John Lechago: Visual Effects, Chuck Norris, Full Moon, and more

Full Moon Fact: Director of Killjoy 3 John Lechago was trained in the martial arts by Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris with brothers James (left) and John Lechago (right)

Roundhouse kicks aside, critics and fans alike are in agreement that Killjoy 3 is one of the most ridiculously awesome films that Full Moon Features has released in years.

But longtime horror fans might not recognize the name of the movie’s director: John Lechago. Although he’s only directed one Full Moon horror film so far, John Lechago has been the mastermind behind Full Moon’s eye-popping visual effects for going on five years now, in addition to directing several independent films of his own.

Lechago directed his first movie Blood Gnome in 12 days on a shoestring budget. Despite these production setbacks, the film is crammed full of enough sex, violence, and gnomes to give even the most experienced gardener a rash.

Four years later, Lechago directed his next film, Magus. This fantasy/action epic shows off Lechago’s impressive visual effects and fight choreography skills that have become a staple in all of his movies.

At around the same time he was working on Magus, Lechago came to the notice of Charles Band and soon began helming the visual effects for Full Moon Features‘ releases. His signature VFX wizardry has jumped off the screen of ten Full Moon flicks to date. In between Full Moon films, he’s continued to lend his visual effects magic to several other independent features, including Danny Draven’s Ghost Month.

Check out Lechago’s VFX compilation reel on his YouTube channel to really witness his talents shine, and see if you can spot the Full Moon movies among the many clips:

Perhaps Lechago’s most ambitious project yet, and one that should interest those who know him from Killjoy 3, is his 2010 movie Contagion. Not only does Contagion contain some of the most horrifying and disturbing visual imagery of any film yet directed by John Lechago, but it also features much of the same cast and crew who would go on to work with him on Killjoy 3, including Al Burke, Tai Chan Ngo, Victoria De Mare, and Full Moon special make up effects veteran Tom Devlin.

With Killjoy 3 continuing to receive more and more exposure (it was recently added to Red Box kiosks everywhere under the name Killjoy’s Revenge), John Lechago’s only real challenge now is figuring out how he’s going to outdo himself on his next film. Will he direct another Full Moon movie, maybe even a sequel to Killjoy 3? You’ll just have to keep watching this page…