how to make a monster movie review

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Review: How to Make a Monster (1958)

In 1958, American International Pictures decided to satirize its own image and reputation. AIP had attempted to put its own unique spin on Universal-style monsters by making them into teenage monsters. It’s debatable as to how successful it was. How to Make a Monster was certainly the best of this cycle, precisely because of its penchant for self-mockery.

The villain is Pete Drummond, an FX makeup artist who will soon be fired because studio executives have decided that teen monster movies are waning in popularity and are a black mark on the reputation of the studio. Instead, they want to be known for rock and roll musicals.

So Drummond decides to teach the studio executives a lesson in fear. With the help of a mind control drug and a lot of bullshit philosophizing, Drummond uses his FX skills to transform two teenage actors into teen monsters and have them kill the studio head and others who threaten his livelihood. In an especially nice meta touch, Gary Conway, the actor from I Was a Teenage Frankenstein , portrays the young man whom Drummond transforms into the teenage Frankenstein monster. After the mind control drug wears off, the young men have no recollection that they committed murder.

in the final scenes, the film shifts from black-and-white to full color, as Drummond invites the teen actors into his private shrine where he introduces them to his “children,” the wax busts of movie monsters used in previous AIP films. At this point we find out that Drummond doesn’t view these horror films as a mere means to a paycheck, but as an actual religion.

The films is available for purchase as the double feature,  How to Make a Monster/Blood of Dracula , but is also currently available to watch on Youtube.

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Midnite Reviews

Detailed analysis of classic sci-fi movies and tv shows, how to make a monster (1958).

General Information

Director: Herbert L. Strock

Writers: Kenneth Langtry and Herman Cohen

Cast: Robert H. Harris, Paul Brinegar, Gary Conway, Gary Clarke, Malcolm Atterbury, Dennis Cross, Morris Ankrum, Walter Reed, Paul Maxwell, Eddie Marr, Heather Ames, Robert Shayne, Rod Dana, Jacqueline Ebeier, Joan Chandler, Thomas B. Henry, John Phillips, Pauline Myers, and John Ashley

Composer: Paul Dunlap

Release Date: 7/1/1958

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

This film offers a clever, original twist on the teenage monster theme established by AIP in the late 1950s. Especially worth praising is the performance of Robert H. Harris, who embodies the obsession, determination, and callousness of a compelling and realistic villain.

Also problematic is the lack of atmosphere in this film, which, despite featuring “monsters” who kill on the command of a deranged make-up artist, fails to build and maintain suspense in a captivating manner.

Depicting the “monster” characters as sympathetic victims of a force beyond their control, this offering follows in the tradition of classic creature features from the 1930s.

Concluding Comments

Combining teenage monsters with a premise involving mind control, this film will likely appeal to B-movie enthusiasts and science fiction horror buffs alike. How to Make a Monster should likewise be commended for the acting of Harris, Brinegar, and Conway—reprising his role from I Was a Teenage Frankenstein .

Overall Quality: 6/10

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BADass SINema Unearthed - Blu-ray 4K UHD Review

How to make a monster (1958) - blu-ray review.

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[tab title="Movie Review"]

Fans of Paul Blaisdell ’s creature work for films like The She-Creature , It Conquered The World , and Invasion of the Saucer Men are going to dig How to Make a Monster as his monster designs get some prime camera time when hung on the walls.  Some audiences are going to see a whole lot of meta as the horror genre gets up-ended due to the increasing popularity of rock musicals, all of which is best exemplified by a werewolf attack after some dailies have just been viewed by AIP’s new head honcho.  

While the execution of the story is a bit of a bust, How to Make a Monster succeeds in being way ahead of its time when it comes to story ideas as the American International Pictures backstage lot (not really theirs, though) becomes a playground for murder as a make-up artist kills to protect his career.

Released by AIP, How to Make a Monster is a rather odd horror film as it doubles-down on what came before in its horror efforts and then deconstructs those ideas with glimpses behind the curtain.  

No one wants to scream anymore, they say.  They just want to dance and look at pretty girls.  That’s their method of operating and, because they want to make money, all the other members of the cast and crew fall in line.  But Dummond isn’t about to give up his career in monster pictures without a fight and so he hypnotizes the actors as he applies his fabulous werewolf and Frankenstein designs and has certain big wigs at AIP killed. 

In that manner, this semi-sequel to what came before in films like I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein makes for an interesting film.  It even switches to color in its final reel, celebrating Dummond’s demise by flames no less.  

Before being meta was cool, there was How to Make a Monster .  The film is now on blu-ray thanks to Scream Factory with a brand-new 2K scan.

[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory Available on Blu-ray - November 10, 2020 Screen Formats: 1.85:1 Subtitles : English SDH Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Go behind the scenes of moviedom's most popular teen monster movies … and you'll discover a tale of monstrous vengeance! Following the success of two 1957 classics, I Was A Teenage Werewolf and I Was A Teenage Frankenstein , How To Make A Monster takes you backstage, where a frustrated artist spawns his own twisted scheme for murder. When the movie studio moguls decide they'd rather make musicals instead of horror films, their veteran horror makeup artist loses his job. He decides to get revenge against the executives by turning the studio's teenage horror stars into zombified killers.

Framed in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, the new 2K film scan of the fine grain print is damned flawless.  The black and white image is crisp with solid levels throughout.  The detailed image is surprisingly clean given the age of the film.  The clarity of the presentation is solid and the film retains a level of grain that ensures an authentic and credible appearance.  Even dark scenes are rarely problematic, with the blacks proving extremely solid, and the level of accuracy ensuring that this B-movie is visually absorbing throughout.

The uncompressed monaural soundtrack included here makes the dialogue front and center, which it ought to be.

Supplements:

Commentary :

• There are two NEW commentaries. One with Author/Screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner and Film Historian David Del Valle and another with Author/Film Historian Tom Weaver with Dramatic Readings.

Special Features:

Fans of this title are in for a few surprises as, with two new commentaries, Scream Factory isn’t done yet.  As a bonus here, there is a look at Cohen’s time at AIP and a Q & A with the film’s actors.

• How To Make A Monster Movie Maker: Herman Cohen At AIP
• The Ghastly Ghouls: Q & A With Actors Gary Clarke And Gary Conway From Monster Bash
• Theatrical Trailer

Blu-ray Rating:

[tab title="Film Details"]

MPAA Rating: Unrated. Runtime: 73 mins Director : Herbert L. Strock Writer: Aben Kandel and Herman Cohen Cast: Robert H. Harris, Paul Brinegar, Gary Conway Genre : Horror | Sci-fi Tagline: It will SCARE the living yell out of you! Memorable Movie Quote: "A Hollywood murder is OK on the screen but not at the studio." Theatrical Distributor: American International Pictures Official Site: Release Date: July 1, 1958 DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: November 10, 2020. Synopsis : Go behind the scenes of moviedom's most popular teen monster movies … and you'll discover a tale of monstrous vengeance! Following the success of two 1957 classics, I Was A Teenage Werewolf and I Was A Teenage Frankenstein, How To Make A Monster takes you backstage, where a frustrated artist spawns his own twisted scheme for murder. When the movie studio moguls decide they'd rather make musicals instead of horror films, their veteran horror makeup artist loses his job. He decides to get revenge against the executives by turning the studio's teenage horror stars into zombified killers.

[tab title="Art"]

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MonsterHunter

Better Living Through Dynamic Film Criticism

How to Make a Monster (1958)

How To Make A Monster taunts us with the promise that all those Universal monster team-up movies like House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula delivered, but what this one ultimately delivers is a murder melodrama headlined not by teenaged terrors, but by a disgruntled movie studio employee!

Sure, it was the make up artist of 25 years and not someone like the caterer or the gaffer, but when you’ve got not only Teenage Werewolf at your disposal, but also Teenage Frankenstein and most of the movie centers around the old, portly, creepy, and worst of all – bald, make up artist, I can’t help but think some opportunities were missed.

Ever worse, of all the American International monsters, the greatest of them all, the Saucer-Men from Invasion of the Saucer-Men , only appear in the form of a mask at the make up guy’s house!

Pete is the long time make up guy at American International and he exists only for his work. He sees the monsters he creates as his children and spends pretty much all his waking hours on the studio lot working on his craft, assisted by the standard issue wimpy assistant Rivero.

The picture he’s currently working on is one were Teenage Frankenstein meets up with Teenage Werewolf, a pretend sequel to American International’s I Was a Teenage Frankenstein and I Was a Teenage Werewolf .

To make your head spin even further, Gary Conway who played Teenage Frankenstein in the original is back as the actor who is playing Teenage Frankenstein in this movie, though he is not playing himself since his character is named Tony. Even though he is basically playing himself. Perhaps not unsurprisingly, Michael Landon did not return as Teenage Werewolf.

Pete’s problems begin (well, the problems that involve him having people bumped off, not the problems of him thinking his masks are his children) when new owners of the studio arrive and announce that the monster cycle is done. People want singing and dancing and laughing, not scary teenage imitations of old time monsters. Thus, they are going to have to let Pete and his assistant go.

Pete, being unhealthily obsessed with his job, is determined to get some measure of revenge for having his reason to live taken away. He does what any of us would do in this situation. He uses his super-duper make up that is specially engineered to put people in his power to get the actors playing Teenage Frankenstein and Teenage Werewolf to kill the people who are ruining his life.

For those of you hoping for lots of Teenage Werewolf and Teenage Frankenstein action, you’re going to be a tad let down with this one. You get both monsters in make up for about two scenes and that’s it. (Is it strange that I spent most of the movie confused as to why Teenage Frankenstein was shown with his icky face when all us Teenage Frankenstein fans know that he had gotten a face transplant in his last film and ended up looking like actor Gary Conway?)

However, you fans of Pete the make up guy will find yourselves returning to view this one again and again. You get all the Pete (and Rivero) action you could ever hope for.

When Pete isn’t making up the actors into monsters and sending them out on their kill missions, he’s being questioned by studio security, by the police at the studio, and by the police at the police station. For a guy who thought he had the perfect plan, he was being harassed by the fuzz before the first stiff had time to cool!

The beauty of Pete though was that throughout him being under the umbrella of suspicion he never wavered in his belief that nobody had anything on him. I like a guy with self-confidence, no matter how misplaced it may be.

I can’t say I was real certain what Pete’s ultimate goal was; whether he thought he was going to somehow get his job back by killing the new guys or whether he was going for a straight up revenge plot, but he suddenly stopped his murderous rampage and invited the actors to his house for a little party.

This allows the actors to compare notes and figure out that a guy who calls a room full of monster masks a “cathedral” may have been sniffing the spirit gum for too many years. One accidental house fire later and the movie abruptly ends.

If you have to wring every last drop of Teenage Frankenstein and Teenage Werewolf out of the cinema, then you cannot miss this movie. If you love movies that begin in black and white and end in color for no reason, you must seek this out! (See also I Was a Teenage Frankenstein and War of the Colossal Beast .)

And if you loved this self-referential affair, then be sure to check out American International’s excellent hipsters-in-a-haunted-house classic Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow . That one did not feature a disgruntled guy who made up people to be monsters wreaking havoc, but a disgruntled guy who played the monsters wreaking havoc. And the Saucer-Men had a cameo in that one as well!

© 2013 MonsterHunter

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Dante’s Inferno: How to Make a Monster (1958)

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• June 7, 2023

Long before Scream, there was the smart and entertaining “How to Make a Monster” meta-horror film that tops Joe Dante’s list of favorites.

When we talk about meta-horror in this day and age, the mind usually goes to Scream and perhaps Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon . But way back in ’58, there was How to Make a Monster .

This 1958 meta-horror, directed by Herbert L. Strock, is about a special FX make-up artist who, after losing his job, takes revenge on the studio that he devoted his life to.

It’s not hard to understand why Joe Dante picked this as one of his favorite classic horror movies that helped inspire his personal filmmaking style. There is a sense of fun to the film, with its meta premise, which I believe always shines through in the works of Dante. No matter what genre Dante is working in, there is always an overwhelming sense of fun in watching his films, and that gives them continued rewatchability, from The Howling to Small Soldiers and beyond.

The film is set in a reality where films like I Was a Teenage Werewolf  and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein are just movies. But the beastly threats contained within those films become all too real as chaos and murder ensue on the set of what is to be the studio’s last horror picture before they turn their attention to musicals.

How to Make a Monster opens with a mesmerizing showcase of the score, while a dressing room mirror surrounded by lights is written upon, scribing the title of the film. I always enjoy these old title sequences, as we don’t get a lot of them these days that really leave that kind of impression.

As is to be expected from this era of cinema, both the acting and the score match each other in melodramatic grandeur, which makes for an altogether engaging and thrilling ride.

Although the film is a popcorn drive-in movie, it does manage to poke some knowing fun at the inner workings of Hollywood and how ruthless show business can be.

The main villain of the piece is Pete Dumond, played in a nefarious fashion by Robert H. Harris. He is so enigmatic on screen that it is a joy to watch him unravel throughout the film until he becomes truly unhinged for the finale.

The film ends with a visually striking set piece when the film changes from black and white to vivid color for the last scene. This makes the end really pack a punch!

Something I found rather interesting about the film, which makes it still timely today, is how horror as a genre is viewed by the studio execs.

The studio wants to shut horror down, and genre films are ridiculed and sidelined. This is still true today. Horror is still seen as less than by many people.

For horror to receive any critical praise in the mainstream, it usually has to be tagged with the word thriller, or these days, elevated horror, just so that it is set apart from the rest of the genre. That’s quite a shame, and it’s depressing to think not much has changed in the 65 years since the excellent How to Make a Monster was released.

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How to Make a Monster

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

George Huang

Clea Duvall

Steven Culp

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Faye Clayton

How to Make a Monster (1958)

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How to Make a Monster (1958)

Directed by herbert l. strock.

