with the horror genre really started to explode. Maybe it was the great mixture of horror and humor. Or the way it blended the world of horror comic books that I read as a child into the movie world in such a beautiful way. Whatever reason it might be, or all of them, I have loved this film since I first witnessed it in the theater back in 1982, and I still love it just as much today.

Continue reading →