Movies like Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015)
The best movies like Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015) are Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness (2020), Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009) and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007). If Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Newest1000 Women in Horror (2025)Released 2025
Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness (2020)
From "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" to "The Big Lebowski" and everything in between, this fascinating deep-dive documentary begins its celebration of the greatest cult movies of all-time discussing the birth of the midnight movie.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009)
An exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007)
Chronicles the last great American showman, filmmaker William Castle, a master of ballyhoo who became a brand name in movie horror with his outrageous audience participation gimmicks.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
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.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo 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.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Scream: The Inside Story (2011)
In 1996, the horror master Wes Craven unleashed Scream, a slasher movie aimed at a whole new generation of teenage movie-goers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Still Screaming: The Ultimate Scary Movie Retrospective (2011)
A year in the making, Still Screaming is the definitive documentary on the making of the iconic Scream movies. Dive into the fascinating success story of the classic trilogy with on-set footage and photos, and dozens of brand new interviews with cast and crew from all the films including Wes Craven, Neve Campbell, Liev Schreiber, Henry Winkler, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Parker Posey, Scott Foley and many others. Written and Directed by Ryan Turek and Produced by Anthony Masi.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead (2011)
Retrospective documentary about the making of the horror cult classic "The Return of the Living Dead."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSwallowed Souls: The Making of 'Evil Dead 2' (2011)
A documentary about the making of Evil Dead 2.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both 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.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? (2015)
The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened? feature film documents the process of development of the ill fated "Superman Lives" movie, that was to be directed by Tim Burton and star Nicolas Cage as the man of steel himself, Superman. The project went through years of development before the plug was pulled, and this documentary interviews the major filmmakers: Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Jon Peters, Dan Gilroy, Colleen Atwood, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and many many more.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)
Brought to life through archival material and the reflections of over 40 colleagues, friends and fans, BLOOD & FLESH is much more than the story of a moviemaking life most unusual. It beautifully captures the worlds of outsider filmmaker communities that existed in California in the ’70s, and the weird ways they intersected with Hollywood mainstream and union indies. On Adamson shoots, regular Orson Welles crew and cinematographers like Gary Graver, Vilmos Szigmond and Lazlo Kovaks worked alongside Bud Cardos — and at one point, Charles Manson! Director David Gregory (founder of Severin Films, director of LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU) spent years making this film, speaking to everyone down to the cops who investigated Adamson’s murder, vividly encapsulating both a bold life and tragic demise, with alien conspiracies, go-go dancers and Colonel Sanders coming in along the way. If you’ve got even a passing interest in cinema, you want to see this
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Slice and Dice: The Slasher Film Forever (2012)
A celebration of slasher cinema - from PSYCHO to the present day, with a focus on highlighting many of the genre's forgotten cult classics, deconstructing how to survive a slice and dice movie and meditating upon why it is almost always a final girl and rarely a final guy... this is a documentary which is designed for both the biggest fan of "mad maniac" movies and the person who may only have seen HALLOWEEN and SCREAM. Either way, this is a documentary that proves the SLASHER FILM is truly FOREVER!
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2006)
From 1970-1977, six low budget films shown at midnight transformed the way we make and watch films.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Search of Darkness (2019)
An exploration of '80s horror movies through the perspective of the actors, directors, producers and SFX craftspeople who made them, and their impact on contemporary cinema.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Nancy (2011)
A look at Heather Langenkamp's unique experience playing Wes Craven's legendary teen heroine Nancy Thompson. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Heather asks the burning question: "Why Freddymania, and not Nancymania?" After personally experiencing the Freddy Krueger marketing craze, the rise of horror convention fandom and the phenomenon of eight Nightmare On Elm Street films, Heather reflects on the relevance of heroes in this modern age of monster lovers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi (2020)
The greatest cult horror and science fiction films of all-time are studied in vivid detail in the second volume of Time Warp. Includes groundbreaking classics like "Night of the Living Dead," and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and sci-fi gems such as "Blade Runner," and "A Clockwork Orange."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019)
Mark Patton sets the records straight about the controversial 1985 sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street, which ended his acting career, just as it was about to begin.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThat Guy Dick Miller (2014)
Documentary about veteran character actor Dick Miller, whose career in and outside of Hollywood has spanned almost 200 films across six decades, featuring a diverse range of interviews with directors, co-stars, and contemporaries.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Doc of Chucky (2024)
The story of the cult horror empire through interviews with cast, crew, and horror icons such as Don Mancini, Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, John Waters, Fiona Dourif, Perrey Reeves, Gerrit Graham, David Kirschner, and dozens more.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Vampira: The Movie (2006)
The story of Maila "Vampira" Nurmi, living on the very edge of show business, and her rise to celluloid cultdom 50 years later. Her big break came in 1954 when she played the "glamour ghoul" Vampira, emerging from the mist to greet viewers of obscure horror movies on the new medium— television. Her newfound fame led to friendships with Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Anthony Perkins. But Vampira's show was abruptly cancelled. Nurmi appeared as Vampira again in the 1959 low-budget horror / sci-fi film, Plan 9 from Outer Space, directed by Edward D. Wood Jr. and often dubbed "the worst film of all time." But you can't keep a good vampire down, and Nurmi's character rose from the dead again in 1993's Ed Wood, directed by Tim Burton.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
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.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The American Nightmare (2000)
An examination into the nature of 1960's-70's horror films, the involved artists, and how they reflected contemporary society.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Thing: Terror Takes Shape (1998)
An in-depth look at the making of John Carpenter's cult classic sci-fi horror The Thing, telling the story of a group of researchers in Antarctica who encounter a parasitic extra-terrestrial life-form that assimilates, then imitates other organisms.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Celluloid Bloodbath (2012)
DEFINITION: 'Celluloid' - Motion picture film, cinema film. 'Bloodbath' - Savage, indiscriminate killing, a massacre. CELLULOID BLOODBATH: MORE PREVUES FROM HELL - the long-awaited sequel to 1987's horror cult classic, MAD RON'S PREVUES FROM HELL. An awesome collection of 61 over-the-top horror movie prevues, from the golden Grindhouse age, spanning the 1960's through the 1980's! Also features commentary from film makers, actors, critics and fans, that make this a true, incredibly entertaining, one-of-a-kind movie-going experience!
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
1000 Women in Horror (2025)
Is horror a man’s world? You might assume so – but you won’t be thinking that way for long once you investigate the vast contribution women have made to horror movies for well over a century. In 2020, award-winning Australian critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas released the definitive book on the subject: 1000 Women in Horror, 1895–2018, an encyclopaedic work celebrating the many women – filmmakers, actors, producers and technicians – who have shaped the genre since the moment cinema’s light first flickered.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist (2019)
A lyrical and spiritual cinematic essay on The Exorcist, the last film of Alexandre O. Philippe explores the uncharted depths of William Friedkin’s mind’s eye, the nuances of his filmmaking process, and the mysteries of faith and fate that have shaped his life and filmography.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity (2021)
A deep dive into the making of the Paranormal Activity films with first time ever interviews with cast and crew, never-before-seen footage from the movies, and a preview of the seventh installment in the franchise.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoc of the Dead (2014)
The definitive zombie culture documentary, brought to the screen by the makers of THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost Machine (2009)
Two technicians battle a vengeful spirit that has infected their stolen military software.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini?
The closest matches to Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini are Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness (2020), Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009) and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini?
People who watched Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini most often go on to Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness (2020), Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009) and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007).
What is the newest movie like Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini?
1000 Women in Horror (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini?
Yes: Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness (2020), Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009) and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007).
How are movies similar to Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.