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Description by Wikipedia

How to Make a Monster is a 1958 American horror film released in 1958 by American International Pictures (as a double feature with Teenage Cave Man). It was produced and written by Herman Cohen, and starred Gary Conway, Robert H. Harris, Paul Brinegar of "Rawhide", Morris Ankrum, Robert Shayne and John Ashley. It was directed by Herbert L. Strock.

The film is a follow-up to both I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein. Like Teenage Frankenstein, a black-and-white film that switched to color for the final moments, How to Make a Monster was filmed in black-and-white, with only the last reel filmed in color.

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Alternate Titles

‘How to Make a Monster’: The 1950s Original and the 2001 Update [Revenge of the Remakes]

Before you dart toward the comments to argue that George Huang’s How to Make a Monster isn’t a remake, let me explain why it’s my focus this month.

In 2001, legendary special effects artist Stan Winston co-produced a series of made-for-cable “remakes” alongside Colleen Camp and Lou Arkoff based on AIP horror flicks of the 1950s. They were all monster films based on Samuel Z. Arkoff properties (Lou’s father) under the banner “ Creature Features .” Winston developed these films for Cinemax and HBO, where they’d haunt late-night rotations. He even turned his “Creature Features” villains into a toy line, although sales were underwhelming because the figures released out of synch with each premiere.

I used quotations around “remakes” above because 2001’s How to Make a Monster is a remake by title only. Herbert L. Strock’s 1958 original is about a makeup effects artist who uses his secret foundation recipe to control actors. Huang’s Aughts update is decidedly not. They’re both horror movies, and they’re both about creative artists who are doomed by their professional obsessions, but they’re hardly siblings. How to Make a Monster is an example of a remake that barely engages with its source material; think House of Wax (2005). That’s why it’s under my microscope. It’s an entirely different “remake” despite being in a collection touted as all remakes.

Why snag rights to create something with zero resemblance to the first? Let’s investigate.

The Approach

‘How to Make a Monster’ (1958)

I’m still trying to figure out why Winston produced a remake of a horror movie about a mad special effects artist … and removed the special effects story. Writers Herman Cohen and Aben Kandel wrote a story about how the horror genre is always in demand — how the “horror cycle” always returns — making the call from inside Hollywood. It’s brilliant and could have been adapted so easily after Scream introduced the late 90s/early 00s meta-horror movement. The entry point for a How to Make a Monster remake was handed to Huang on a silver platter, who smacks the opportunity to the ground. Everything tantalizing about Cohen and Kandel’s industry-skewering thriller is switched for another generic monster-of-the-day blueprint about a murderous video game.

American International Studios is traded for Clayton Software in the Creature Features version. Robert H. Harris’ master creature designer (Pete Dumond) swaps for Steven Culp’s savvy businessman Peter S. Drummond — if that’s even a callback to the original protagonist’s name. Clayton Software CEO Faye Clayton ( Colleen Camp ) hires Pete and his trifecta of oddball programmers to fix their laughingstock of a horror video game, “Evilution.” To make matters worse, when testing the clanky motion capture suit (worn by “Queen of B-movies” Julie Strain ), systems overload and reboot efforts bring the suit to life. With the deadline rapidly approaching, Pete, his team, and intern Laura ( Clea DuVall ) find themselves fighting the very game they created, now an immersive experience hunting them around Clayton Software’s high-tech facilities.

If you squint, you can see where Huang tries to honor the vastly superior 1950s spectacle. Peter S. Drummond allows himself to be consumed by his profession the same way Pete Dumond burns alive with his “children” (a unique collection of movie-made masks). Faye, the corporate overlord type, demands that Evilution be scarier, alluding to a world where horror is not only thriving but the driving force behind entertainment companies — precisely what Strock tries to say, albeit through vastly different means. In both films, victims are killed by a monster controlled by “magical” means, be they hypnotic adhesive cream or haywire artificial intelligence. That’s the best I’ve got.

The approach? It’s like Huang accidentally spilled water on a whiteboard with Cohen and Kandel’s original outline, erased everything, and pieced together a story based on objects you’d find in a teenage boy’s bedroom (Playboy posters, computer games, plastic swords).

Does It Work?

‘How to Make a Monster’ (2001)

Answering “Does it Work?” is complicated because that depends on whether you classify How to Make a Monster (2001) as a remake. I do because a remake in name only is still a remake; it’s just a different conversation than usual around these parts. “But Matt, you’re always saying remakes should be original.” Correct! They should also resemble their original — that’s the balance. What’s the point when you abandon everything about an original work but slap the name on the can for nostalgic appeal? It’s an unfortunate case of false representation in this case, really.

Huang adapts “How to Make a Monster” as a concept, not an existing film. The words in the title inspire his remodel. Standard damn-the-man ammunition fires at corporate America instead of Hollywood studios, and the monster’s beginnings reflect Frankenstein more than anything psychologically supernatural. It’s not a terrible idea — I’ll always advocate for more video game horror titles like Stay Alive — but it’s an underwhelming idea compared to Strock’s innovative approach to industry shenanigans. Huang’s screenplay isn’t breaking new ground by saying people are driven by money and the wrong types of number-crunching suits run creative industries.

