Tom Savini Movies

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, Sea of Dust traces the monstrous villain's efforts to sacrifice the "psychologically vulnerable" at the alter of evil. A diabolical ideology has been unleashed on the land, and as the young and pure of heart are forced to suffer unimaginable torture, a desperate few set out in search of answers. But time is running out fast, because Prester John (Tom Savini) and his sadistic disciple Anna (Ingrid Pitt) are hell bent on wholesale slaughter. An epic social satire disguised as a blood-soaked Grand Guignol horror film, Sea of Dust features gruesome special effects work by Josh Turi (Wendigo, Unfaithful), and supporting performances from Stuart Rudin (Silence of the Lambs) and Bill Timoney (All My Children). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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 traditional Hollywood fare, the majority tended to screen exploitation movies -- horror, science fiction, biker flicks, soft-core sex -- especially in the Sixties and Seventies as they primarily became a center for young people. Rising land values and a decline in attendance has caused most drive-in theaters to close, but if they're largely gone they're not forgotten, and this documentary pays homage both to America's drive-ins and the sort of movies that often played there. Drive-In Madness includes trailers for dozens of vintage exploitation films as well as classic snack shop commercials and intermission "countdowns." In addition, a number of noted figures in exploitation film history talk about their work and their place in drive-in history; interview subjects include scream queens Linnea Quigley and Bobbie Bresee, Night of the Living Dead director George A. Romero, gore effects wiz Tom Savini, veteran distributor Sam Sherman, and Famous Monsters of Filmland editor and horror movie expert Forrest J. Ackerman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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 classics, this look at the history of the modern slasher film offers demented insight into some of the most terrifying motion pictures ever released. From Psycho to the giallo genre to Freddy Vs. Jason, Going to Pieces offers a comprehensive overview of the entire slasher genre as discussed by such horror luminaries as Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sean S. Cunningham, and Rob Zombie. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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 coming as the campfire tales told by three college couples prove to terrifying to be fiction in "Folklore," and a reality show goes horribly awry in "World's Most Haunted." The fright builds to a fever pitch in "The Psychic," a grim little yarn about a fraudulent tarot card reader who discovers the terrifying truth behind that old adage "practice makes perfect." ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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 his death; he became a zombie and banded together an army of the bloodthirsty living dead, cutting a swath through the small town where he lived before vanishing without a trace. Nearly a decade and a half later, the terrible story of Abbot Hayes is discussed by curious visitors to the town, but not the locals, who prefer not to mention Abbot's bloody legacy. But when an unscrupulous local businessman buys up a cemetery and makes plans to move the bodies to a mass grave, the undead Mr. Hayes returns, determined once again to show his deadly strength to the people who permitted this show of disrespect to the dead. Children of the Living Dead also features legendary special-effects expert and sometimes actor Tom Savini in a small role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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 fiancée who never suspected his murderous tendencies, the feral Bundy develops a taste for murder that ultimately results in the deaths of at least 19 young women through the course of the 1970s. From posing as an injured driver and luring unsuspecting women to their deaths to an astonishing pair of jailbreaks and his ultimate death by capital punishment, viewers follow the murderous madman on a crime spree that shocked a nation and left the public's perception of what a serial killer is truly capable of forever changed. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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 are in deep trouble with the mob, and if they don't pay back the money that they owe in three days, sadistic hitman Eddie "The Goose" Rao will be more than happy to ensure they are never heard from again. When Nick and Troy's desperate attempts to acquire the money all fail miserably, they set their sights on Amanda -- a mesmerizing town newcomer with a strange reputation and an unusual knack for nocturnal outings. Now trapped between the horrors of hell and the cold grip of the mob, Nick and Troy's fight for their lives turns into a struggle for their immortal souls. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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 the terrible nightmares that plague him. He does not know of his gruesome origins and so goes to a psychiatrist for answers. But for Lazarus, learning the whole truth may be a dangerous endeavor, not only for him, but for the world. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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

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 vampire with a conscience who will not take "innocent blood" and maintains a low profile by dining exclusively on criminals and lowlifes. She finds a virtual smorgasbord in Pittsburgh's criminal underworld, arriving in the thick of a bloody mob war sparked by ruthless kingpin Sal Macelli (Robert Loggia). After preying on one of Macelli's hoods (Chazz Palminteri), Marie fumbles her attack on the boss himself and he manages to escape, eventually transforming into a vampire himself. Macelli soon comes to appreciate his new superhuman condition and hatches a diabolical scheme to control the syndicates by turning his underlings into vampires -- including his beleaguered lawyer, Emmanuel Bergman (Don Rickles). Marie, faced with a new and powerful undead enemy, is forced to take matters into her own claws. To this end she enlists the reluctant aid (and eventual affection) of undercover cop Joe Gennaro (Anthony LaPaglia), whose cover has just been leaked to the press, making him a target for Macelli and his growing army of blood drinkers. Landis has crafted a dark and brooding film, pumped up with bouts of extreme gore and gangland violence -- but where American Werewolf's occasional comic touches helped to ground the story and give the "straight" horror scenes more punch, most attempts at humor here seem jarring and out of place. The film's highlights come from numerous horror in-jokes, including cameos from Sam Raimi, Clive Barker, Dario Argento and Linnea Quigley; Rickles' explosive death scene ranks among the weirdest in cinema history. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

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 before they can carry out their plans, his soul is caught between life and death while they freeze the body to finish their work. In the Dario Argento-directed "The Black Cat" a crime photographer, known for his photos' gruesome content, kills his girlfriend's titular pet and then his girlfriend. Soon he gets a good look at what he's done. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

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 his chest by a shaman, and helps fight against the Cubans and the Soviets. Horror fans should note Tom Savini's expert gore effects during a torture scene, while others will be pleased with a fine supporting cast including M. Emmet Walsh, Carmen Argenziano, and Brion James. The film was originally commissioned by Warner Bros., which dropped it after controversy over its South African genesis, but they might as well have dropped it for its endless desert treks and uninvolving screenplay. An unrelated Canadian sequel followed five years later. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide