As Locke & Key creator Joe Hill is the son of acclaimed horror author Stephen King, it goes without say that horror is in Hill's DNA. From an early age, Hill found himself working with horror movie legends, such as the iconic Tom Savini. So it's only fitting that Savini briefly appeared in the Netflix adaptation of Locke & Key.
Locke & Key tells the story of Tyler, Kinsey and Bode Locke picking up the pieces after their father's murder. Their mom moves the family back to his ancestral home, Keyhouse. There, the siblings uncover a series of mysterious keys with magical powers. The three siblings attempt to balance life in a new town with protecting these keys from a demon who will stop at nothing to have them.
At her new school, Kinsey immediately hits it off with a group nicknamed The Savini Squad. A smaller subplot of this season of Locke & Key sees this group of characters making their own horror movies, hoping to emulate Savini's gory style. So, on top of being a nearly lifelong friend of Hill's, Savini was already a vital part of Locke & Key. It was only natural to give him a cameo in the show.
Locke & Key: Tom Savini's Cameo Role Explained
In episode two of Locke & Key, Bode heads over to a local hardware shop to try and get answers about the mysterious keys he's begun to find all over his new home. The shopkeeper is played by Savini himself. This cameo is both a nod to Kinsey's new group of friends, the group of characters dubbed The Savini Squad, and eagle-eyed horror movie fans.
Savini and Hill both have deep ties to the world of horror. Hill followed in his father's footsteps to become a horror author himself. Savini is considered to be the master of horror movie special effects, starting off his career working with the likes of George A. Romero. Savini helped to develop the severed legs and arms on Dawn of the Dead, which is a style now commonly associated with campy B-movie horror films.
So as the Locke & Key comics are deeply rooted in the horror genre, Savini's cameo is partially a nod to that. But it's also a nod Hill's friendship with Savini. Mirroring Savini's own professional life, Hill ended up working with Romero early in his career on the film Creepshow. That happens to be where Savini and Hill first met. As Hill's career started when he was a child, Savini actually ended up acting as a babysitter for Hill when he wasn't needed for filming. That experience led to a decades-long personal and professional relationship. The creation of Locke & Key's Savini Squad, along with Savini's cameo in the Netflix adaptation of the comic, is simply Hill's ode to a friend and inspiration.