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Chris Walas

Chris Walas

Director, actor, producer and writer · Born September 17, 1955 (71) · 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

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 17, 1955 (71)
From
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Works as
Director, actor, producer and writer
Titles
23 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Up 17% in 30 days

What are Chris Walas' films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Ideas and Survival.

Genres

Comedy2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 25th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Documentary2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 85th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Ideas
31%
Survival
23%
Society
18%
Bonds
9%
Self
9%
Power
6%
Morality
4%
Art2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 3 · Serious 2 · Dark 1

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Warm
4
Joyful
2
Dread
2
Hopeful
2
Other
5

How their films linger

Feel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet2
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Chris Walas' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 19 of their 23 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (10).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Chris Walas' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

27 credits, 23 with a MovieCove page; 10 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Gremlins: A Puppet Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Director · as Narrator

  • Journey to the Forbidden Valley(2017)

    Co-Producer · Special Effects · Writer

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • Elf-Man(2011)

    Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Bear (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Co-Producer

  • Jade(1995)

    Makeup Effects Designer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Virtuosity(1995)

    Special Effects Makeup Artist

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • The Vagrant(1992)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Naked Lunch(1991)

    Creature Design

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Curse III: Blood Sacrifice(1991)

    Creature Design

    Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films

  • Arachnophobia(1990)

    Creature Effects Technical Director

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Gremlins 2: The New Batch(1990)

    Creature Design

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Tales from the Crypt(1989)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows

  • The Fly II(1989)

    Director · Effects Supervisor

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • DeepStar Six(1989)

    Creature Effects Technical Director · as (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • House II: The Second Story(1987)

    Creature Effects Technical Director

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • The Fly(1986)

    Creature Design

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Enemy Mine(1985)

    Creature Design · Special Effects Makeup Artist

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Gremlins(1984)

    Creature Design

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi(1983)

    Creature Design

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Raiders of the Lost Ark(1981)

    Special Effects Makeup Artist

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Scanners(1981)

    Special Effects Makeup Artist

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Humanoids from the Deep(1980)

    Special Effects

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • Starstruck (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Creature Design

  • Up from the Depths(1979)

    Special Effects

    Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films

  • The Island of the Fishmen(1979)

    Special Effects Makeup Artist

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • Piranha(1978)

    Special Props

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Made You Look (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Special Effects · as Creature

Career shape

A full career of 27 titles, 26 of them dated from 1978 to 2020.

Biggest box office

The Fly II (1989)

$39M worldwide

Highest rated

Creature Designers - The Frankenstein Complex (2015)

Midcredits 91st

Most popular right now

The Fly II (1989)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting3 of 27: 0 only acting, 3 with another roleDirecting4 of 27: 2 only directing, 2 with another roleWriting1 of 27: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing3 of 27: 2 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew22 of 27: 18 only other crew, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score34th

27 titles, 5 with more than one role — other crew and directing overlap on 1 of them.

By decade

1970s4 · crew1980s11 · 1 acting · 11 crew1990s7 · crew2010s3 · crew2020s1 · 1 acting · 1 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Chris Walas' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 34th percentile, the median of all 22; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 35th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

35thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

26thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 23 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th4
  • Below 25th9

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 23 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Universally Panned2
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Broadly Agreed4
  • Mixed7

Most divisive · producer

Elf-Man (2011)

89th percentile spread · 56% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Tales from the Crypt (1989)

Midcredits 90th · 88% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 55/100 and the pacing 51/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Chris Walas work with?

People who share at least 2 of Chris Walas' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Richard Jefferies shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers

Producers