David Allen

Visual Effects

David Allen

Born 1944-10-22 · Los Angeles, California, USA

David W. Allen (October 22, 1944 – August 16, 1999) was an American film and television stop motion model (puppet) animator. Allen provided special effects on such productions as The Howling, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Young Sherlock Holmes (for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects nomination), Willow and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. He also had a long association with producer Charles Band, working on such films as Dolls, Puppet Master, Bride of Re-Animator, Subspecies and Demonic Toys.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Puppet Master II poster
6.0

A new team of paranormal researchers has come to the hotel to investigate its murder-soaked past; the puppets -- led by a new member, Torch -- shed some light on the matter, as they tunnel, burn, strangle and hook to survive.

Puppet Master II

1990

The Dungeonmaster poster
4.9

A computer whiz is yanked into a twisted digital world by the sadistic wizard Mestema and forced through a gauntlet of wild, deadly trials, from mutant goblins to metal mayhem, with his girlfriend’s soul on the line.

The Dungeonmaster

1984

The Dungeonmaster poster
4.9

A computer whiz is yanked into a twisted digital world by the sadistic wizard Mestema and forced through a gauntlet of wild, deadly trials, from mutant goblins to metal mayhem, with his girlfriend’s soul on the line.

The Dungeonmaster

1984

The Primevals poster
6.2

Deep in the Himalayas, a group of sherpas kills a gigantic humanoid creature. Convinced that it is the legendary Yeti, Dr. Claire Collier organizes an expedition with her former student Matt Connor and hunter Rondo Montana, among others, to search for more specimens. But what awaits them is something that none of them could have imagined. A colorful fusion of real image and stop-motion that is reminiscent of fantastic films from the 1980s.

The Primevals

2023

Raiders of the Stone Ring poster
NR

A WWI zeppelin is attacked by pterodactyls, sending it crashing into a mysterious land populated by vikings and dinosaurs and ruled by violent lizard men.

Raiders of the Stone Ring

1968

Raiders of the Stone Ring poster
NR

A WWI zeppelin is attacked by pterodactyls, sending it crashing into a mysterious land populated by vikings and dinosaurs and ruled by violent lizard men.

Raiders of the Stone Ring

1968

The Magic Treasure poster
2.0

A gentle giant lives in a small village and has a beautiful flower garden where the children of the town play. In the giant's house rests a small treasure box. Every so often, the giant, asks the children a riddle, "What do you think is the one thing that makes people so very special?" If one of the children answers correctly the giant's magic treasure box will open. As time goes on one of the giants favorite children, Hans, gives the box to a greedy wizard. The giant goes after the box and brings it back as Hans learns an important lesson which suddenly opens the box.

The Magic Treasure

2006

King Kong Color Test Footage poster
NR

Here is the test footage by the late, but great David Allen recreating the climax from the original King Kong (1933) at Cascade Pictures. This was made when there were rumours of a remake coming around the corner (mainly by Britain's Hammer Films). Also, there were plans to re-release that during the film's 1972 re-release (in all its uncut glory), the color scene popped up. This ended up on Cascade's demo reel and in 1974, it winded up on the Volkswagen commercial (which ran for a short period time for a few reasons. One of them was that people thought that the car was too big and the other was that the ape scared the daughter of the head of Volkswagen). David Allen would create and animate Kong again for the Imax film Special Effects: Anything Can Happen (1996).

King Kong Color Test Footage

1971

Taurus Test Footage poster
NR

Test footage of David Allen's Taurus puppet. The beast looks like a combination between an ape and a bulldog. The test footage was shot on 16mm film (shot on a Bolex Camera and had a Motion-Analysis Film Projector) and was copying the climax to the original King Kong.

Taurus Test Footage

1965