Movies Like Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015)

Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini is a 2015 documentary film from Jason Baker with a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th and Man of a Thousand Faces.

Documentary

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

2010

A retrospective documentary about the groundbreaking horror series, Friday the 13th, featuring interviews with cast and crew from the twelve films spanning 3 decades.

6.7

MagicScore

Man of a Thousand Faces

1957

The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon Chaney (1883-1930), the man of a thousand faces; bearer of many personal misfortunes that even his great success could not mitigate.

6.6

MagicScore

To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story

2017

To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story is the harrowing story of a stuntman overcoming a dehumanizing childhood filled with torment and bullying in Sparks, Nevada. After surviving a near-death burn accident, he worked his way up through Hollywood, leading to his ultimate rise as Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th series and making countless moviegoers forever terrified of hockey masks and summer camp. Featuring interviews with cinema legends, including Bruce Campbell (Ash vs. Evil Dead), Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), and Cassandra Peterson (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), To Hell and Back peels off the mask of Kane Hodder, cinema's most prolific killer, in a gut-wrenching, but inspiring, documentary. After decades of watching Kane Hodder on screen, get ready to meet the man behind the mask in To Hell and Back - an uniquely human story about one of cinema's most vicious monsters.

7.9

MagicScore

Nightmare Factory

2011

The story of how one Pittsburgh boy’s fascination with monsters drove him to the very top of the Hollywood food chain. In 1989, Greg Nicotero, much to his parents’ chagrin, quit medical school and headed for Hollywood to pursue a dream of making monsters. Together with gore masters Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman, Nicotero went on to create KNB EFX Group, one of the most prolific makeup effects studios in the world. After twenty years as the “go to guy” for the world’s most successful horror/sci-fi films, Greg Nicotero is the first one directors like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez call.

7.3

MagicScore

Gods and Monsters

1998

It's 1957, and James Whale's heyday as the director of "Frankenstein," "Bride of Frankenstein" and "The Invisible Man" is long behind him. Retired and a semi-recluse, he lives his days accompanied only by images from his past. When his dour housekeeper, Hannah, hires a handsome young gardener, the flamboyant director and simple yard man develop an unlikely friendship, which will change them forever.

6.9

MagicScore

78/52

2017

The most famous murder scene in movie history comprises 78 camera settings and 52 cuts: the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. 78/52 tells the story of the man behind the curtain and his greatest obsession.

7.2

MagicScore

Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story

2025

The authorized documentary celebrating the film that redefined Hollywood, 50 years after its premiere. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with acclaimed Hollywood directors alongside Steven Spielberg, top shark scientists, and conservationists, the film uncovers the behind-the-scenes chaos and how the film launched the summer blockbuster, inspired a new wave of filmmakers, and paved the way for shark conservation that continues today.

7.5

MagicScore

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

2006

This historical and critical look at slasher films, which includes dozens of clips, begins with Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Prom Night. The films' directors, writers, producers, and special effects creators comment on the films' making and success. During the Reagan years, the films get gorier, budgets get smaller, and their appeal wanes. Then, Nightmare on Elm Street revives the genre. Jump to the late 90s, when Scream brings humor and TV stars into the mix.

6.8

MagicScore

Nightmares in Red, White and Blue

2009

An exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.

6.6

MagicScore

#10

Full Tilt Boogie

1998

A documentary about the production of From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and the people who made it.

6.4

MagicScore

#11

King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen

2018

A feature-length documentary focusing on the acclaimed work and eclectic career of maverick filmmaker Larry Cohen, writer-director of "Black Caesar," "It's Alive," "God Told Me To," "Q," "The Stuff," and many more.

6.4

MagicScore

#12

Melancholie der Engel

2009

Upon learning that his days are numbered, a man and an old friend return to an old house that connects them by a dark secret. Along with three women and a mysterious old man, the group journeys into a horrifying abyss of debauchery and moral mayhem, leading to a fatal turn of events, during which the darkest human depths are revealed.

4.0

MagicScore

#13

Final Cut

2022

Things go badly for a small film crew shooting a low-budget zombie movie when they are attacked by real zombies.

6.8

MagicScore

#14

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan

2012

There’s only one person who so accurately personifies movie magic in the history of film, and that man is special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen. Focusing on the man behind the landmark effects on films like Clash Of The Titans, One Million Years B.C., Jason And The Argonauts and many more, this in-depth film features interviews with the great man himself, and with an array of animators and directors influenced by his work including Guillermo del Toro, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Terry Gilliam, James Cameron and Steven Spielberg. The film also features unseen footage of tests and experiments recently uncovered.

7.4

MagicScore

#15

Deadline

1980

A horror film about a screenwriter who loses the ability to distinguish between his fantasy world and the real world, with disastrous consequences. As he ruminates on his place in any world and loses his grip, he also loses his wife and his children's respect, and critics tear him apart. The final undoing of this screenwriter is a deadline that must be met at all costs, costs that perhaps are too great.

5.1

MagicScore

#16

The Deer Hunter

1978

A group of working-class friends decide to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War and finds it to be hellish chaos -- not the noble venture they imagined. Before they left, Steven married his pregnant girlfriend -- and Michael and Nick were in love with the same woman. But all three are different men upon their return.

8.0

MagicScore

#17

The Conjuring: Last Rites

2025

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.

7.0

MagicScore

#18

Digging Up the Marrow

2015

A documentary filmmaker turns his lens on an enigmatic conspiracy theorist who claims he's found the entrance to a vast underground city populated entirely by monsters.

5.4

MagicScore

#19

The Devil Within

2016

In November 2012 Rachel Kusza and her team of film makers travelled to Transylvania to document the Baciu forest. A forest with a dark history of strange occurrences, ghost sightings and countless cases of missing people. The film crew were never heard from again. After searching for the film crew for two years Howard Redman, Rachels teacher, found the crews camera buried in the snow....

3.5

MagicScore

#20

Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain

2024

In the chambers of the Edo harem, two newcomers uncover political intrigue, rivalry and a vengeful spirit only one traveling medicine seller can vanquish.

7.1

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini?

The top films similar to Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini by MovieMagicScore are His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th (6.7), Man of a Thousand Faces (6.6), To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story (7.9). Each shares documentary themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini worth watching?

Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10 from 28 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini?

Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015) is a documentary film directed by Jason Baker, starring Tom Savini, George A. Romero, Doug Bradley.

Where can I find more recommendations like Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more documentary recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th Movies like Man of a Thousand Faces Movies like To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story Movies like Nightmare Factory Movies like Gods and Monsters Movies like 78/52

About movies like Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini

This ranked list pairs Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015), a documentary film from Jason Baker, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tom Savini take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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