Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Count_Elvis_III While filming a combination sequel to "I was a Teenage Werewolf" and "I was a Teenage Frankenstein" (perhaps they could call it "I was a Teenage Werewolf who met a Teenage Frankenstein"? It's a shame that movie was never made) Pete Dumond, the make-up artist of 25 years is fired from his job after the studio, American International Studios is sold and the new owners decide to stop making horror movies and make more musicals. Ole Pete then does what any red blooded American would do, drugging and hypnotizing the young stars of the monster mash up to go kill various people at the studio in hopes of shutting it down. Anyway, I found "How to make a Monster" to be one of the more enjoyable late 1950's AIP pictures I've seen. Not only is it a loving tribute to the man behind the Universal Monster films, Jack Pierce. It's also filled with references to make of AIP's own movies. Likewise it's well shot and has a creative script. The acting, although not great isn't bad enough to distract from the overall fun atmosphere of the film. And that's why one watches a film like this, to have fun. Yeah it's a drive-in flick and no one will ever confuse it for great art, yet it's still far better made on a technical level than it really had to be. Still, "How to Make a Monster" could have been improved. For one, the ending feels a bit rushed and the film ends too abruptly, thereby not generating the tension that should have been there. Overall though a solid and enjoyable film for AIP fans.

vtcavuoto If you enjoyed "I was a Teenage Werewolf","Blood of Dracula" and "I was a Teenage Frankenstein", you will enjoy this. It mixes the two genres that helped American International Studios become successful: teenage exploitation and horror films. A make-up artist is told his services will no longer be needed after new studio bosses arrive. Seeking revenge, he mixes an unknown substance into his make-up. After applying the formula and foam, hair,etc. onto the teenage actors' faces, he bids them to kill those who had fired him. The acting is decent, the music is a blend of old and reused scores("I was a Teenage Frankenstein" for one)and there is enough action to keep things moving along. Gary Conway reprises his Frankenstein role and there are supporting roles from B movie vets Morris Ankrum and Thomas B. Henry. Overall,a film that has some good elements and is enjoyable Drive-In fare from the 1950s.

djoyjr I just finished watching the "Cult Classics" DVD release, which included the color footage mentioned in the other comment. Besides many familiar (and unfamiliar) monster heads, the film is a virtual who's who of American International Studio players from the 50's. One can almost suspect the movie was made to keep the contact players busy between films. If only Michael Landon had appeared as the Teenage Werewolf, I would have given it another couple points in the ratings. One also has to give the studio credit as the studio itself becomes the "back lot" for the film. And certainly, the plot of killing off studio executives must have appealed to all the writers, actors and production staff making the film.

Adrian Smith (trouserpress) This film needs to be viewed as the third film in a trilogy. I really enjoyed I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, the latter in particular is quite hilarious in places, mostly intentionally. However, I was very impressed with How to Make a Monster. This film may qualify as the first post-modern sequel. It openly acknowledges that the first two movies were just movies. Set in American International Studios (How Arkoff and Nicholson must have wished this was true), it is an interesting satire on Hollywood politics.It seemed that AIP were trying to move in a new direction, away from the teen-centred themes of the first two. This film focuses more on Robert H. Harris as Pete Drummond, the studio's greatest make-up man. After finding out he's being sacked by the new studio owners, he vows to get his revenge by murdering them using his own monster creations. This involves hypnotizing his two favourite teenage boys after applying their monster make-up, and the ease with which he does this suggests that murder comes easily to him. This coupled with the predatory sub-text makes him a very unpleasant person indeed. (At one point he also makes himself up as what appears to be Rondo Hatton in order to murder a security guard).I may be accused of reading too much into what is essentially a drive-in monster movie, but HTMAM can be read as a warning to young men to avoid old predatory homosexuals, a theme which also ran through the first two movies, but more overtly so in this movie. In each film the main scientist (hey, movie make-up is a science too) has a camp, passive assistant, and they practically drool over the young male specimens at their control. This is particularly evident in IWAT Frankenstein, which focuses in great detail on the physique of the teenage monster himself. In HTMAM Drummond elucidates at great length how much he enjoys spending time with these young men, and attempts to develop a powerfully corrupting and controlling influence over them under the pretence of helping their careers.Equally, the message of this film could simply be: If a creepy old guy invites you round for dinner, and you find he has a large collection of heads on pedestals, don't stay for dessert.HTMAM features less overtly comical moments than I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (who can forget the classic line, "I know you have a civil tongue in your head! I sewed it there myself!), and has less to say about the awkwardness of adolescence which gave I Was a Teenage Werewolf its resonance with audiences, but is still an interesting and entertaining movie, and one which completes the trilogy with the wit and style that you associate with the majority of American International Pictures drive-in movies.DVD extras: This DVD was released as part of The Arkoff Library Collection in the UK. Each DVD contains identical extras: a selection of original and highly amusing trailers for such classics as Earth vs the Spider, The Brain Eaters and War of the Colossal Beast. The jewel in the crown however is a fifty minute audio interview with AIP producer and B-movie legend Samuel Z. Arkoff. He starts with his own life story, and how he got into the business, and has lots of anecdotes about the hundreds of films he has been responsible for. This interview is worth the cost of the disc alone. It is worth noting that Lion's Gate Films have recently announced the R1 releases of The Arkoff Library, although there are no details yet of extras.