Few effects artists have made as great an impact on the annals of horror history as Tom Savini. Savini is an American prosthetic makeup artist and film director, known for his creature and gore effects work on many iconic horror films. He is also an actor and a stunt performer, often appearing in cameo roles in which he plays victim to his own disturbing effects.
He’s had a long and fruitful career, crafting some of the most inventive slasher kills and creepiest zombies ever depicted on film. With a massive filmography full of creative creatures and hair-raising effects sequences, you really can’t go wrong with any of his work. That said, some of his work stands above the rest as some of the most important moments in horror movie history. Let’s shed some appreciation on 11 of his best ever horror movie effects.
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11 Skewered Bacon – Friday the 13th (1980)
Paramount Pictures
The first Friday the 13th is a bit of an outlier in the greater Friday the 13th franchise, as it doesn’t actually feature the iconic killer Jason Voorhees as the main slasher. Regardless of that, it is still considered by many to be the best in the franchise, and that is no doubt due to Savini’s incredible effects work. One of the best moments in the film is when the mysterious killer hides under Kevin Bacon’s bed and slowly pierces an arrow into the mattress and up through Bacon’s throat. It’s a grisly and frighteningly realistic effect, and though it’s not as outrageously gory as some other effects featured on this list, its simplicity and horrifying implications make it a standout moment in Savini’s career.
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10 Raft Attack – The Burning (1981)
Filmways Pictures
The Burning is a lesser-known flick from the ‘80s slasher heyday that isn’t necessarily a classic, but is nonetheless brimming with top-notch effects. The greatest sequence in the film sees a group of five campers being ambushed by Cropsy, the horribly scarred killer, who savagely tears them apart with his gardening shears. Savini is just having fun here, jamming shears into chest after chest, throwing fingers around, and spewing blood like a fountain. It’s an astonishingly brutal sequence that single-handedly elevates the film to must-watch status.
9 Happy Father’s Day – Creepshow (1982)
Warner Bros. Pictures
One of George A. Romero’s best films, Creepshow is a horror anthology made up of short episodes penned by Stephen King. As if pairing up Romero and King wasn’t powerful enough, horror royalty Savini did the creature effects, and they are fantastic. One of the best looking creatures in the film is the putrid, living corpse of Nathan Grantham, who appears at the end of the “Father’s Day” segment. Though he doesn’t get much screen time, the character makes an impression, and is surely one of the coolest-looking zombies in horror history.
8 Pop Goes the Zombie – Dawn of the Dead (1978)
United Film Distribution Company
Dawn of the Dead is George A. Romero’s second zombie masterpiece, upping the ante in pretty much every department compared to the earlier Night of the Living Dead. One such improvement was bringing Savini in to do the special effects. While the film is full of creative setpieces, memorable characters, and eerie atmosphere, Savini’s effects are what make Dawn of the Dead stand out as one of the all-time best horror flicks of the ‘70s. The movie kicks the splattery goodness off with a bang – literally – with one of the greatest head explosions ever filmed happening just 10 minutes into this zombie classic.
7 Opening Scene – Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986)
Cannon Releasing
Director Tobe Hooper, famed for his intoxicatingly grim Texas Chainsaw Massacre, decided to shake things up with Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2. A full-on horror-comedy that polarized both critics and fans of the original film, Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 nevertheless contains some of the greatest gory moments in Savini’s career. One of the greatest effects moments in this crazy movie occurs in the opening scene, which depicts the over-the-top demise of two high school punks at the hands of Leatherface. Hiding behind and puppeteering a rotting corpse while standing on the roof of a truck, Leatherface saws into the punks’ car and lets loose a geyser of blood in this gratuitous Savini moment.
6 Death by Shovel – Day of the Dead (1985)
George A. Romero’s third zombie epic, Day of the Dead, starts out talkier than the first two films, but soon rewards the patient gore-hound with boatloads of Savini blood and guts. According to Den of Geek, “The third act features some of the most incredible gore seen on screen up to that time, courtesy of the legendary Tom Savini, who took his makeup effects work to a new level with this film.” One of the most memorable effects from the film is when a zombie has its head split in two by a shovel. The top of the head rolls away as the eyes continue to move. It’s silly, scary, and entirely convincing.
5 Head Explosion – The Prowler (1981)
Sandhurst
1981’s The Prowler is a hugely underrated slasher featuring some of Savini’s best work. While there is a ton of barf-bag-worthy gore in this flick, the essential moment is the head explosion that kills the villain and closes out the film. It is amazingly shocking and utterly disgusting.
4 Going Out On a High Note – Day of the Dead (1985)
One of the most horrifying deaths in Day of the Dead is the death of Private Torrez. His head is grabbed and pulled off his body by tens of zombies. As his severed head is carried away, Savini gets extra gross and shows us each vocal cord stretching and snapping, distorting the Private’s screams. It’s just as nasty as it sounds, and one of Savini’s greatest achievements.
3 Fluffy – Creepshow (1982)
Perhaps Savini’s best full-sized creature is Fluffy the Crate Beast from Creepshow. Fluffy is an ape-like monster dug up during an archeological excavation in the Arctic, who runs amok on a college campus, savagely feasting on anyone in its path. The beast looks fantastic, simultaneously fitting into the comic book atmosphere of the film and looking quite believable.
2 The Death of Captain Rhodes – Day of the Dead (1985)
Hands down, the gnarliest moment in Day of the Dead is the grisly death of Captain Rhodes. The sadistic military man is gunned down by Bub the friendly zombie, then subsequently mauled to death by a horde of hungry zombies. Not only is he graphically disemboweled, but his entire posterior is removed and carried away by the flesh eaters. It’s incredibly realistic and disgusting, but also a masterpiece of horror special effects.
1 Exploding His Own Head – Maniac (1980)
Analysis Film Releasing Corporation
Maniac is a brutal slasher that takes a unique approach, following the killer as the main protagonist. The film was not well received at the time, with reviewers deriding what All Horror describes as “a grungy and very depraved slasher flick.” It’s since become a cult classic, with one of the most praised aspects of the film being the amazing special effects by Savini. Hands down, the best moment in the film is when the titular maniac jumps on the hood of a man’s car — the man played by Tom Savini himself — and fires his shotgun through the windshield. An extremely realistic model of Savini’s head explodes in slow motion and splatters all over his female passenger’s face. It’s a gleefully gratuitous moment that easily takes our top spot for the best Savini effect of all time.
