Review: I WANT TO BE TOM SAVINI

Bianca Luedeker as Tom Savini

Winner Best Short Phoenix FearCon V (2012)


Phoenix FearCon V had a lot of treats to offer us this year but the film that was personally the most fun for me was the documentary short I Want to be Tom Savini. The film was written and directed by Bianca Luedeker, a young filmmaker hailing from the Red Rocks in Sedona, Arizona.

The 21 minute short chronicles Luedeker's dream of creating her own exploding head effect. To do so she must overcome a lot of fears before even getting to the special effects work. To help her do this she disguises herself as 80's era Tom Savini. Savini, of course, is the special effects god responsible for basically all the great gore we love here at Dark of the Matinee. From the original Dawn of the Dead  to Maniac and The Prowler, you name it and Savini has more than likely done it.

We meet Bianca's family and they all tell various stories about Bianca and her love of horror. We learn that Bianca's love for special makeup effects and Savini began when she came across a copy of his book, Grande Illusions.

Savini creating Jason

After a fantastic training montage (you know how much we love those here at Dark of the Matinee) set to a great Rocky theme knock off composed perfectly by Jason Downer, Bianca is ready to board a plane for the first time and head to LA to meet some of the best makeup wizards in the biz. A lot of the folks she meets are pretty big names in the industry who actually end up being highly entertaining, especially Alec Gillis. But will she meet her hero, Savini himself?

I Want to be Tom Savini is an absolute pleasure to watch. Bianca truly loves special makeup effects and it shows. She has a passion and it's all up there on the screen. Incredibly funny and so full of heart. You can't help but root for her.

The makeup effects Bianca performs are very good, but the real takeaway for me was her skill at filmmaking. She has a real knack for the trade. The editing in particular was really well done. Hopefully we'll see more work from her in the near future.

I Want to Be Tom Savini is a funny, heartfelt story about a girl following her dream. I can't recommend this enough.


written by Christopher Coffel