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KenDurey

  • Special effects
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If you had a movie or TV show that needed rain, explosions or fire, Ken Durey was one of the first people to call. The special effects veteran honed his skills in the 1980s on a run of ambitious feature films, before extended gigs on Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Durey passed away in April 2025. These days, his company Film Effects Co/Filmfx is run by his son Brendon. 

Screenography

The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith
2019 Special Effects Coordinator Film
Ash vs Evil Dead
2015 - 2018 Special Effects Supervisor Series
Emperor
2012 Special Effects Coordinator Film
Yogi Bear
2010 Special Effects Supervisor Film
Aliens in the Attic
2009 Special Effects Coordinator Film

Biography

Ken Durey began working on special effects in the 1980s as a succession of highly ambitious movies called on his services to help create fire, rain and journeys under the earth. In the early 1990s he launched company Film Effects Co (also known as Filmfx), passing his knowledge of physical effects to new generations via TV shows Xena and Hercules. 

Awards

1995 New Zealand Film and Television Awards
Best Design (shared with Tony Rabbit and Clive Memmott): for Typhon's People

“He was a great guy to work with, and a great guy to have on your team.”

— Production designer Rob Gillies

Related images

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The navy destroyer constructed for the storm scene of Roger Donaldson's 1987 movie No Way Out. Water was poured down from dump buckets from the left to simulate ocean waves. The scene was shot at night in Auckland's Winstone Quarry.
Photo taken and supplied by Kai Hawkins
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Early stages during the building of a navy vessel used in the storm scene of Roger Donaldson's 1987 movie No Way Out. The finished set, built in Winstone Quarry in Auckland, was mounted on hydraulics so that it could move from side to side. 
Photo taken and supplied by Kai Hawkins