On a more positive note, Huang’s special effects creatives don’t undersell the nightmarish details of the film’s video game adversary. Where Stronk’s antique is an accomplished example of old-school makeup techniques, turning pretty-boy leading men into werewolves and bulgy-eyed freaks, Huang’s crew imagines a more techno-horror barbarian. How to Make a Monster lets Winston showcase his talents, stepping in for the fictional Pete Dumond — or, more appropriately, visual effects creator Paul Blaisdell (whose iconic masks were lit ablaze in the original’s finale inferno). The prior creations look fabulous for their period, and so does Evilution ’s medieval hellspawn — at least Huang brings that competency to the table.

Strock’s How to Make a Monster (1958) is imaginative fine dining; Huang’s How to Make a Monster (2001) is a lukewarm seven-layer dip made from nothing but on-sale processed ingredients. The remake is an after-dark cable special that is appreciated as a sort of cult classic, hardly recognized past its monster effects and goofball humor. Many an underage child no doubt felt a sexual awakening thanks to Julie Strain’s nudie mo-cap routine, or covered their eyes when mangled body parts became a demonic skeleton Viking with metallic orbs for eyeballs. It’s hardly bulletproof nor a proper representation of Strock’s more successful ideas, existing in a pre-streaming era where straight-to-TV specials on unrated channels could perv out and heap on gore without censorship. Better times, worse times; those days were a bit of both.

Neither film overlaps characters or performances, so the new cast has no crossover points. Tyler Mane as Triple H Lite “Hardcore,” Jason Marsden as squeaky-voiced “Bug,” and Karim Prince as Boris Grishenko wannabe “Sol” play aggressively 2000s programmer stereotypes from the meathead weapons expert (Mane) to acne-suffering dweeb (Marsen). They’re all hamming up caricatures drawn by outsiders responding to the prompt “video game addict,” making the most of a silly script that only cares about making a monster (as the title states). Strock directs something more sinfully sophisticated, while Huang creates something you’d download off Limewire along with twenty new viruses. There is no harm in either, although Clea DuVall cannot escape terrible dialogue ripped from a company’s corny in-house workplace behavior training video.

I’d reckon How to Make a Monster plays infinitely better if you’ve never seen the (mostly) black-and-white original. Huang’s erasures and modifications are a different flavor of horror cinema, like a store-brand box of macaroni and cheese (not even Kraft). Both films question whether the right people are in charge of creative industries, but Huang’s execution is far more redundant. “The Monster” stalks characters one by one; they die bloody deaths, and Laura eventually has to vanquish the game’s horned-skull boss in reality because everyone loves a final girl. It’s just a shame the Cinemax remix has nothing to say about the industry outside references like Pikachu skins used for horrendously pixelated demons in Evilution , or an Evil Dead: Hail to the King poster in the background.

The original wants to say something; the remake wants to slay something.

There’s a fine line between remakes with their own personality and remakes that completely negate the source material. How to Make a Monster (2001) chooses the latter, and it’s a foolish option. I’m still gobsmacked by the refusal to take an easy layup of going all New Nightmare or Scream 3 with How to Make a Monster , especially with Winston’s involvement. Imagine a horror movie where “Fake Stan Winston” was creating astounding horror creatures only he could control, for example. It didn’t even have to be applied makeup effects only! What if Winston’s Pumpkinhead suit came alive and started lurking around his latest sequel’s set?

There’s a much better How to Make a Monster remake somewhere out there that has not yet been made — maybe focusing on Tom Savini or at least his accomplishments in the field?

So what did we learn?

● Michael Myers got killed by a video game skelly boi?

● The 2000s illustrations of post-Y2K “nerds” sure have aged hilariously, in a film so “2000s,” there’s a P.O.D. needed drop that isn’t “Boom.”

● A remake should at least want to try to resemble its original, just a little bit.

● Is a remake by name even a remake? Yes, it is, but whether that’s a feature or bug is up to you.

You ever turn a movie on, a certain scene hits, and suddenly, you realize you’ve seen said movie a bunch growing up? That happened to me while watching How to Make a Monster (2001). It was a late-night Cinemax staple when I was the right age. I used to sneak-watch Huang’s flick before my horror fandom days, definitely without my mother’s permission (she was the Ratings Police in my household). When Monster Sol pops onto the screen, colored wires hooking into his skin, those chrome Baoding balls shoved into his eye sockets, nostalgia socked me in the face. Not even Strand’s jiggling fetishistic cosplay could jostle the memory free, but “Dead Sol” did the trick.

