Special fx Studio

Surround yourself with awesome people to create awesome products!”
Patrick Voss, Founder and President of Robot Monkey Lab, Inc., dba VFX.

The 2024 VFX Team includes –

Patrick Voss, founder and owner of Robot Monkey Lab, Inc., dba: VFX started making monsters in his early teens. Inspired by the original Planet of the Apes film, with it’s ground-breaking makeup effects, Voss made and started selling masks through local stores and through newsletters. Yeah, no internet for another 20 years.

In the 80’s Voss started creating for haunt attractions and then moved on to design, build and operate them in the 90’s. St. Louis, MO’s biggest and best haunt attraction in the 90’s was Terror Visions, which Voss owned, designed, built and ran with Bill Lodderhose. Terror Visions was rated #1 in three separate haunt attraction polls.  They ran it from 1993-96 and then sold it to their competitor, who still uses the name, Terror Visions, but it has nothing to do with Voss and Lodderhose’s original designs.

From the late 90’s, through the present Voss has created special effects and creatures for many productions. His full-time job was as a graphic artist for 23 years with a corporation, but when he learned they were shutting down the department he worked in, he set his mind on going full-time with his sideline business, VFX.

In 2012, Voss designed and created “Side-Winder Sally”, a life-size zombie puppet that looks like it jumped on you and is attacking you. It was a rough prototype, but he had some sales at the TransWorld Halloween and Attractions Show in St. Louis, MO. Voss redesigned Sally Zombie completely over a 2-month period to get her to the quality product level he was striving to reach. When the customers who purchased based on the prototype received their Sally Zombie puppets they were blown away!  – (Testimonial: “You guys exceeded my expectations!…This thing creeps me out!” – Buck Burdick, Owner – Fear Asylum)

With the help of artist Doug Shaefer, Voss moved on to create “The Attack Line”, featuring Sally Zombie, Half Zombie Bob, Cob Goblin Scarecrow and a werewolf. Schaefer took a Sally puppet and turn her into a clown – Psy-Co Clown was born and became the second best selling puppet of the line. The Attack Line was the center of attention at the 2013 TransWorld Show and Voss was able to make VFX his full-time job. Schaefer worked at the studio nights and weekends as needed until Voss was able to hire him full-time. And they haven’t looked back.