Chris Walas

Born: 1955-09-17

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


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DeepStar Six

as (uncredited)
Released: 1989-01-13

The crew of an experimental underwater nuclear base are forced to struggle for their lives when...

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Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex

as Self
Released: 2015-11-18

The Frankenstein Complex takes a historical as well as a creative perspective, with a mix of...

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Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters

as Self
Released: 2019-09-14

An in-depth, sad, and beautiful documentary about the stop motion and VFX artist Phil Tippett, a...

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Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly

as Self
Released: 2005-10-04

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

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From Gizmo to Gremlins: Creating the Creatures

as Self
Released: 2014-09-30

Chris Walas and Howie Mandel, the voice of Gizmo, describe the laborious development of Gizmo...

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Long Live the King

as himself
Released: 2016-10-01

A feature documentary about the enduring appeal of the character King Kong, and how he has...

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Gremlins: A Puppet Story

as Narrator
Released: 2020-07-17

Take a unique behind-the-scenes journey (made especially for the Hollywood Theatre) with special...

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

as uncredited
Released: 2017-03-27

Retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Ethan Wiley, Sean S. Cunningham, Arye Gross...

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

as Self
Released: 2000-12-05

A documentary on The Fly

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Made You Look

as Creature
Released:

In the film MADE YOU LOOK, nothing is as it seems. Better keep your eyes wide open. Written and...

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Charlie Gemora: Uncredited

as Himself
Released: 2016-04-15

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

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