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Appreciating the Pulpy Sci-fi Horror of ‘Alien: Resurrection’

Despite its ups and downs, I’ve always respected the Alien franchise for daring to try something new with every new entry. From Vietnam allegories to reimagining Chariots of the Gods as a Lovecraftian origin story for the Xenomorphs, the series challenges the very concept of genre as it explores what might go wrong when humanity comes into contact with a truly perfect organism.

And with Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus paying homage to the most underrated movie in the franchise during its horrific final act, today I’d like to look back on Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s unfairly maligned Alien: Resurrection and dive into why I think this oddball gem of a film deserves more love.

Like many sequels, the story of Resurrection begins soon after the release of its predecessor. Desperate for a course-correction after the grimdark prison story of Alien³ left audiences feeling frustrated (which was the studio’s own fault, as they sabotaged David Fincher’s vision every step of the way), Fox attempted to recruit established filmmakers like Danny Boyle, Peter Jackson and even David Cronenberg before landing on French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. While Jeunet is now mostly known for Amélie , he’d made a name for himself in the 90s with dark parables like the criminally underseen Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children – making him the perfect choice to take the Xenomorphs in a novel direction.

Working off a script written by Joss Whedon (who would later repurpose elements of the story in Firefly due to his dissatisfaction with Jeunet’s handling of the material), the filmmaker and his team faced slashed budgets and tight schedules once shooting finally began. Jeunet even required a French-to-English interpreter in order to communicate with the crew, which is why he insisted that the shooting script should be illustrated like a comic-book. Despite these difficulties, Alien: Resurrection would ultimately be released on schedule in November of 1997.

In the finished film, we follow an augmented clone of Ellen Ripley ( Sigourney Weaver ) as she wakes up on a medical research vessel two centuries after the events of Alien³. Using the original Ripley’s infected DNA, military scientists were able to clone a Xenomorph queen and are now conducting experiments on her offspring. When the aliens inevitably escape, Ripley 8 joins forces with an ensemble of mercenaries, soldiers and other survivors (portrayed by a collection of talented actors including Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman and Dominique Pinon ) in order to stop the damaged vessel from returning to earth and setting the creatures loose.

SO WHAT WENT WRONG?

Despite the film’s financial success (which can be largely attributed to its ingenious marketing campaign, which also happened to gift us with the first modern first-person-shooter game on consoles), Resurrection was so poorly received that it basically killed off the main franchise. In fact, while Alien³ has a lower score on Rotten Tomatoes, that flick has seen been reevaluated as a misunderstood religious thriller due to the Assembly Cut – a privilege that wasn’t extended to its successor.

One recurring point of criticism was directed at the handling of Ripley’s character arc by bringing Weaver back immediately after a heroic sacrifice. While this doesn’t bother me personally since Ripley 8 is technically a brand-new character that only happens to share some memories with her namesake, I can understand how this addition might piss off Alien fans who were already frustrated with the previous film’s decision to kill off Newt, Hicks and Bishop. This wasn’t helped by Weaver’s explanation that she only agreed to return because they “drove a dump-truck of money” to her house, though she has since admitted that the harrowing scene where she encounters her “sisters” was also a big attraction.

Of course, the most common complaint was about Resurrection ’s generally unserious tone, with both fans and critics claiming that the pulpy sci-fi approach didn’t fit the franchise’s somber origins. After all, the rag-tag crew of The Betty felt a lot more like something out of Star Wars than even Aliens’ playful yet realistic colonial marines – and that’s not even mentioning the exaggerated mad science behind the messy plot.

Lastly, there’s the simple matter of this being the fourth entry in a long-running series. The novelty factor of Giger’s monsters was long gone by 1997, with the Xenomorphs having become such a huge part of popular culture (from Contra to Spaceballs ) that it was hard for audiences to see them as a genuine threat.

All in all, it was the perfect storm for Resurrection to end up not getting the recognition that it deserved.

THE SILVER LINING

As is often the case with movies that are initially disliked but end up finding their true audience later on, many of the things that critics hated about Alien: Resurrection are precisely what make it an entertaining watch today. In hindsight, the schlocky B-movie tone is a feature, not a bug, and the fact that the film feels nothing like the rest of the franchise is my favorite part of the experience. We’d already seen three other Xenomorph infestations at that point, so if the studio was going to force filmmakers to bring Ripley back for more after her poignant death, they might as well have some fun with it.

From the charming ensemble that makes the flick entertaining even when the Xenomorphs aren’t onscreen (I especially appreciate Perlman, Pinon and Brad Dourif’s contributions to the flick) to the grungy sci-fi aesthetic, there’s a lot of great filmmaking going on here if you can warm up to the new vibe . Hell, the cinematographer even added extra silver particles to the negative development process in order to give the picture a futuristic tinge!

