The Touching History Behind Tom Savini’s Cameo in Locke & Key – Bloody Disgusting

The road to adapting author Joe Hill and illustrator Gabriel Rodriguezs acclaimed comic seriesLocke & Key proved winding and arduous. Netflixs series finally brings the story to screen, with season one available to binge now. The show follows the Locke family, who move across the country and into their ancestral estate after the tragic murder of the patriarch. Its there that they find magical keys, and an evil hellbent on retrieving them for itself. Though the inaugural season serves as a horror-fantasy gateway into horror (review), theres a nod and cameo for dedicated horror fans; legendary makeup effects maestro Tom Savini. More than a fun horror reference, Savinis inclusion in the series has a sentimental explanation.

Middle Locke sibling Kinsey (Emilia Jones), upon starting class at her new high school, immediately bonds with fellow student Scot Cavendish (Petrice Jones). Scot is an aspiring filmmaker who has assembled a like-minded group of friends to help him make a horror film. Savini serves as inspiration for the groups name, the Savini Squad. In Kinseys first introductory meeting with the squad, team members debate Savinis most exceptional work while watching horror movies, dropping titles like Day of the Dead. When Kinsey accepts a role as the movies final girl, shes covered head to toe in fake blood as the squad tries to emulate Savinis gore work.

In episode two, while little Bode Locke (Jackson Robert Scott) tries to uncover the mysteries of Keyhouses magical keys, he shows one of them to a local hardware shop owner for possible answers on its origin. That shopkeeper is none other than Tom Savini. The cameo makes for a wry wink to the Savini Squad, but Savinis inclusion in the series offers a deeper meaning.

Comic author and series executive producer Joe Hill has an extensive history with the special effects artist. Savini directed an adaptation of Hills By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain for ShuddersCreepshowseries last year, a fitting segment for Savini to helm considering the pair first met on the originalCreepshowfilm.

George A. Romeros classic anthology film featured a wraparound segment that saw a boy, Billy, get unjustly punished for his love of comics only to get offered a chance for gruesome retribution from the Creep. A very young Joe Hill played Billy. In interviews, Hill mentions being on set for a week as a kid, and that Savini acted as his babysitter. Hill, who likened Savini to a Rockstar, cited that experience as deeply formative to his creative career in horror. That short week on the set of one of horrors seminal anthologies with one of horrors most celebrated special effects artists set him down the path of a career in the genre space.

So, Savinis appearance inLocke & Key is a cute nod to horror fans and, perhaps, even fans of the more brutal and bloody comic series on which the series is based. But on a deeper level, its one very successful horror author paying homage to an idol that unlocked a lifelong passion. Its a touching token of appreciation for being such a vital influence during childhood. In this context, Savinis inclusion makes for one of the most magical aspects of the season.

Found within a series full of magic, no less.

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The Touching History Behind Tom Savini's Cameo in Locke & Key - Bloody Disgusting