Chris Walas

Visual Effects

September 17, 1955

Chicago, Illinois, USA

11 movies

Biography

Chris Walas is an American film director, special effects expert, and make-up artist. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. Walas rose to fame in the 1980s, with effects for films such as "Airplane!" (1980), "Dragonslayer" (1981), and "Return of the Jedi" (1983). In the film "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), Walas created the effects for a scene where the Nazi villains' faces melt from the intense heat generated by the Ark of the Covenant. In 1984, Walas was credited for the design of the gremlins ...

🎬 Chris Walas's Filmography

11 movies sorted by popularity

5.5

The crew of an experimental underwater nuclear base are forced to struggle for their lives when their explorations disturb a creature who threatens to destroy their base.

DeepStar Six

1989

Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex

7.2

The Frankenstein Complex takes a historical as well as a creative perspective, with a mix of fascinating scenes behind the camera, film clips, and dozens of interviews with all the big names in the industry. In addition to the many wonderful anecdotes, the film also offers a wealth of beautiful test material, while along the way showing how the art of filmmaking has changed over the years. An affectionate ode to monster makers throughout history.

Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex

2015

5.2

A feature documentary about the enduring appeal of the character King Kong, and how he has inspired so many of the great filmmakers and artists since 1933.

Long Live the King

2016

7.6

An in-depth, sad, and beautiful documentary about the stop motion and VFX artist Phil Tippett, a man who changed the landscape of visual effects in film.

Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters

2019

Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly

8.0

Feature length documentary on the making of David Cronenberg's The Fly.

Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly

2005

The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood's Scariest Insect

9.0

A documentary on The Fly

The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood's Scariest Insect

2000

From Gizmo to Gremlins: Creating the Creatures

7.0

Chris Walas and Howie Mandel, the voice of Gizmo, describe the laborious development of Gizmo and the Gremlins and the painstaking work required to bring them to life in the pre-digital age.

From Gizmo to Gremlins: Creating the Creatures

2014

Retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Ethan Wiley, Sean S. Cunningham, Arye Gross and Jonathan Stark, among others.

It's Getting Weirder! The Making of "House II"

2017

A portrait of painter, sculptor, makeup artist, set designer and inventor Charlie Gemora.

Charlie Gemora: Uncredited

2016

Take a unique behind-the-scenes journey (made especially for the Hollywood Theatre) with special effects legend Chris Walas on the making of Joe Dante's 1984 seminal film GREMLINS. Narrated by Walas, and featuring incredibly rare photos and video from his personal archive, witness the creation of this pioneering, effects-laden classic.

Gremlins: A Puppet Story

2020

In the film MADE YOU LOOK, nothing is as it seems. Better keep your eyes wide open. Written and directed by Justin Zimmerman, featuring special effects by Academy Award-winner Chris Walas, and co-written by and introducing Kian Doughty, MADE YOU LOOK is simply spooky fun.

Made You Look

TBA