The film also features some of the most genuinely disturbing moments in the entire franchise, with Whedon and Jeunet landing on some unsettling psychosexual story-beats as Ripley deals with malformed clones and a disgusting Xenomorph hybrid child that still haunts my nightmares. Not all of these new elements stick the landing (I’m still on the fence about Ripley 8 empathizing with the aliens), but I appreciate how the filmmakers at least tried to keep things fresh for the third sequel.

Of course, that’s not even mentioning the added brutality, with Resurrection offering up plenty of memorable death scenes and unexpectedly gnarly moments like having a Xenomorph mutilate itself in order to produce acid blood and escape its bonds. These are all enhanced by gritty industrial visuals that make great use of hand-made miniatures and set design – though it’s a shame that the Xenomorph is brought to life through janky CGI.

Alien: Resurrection might not be able to compete with the grounded space-trucker thrills of the original – or even the action/sci-fi blockbuster blend of Cameron’s sequel – but that doesn’t make it a bad movie. It’s simply a different take on the source material. And with modern franchise films being satisfied in simply reliving the glory days of their respective IPs instead of exploring new ideas, I find myself respecting this strange experiment a lot more every time I revisit it.

H.R. Giger himself called Resurrection an excellent film – what better praise could you ask for?

Watching a bad movie doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad experience. Even the worst films can boast a good idea or two, and that’s why we’re trying to look on the bright side with  The Silver Lining , where we shine a light on the best parts of traditionally maligned horror flicks.

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• 2000s / Horror / Science Fiction

How to Make a Monster (2001)

by Vincent Leo · Published February 16, 2011

One of several 2001 straight-to-cable “Creature Features” remade (in name only) from a nearly equally corny American International Pictures flick from the 1950s,  How to Make a Monster  starts its film with children game testing the latest proposed blockbuster video game built on scaring the crap out of its players, “Evil-ution”, only to see them all laughing at the silly-looking boss monster at the end of the game.  The head of the company (Camp,   Election )   tosses it back to her head of development, Drummond (Culp,   Thirteen Days ), to fix the problem, and pronto, going so far as to offer $1 million bonus to whomever can create the scariest monster.  Drummond brings in three top-choice, but highly volatile designers, each with individual talents in game design, who, along with their skilled intern Laura (DuVall,   Thirteen Conversations About One Thing )  set about making the scariest game ever made.

But a wrench is in the works when a freak storm sends lighting into the building that ends up making the artificial intelligence bad guy of the game become an external reality.  And he’s programmed to do only one thing — to kill whomever crosses his path in the office building that served as the map for the actual game. Now the men (and gal) find that they’ve created a monster that even they are horrified at the sight of, and for good reason.

Actress and producer Colleen Camp isn’t the only camp in this film, as science fiction/horror hybrids don’t really come much campier than this low-reaching cheese-fest.  It’s not entirely unwatchable, as a decent cast brings these one-dimensional characterizations to passably amusing levels to the point where it’s somewhat entertaining just to watch them react to each other, even if they labor to spit out comic book dialogue with any conviction.  It’s gory, but so obviously fake, it offers up only very mild scares.  The actors won’t win any awards (Tyler Mane ( X-Men ,  Troy ) in particular labors to effectively emote), but Duvall and Culp manage to pull out some respectable performances, all things considered.  Perhaps just enough to save this from sinking to the bottom of the b-movie barrel.

The special effects gurus from Stan Winston Studios won’t count  Monster  among their finest of examples of their work, but given the ultra-low budget they obviously had to work with, it’s workable enough, and in keeping with the b-movie spirit of the rest of the production.  Produced by Lou Arkoff, son of the late b-movie mogul Samuel Z. Arkoff (who produced the original 1958 film), the film is sloppy, full of flubs (two big ones: one scene flashes an “FX missing” place holder, while a scene in a bar has DuVall and Culp reversing seats from shot to shot), and feels about as unfinished as a movie as “Evil-ution” is as a game.  Written and directed by George Huang ( Trojan War ), the man who brought Swimming with Sharks  to the big screen, the nicely delivered film about a naive assistant who learns not be so nice when he encounters a demanding boss. This film offers a near carbon copy of that theme and its ending, even though most of the rest of the film has nothing to do with that aspect.  Being a hard-ass, do-for-self in the world business is ultimately what proves to be everyone’s undoing, so why was this a lesson to learn?  

