Chris Walas

Visual Effects

Chris Walas

Born 1955-09-17 · Chicago, Illinois, USA

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 in the film "Gremlins", a film that grossed 153.1 million dollars at the box office. After creating the creature effects for "The Fly" (1986), Walas was invited to direct the sequel film "The Fly II" (1989), His directing debut earned about 39 million dollars at the worldwide box office. His only other credit as a film director was the horror comedy "The Vagrant" (1992), depicting a man who believes himself stalked by a stranger. The film received a limited release in 8 movie theaters. In the 1990s, Walas film credits for effects and make-up included such films as the black comedy "Arachnophobia" (1990), the science fiction film "Naked Lunch" (1991), the virtual reality-themed science fiction film "Virtuosity" (1995), and the erotic thriller "Jade" (1995). None of them was particularly successful. Walas' special effects were less in demand in the 2000s. His last film credit to date was creating the angels for the horror film "Dark Heaven" (2002). - IMDb Mini Biography By: Dimos I

Acting credits

DeepStar Six poster
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

Long Live the King poster
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

Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex poster
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

Made You Look poster
NR

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

Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly poster
8.0

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

Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly

2005

Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters poster
7.5

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

Charlie Gemora: Uncredited poster
NR

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

Charlie Gemora: Uncredited

2016

From Gizmo to Gremlins: Creating the Creatures poster
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

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

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

No artwork available
5.2

This Documentary goes over how the special effects in the 1981 film "Scanners" were done.

The Scanners Way: Creating the Special Effects in 'Scanners'

2014

Gremlins: A Puppet Story poster
NR

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

The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood's Scariest Insect poster
9.0

A documentary on The Fly

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

2000

No artwork available
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

The Brundle Museum of Natural History

2005

Behind the camera