In the world of horror, the Special Effects Artist is as big of a star as the actors and directors. How many times have you been told you need to rent a horror film because you’re going to be grossed out? When I was told to rent Evil Dead back in the mid-80s, the recommendation wasn’t based on Sam Raimi’s directorial talent or the acting range of Bruce Campbell. My classmate just raved about the big effects. We had to see it to believe it. He was so right. Evil Dead had effects better than most Hollywood studio fright films. Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist shines the light on Tom Sullivan who was responsible for the elements.
Tom Sullivan is an artist who found himself attracted to making films while he was in high school. We see his early 8mm stop motion animations featuring clay dinosaurs fighting and later when he figures out how to make people enter the battle. After high school, he got married. His wife Penny enrolled at Michigan State University while he worked a day job and worked on his film dreams. He ended up part of an 8mm club at the college and met Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. He discovered Sam Raimi and his brother Ted lived a few blocks from his family home. There’s a revelation about Sam Raimi’s first big film’s premiere when he had it on the same snowy night as a Hall and Oates concert and a Michigan State basketball game when Magic Johnson ruled the court. After this disaster night, Raimi didn’t give up and went on to make Evil Dead.
Tom Sullivan came on board the production and quickly found himself cranking out the fake heads, body parts and the Necronomicon. We’re taken out to the producer Rob Tapert’s family farm so Sullivan can recount what was shot. We learn the movie magic of how they made the basement look so tall. Sullivan takes us down to Tennessee to see the other locations. He points out that fans shouldn’t visit the original location since the owners will fill you full of buckshot. Also the cabin is gone. He goes deep into how long they took to shoot the final scene at a secret location in Detroit.
A lot of the interviews with the cast and crew appear to have been captured at fan conventions. Many of them are sitting behind their autograph tables as they reminisce. They have fond memories of working with Tom in the Evil Dead films. Even though putting the effects on the actors took plenty of time, they appreciated how calm he made them feel. There’s a lot of archival footage from the set. He shows off his pages from the Necronomicon. He also lets us know about all his illustrations and covers he did for The Call of Cthulhu games. There’s a great moment when Tom’s mom talks about her reaction to the movie’s premiere.
Tom talks of what he did in between the premiere Evil Dead and the nearly three years before the film received a theatrical release. Evil Dead 2 happened and he only had to focus on special effects and not also have to perform make up effects on the cast. He went full Ray Harryhausen with the flying Deadite. He was able create more elaborate effects this second time around. Sullivan opens up about the end of his relationship with his wife and the depression that followed. We see what helps him get out of the house.
Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist lets Tom Sullivan expose himself as an artist and a person. This is more than just a bonus feature for an Evil Dead collection. Director Ryan Meade creates an intimate and raw portrait of Tom Sullivan.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The documentary was shot on various formats from 8mm to VHS to HDTV from the 1970s onward so the visual quality bounces around. There’s a great raw feel to the film. The audio is LPCM 2.0 since it’s mostly people talking. There are no subtitles.
Other Men’s Careers (77:00) is a documentary about filmmaker Josh Becker. He appears in the first film and worked on Evil Dead doing the lights, sound and eventually camera on the long shoot. But he’s also connected with Bruce Campbell and the Raimi brothers since they all went to school together. Josh was noted for having a full beard in 8th grade. He used this to his advantage as he lied about his age to get a GED while only 16. He went out to Los Angeles to start making 8mm films with Bruce Campbell. Becker has made his own movies including Lunatics: A Love Story (with Ted Raimi) and Alien Apocalypse (with Bruce Campbell). Sam Raimi brought him on to do episodes of Hercules and Xena. Lucy Lawless talks about her time with Josh. Bruce Campbell talks a lot about their times together. This is a great companion piece to Invaluable.
Vintage Tom Sullivan “In the Spotlight” interview (50:31) is from 1989. This looks like a cable access show. Tom enjoys talking to the kids. He mentions doing a little work on Fly II. He talks of meeting Sam Raimi.
Unedited interview with Tim Philo (48:17) cinematographer of THE EVIL DEAD has him setting up the camera for his interview. Sounds like he did the interview over the phone.
Extended interview segments with Josh Becker (6:34) are clips of him talking about Tom Sullivan on Evil Dead work. There’s a bit about Sam Raimi wanting people to suffer on the set.
Turkey Or Chicken (1:27) is an extra Bruce Campbell story.
Trailers are included for all the documentaries and short films.
Ryan Meade short films: Bong Fly (18:58) & Cosmos Locos (29:52) are included. There’s also a Behind the Scenes from Bong Fly (10:29). Tom Sullivan appears in Cosmos Locos.
Snap Shots (4:04) are photographs from making the documentary. There’s plenty of time at the conventions including Tom Sullivan hanging with Tom Savini.
Boobie (0:54) is Ellen Sandweiss talking about the vine scene.
The Cry of Cthulhu (2:17) is how he ended up illustrated the storyboards of a film that didn’t get produced, but ended up with the IRS getting involved.
Synapse Films present Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist. Directed by Ryan Meade. Screenplay by Ryan Meade. Starring Tom Sullivan, Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, Theresa Tilly & Ellen Sandweiss. Running Time: 103 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: August 1, 2023.
