Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist

There have been plenty of regional horror superstars.  But nobody hit the jackpot quite like Sam Raimi with The Evil Dead (1981).  A loyal Michigander whose film, although shot in Tennessee, would likely win the prize for official state movie, the director not only stands by his fans but by the cast and crew that brought him success in the first place.  And one of those contributors, make-up and visual effects artist Tom Sullivan, is now the subject of his very own documentary: Invaluable: The True Story of an Epic Artist.

One of many Raimi collaborators recruited to help shoot their first full-length feature - after the Super-8 short, Within the Woods,  drummed up financial investors - Sullivan by most accounts was the most creative and level-headed of the bunch.   An amateur stop-motion filmmaker, accomplished artist and movie nerd, his skills were put to work crafting Rami’s cluttered vision of the Deadites using a mix of practical make-up, camera trickery and meticulous frame-by-frame animation.

 

Director Ryan Meade’s affectionate profile doesn’t skimp on the details.  If you’re looking for rare clips, photos and anecdotes about one of cinema’s most beloved franchises, you’ll get ‘em.  He even follows Sullivan on an excursion out to the original shooting location, now on private property, for a terrifying trip down memory lane.  But he balances things out with Sullivan’s early inspirations and personal tragedies to compose a much more impactful movie than you might think.

 

Pieced together from several sources over a number of years, Invaluable isn’t exactly polished but it’s always professional.  There’s no contribution from Raimi himself other than a few interview quotes, but all the rest of the gang make an appearance including Bruce Campbell and other cast and crew (often with comments grabbed in crowded convention halls).  If you think you know everything there is to know about how The Evil Dead was made, this movie will prove you wrong.

 

The Blu-ray from Synapse Films also doubles down with another feature-length doc, Other Men’s Careers, revolving about Josh Becker (Stryker’s War), another Michigan-born director caught up in Raimi circle of friends and family.  Plus extended interviews with Evil Dead cinematographer Tom Philo, Josh Becker and a collection of short films.

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