Ironically, what’s delivered here resembles more the schlocky and laughably cheesy original game rather than the menacing, truly frightening one they were going for.  To top it off, the “kick ass” game they’ve all been working on looks downright dreadful. A disappointing finale finds one of the characters donning a virtual reality visor, which makes no sense when the monster is clearly in the room and visible.  The monster isn’t exactly pleasant to look at, but it’s also nothing close the ugliest, meanest, or most sadistic we’ve encountered in many a horror film before and since.  It almost looks like it’s shot as a kids movie, though the gore, language and nudity (scream queen Julie Strain ( Beverly Hills Cop III ) has a small role where she bares her phony boobies), keeps this one mainly for the adult crowd in execution.  This can only mean that it doesn’t have much of a defined audience, save for those who find cheesy b-movie fright flicks enjoyable regardless of overall quality.   How to Make a Misfire  would have been a more honest title.

Qwipster’s rating: D

MPAA Rated: R for violence, gore, language and nudity Running time: 91  min.

Cast: Clea D uVall, Steven Culp, Jason Marsden, Tyler Mane, Karim Prince, Julie Strain, Colleen Camp Cameo: Danny Masterson Director: George  Huang Screenplay: George Huang

Tags: Clea DuVall Colleen Camp game developer George Huang Jason Marsden Julie Strain Karim Prince Steven Culp Tyler Mane video game

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How to make a monster (1958)

March 17, 2021 Gravereviewer Leave a Comment

Film Information

Director: Herbert L. Strock Producer: Herman Cohen, James H. Nicholson Writer: Herman Cohen, Aben Kandel Date Released: July 1, 1958

Cast: Robert H. Harris as Pete Dumond Gary Conway as Tony Mantell / the Teenage Frankenstein Gary Clarke as Larry Drake / the Teenage Werewolf Paul Brinegar as Rivero Malcolm Atterbury as Security Guard Richards Dennis Cross as Security Guard Monahan Morris Ankrum as Police Capt. Hancock Walter Reed as Detective Thompson et. al.

Rating = 4/5 Graves

***May contain some spoilers***

Pete is an expert makeup artist in a movie studio, American International Studios. One day, two executives from NBN Associates comes into his makeup room and tell Pete that they are taking over the Studio company and that his services are no longer needed. Their reason for firing Pete is that they believe horror movies are no longer of interest to the public and they offer him a one weeks’ severance payment. With 25 years working at the studio, Pete becomes disgruntled and angered that they are taking away the one thing he loves. As a result, Pete uses a secret chemical in his makeup to exact his revenge and show the new executives that they made a big mistake.

Gore Factor

There is no gore in this film. However, the prosthetic work and makeup designs  are very impressive. Pete’s creations of the Werewolf and Frankenstein are classic monster tributes that will make any horror fan smile.

The Grave Review

How to Make A Monster (1958) presents a clever storyline about an angered makeup artist. Sources indicate that this film is a continuation of earlier works, I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957). The highlight of the film comes from the great makeup design of the Werewolf and Frankenstein characters. What is interesting about the cinematography is that most of the movie is shot in black and white. However, in the last segment of the film, the scenes are shot in color. Perhaps this was a creative choice but it certainly added an unusual but clever dimension to the film.  In some ways, the film pokes fun at the studio business and the long hours that are put in. Of course, fast forward 60 years later, much of the business has changed. But, there are still certain aspects of the film industry that hold true today.

Another great aspect of this film is the dialogue. It is hard to believe that some of these quotes are truly timeless and are applicable even in the 21st century.

In one quote:

Pete: “Why, even psychiatrists say that in all these monster pictures there’s not only entertainment, but for some people there’s therapy. Well, you know, we never get over our childhood fears of the sinister – those terrifying faces we see in our nightmares. Well, through these pictures we can live out our hidden fears. It helps.”

In another quote:

Executive: “Turn down money. Maybe you’ve been living too long with these monsters!” Pete: “Sometimes I find them better company than humans.”

In addition to the dialogue, the performance of Robert H. Harris who played Pete Dumond along with the rest of the cast performed exceptionally well. Even John Ashley made a cameo appearance in this film. For those who are unfamiliar with John Ashley, he later starred in the Blood Island series which seemed rather coincidental.

Today, horror films are being made quite frequently as the interest is increasing every day. Of course, the quality of those films may be lacking but that is a separate discussion. As they say, quantity does not equal quality. With that in mind, we can safely say that How to Make a Monster (1958) is as insightful as it is entertaining. The film was later remade in 2001 and incorporated a more modern premise but was poorly executed. The 1958 film is by far a superior version of the two.

Overall, this is a really great film that can be easily overlooked. This film is recommended for anyone who loves classic horror.

For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives How to make a monster (1958) four graves out of five graves.

Did you agree with our review of How to make a monster (1958)? Comment below.

You may also like our review of the film, Circus of Horrors .

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How to Make a Monster Reviews

• 1 hr 30 mins
• Suspense, Science Fiction
• Watchlist Where to Watch

When two greedy computer programmers create a new video game, they unwittingly unleash a creature whose idea of progress is death and destruction. Clea Duvall, Steven Culp, Tyler Mane, Colleen Camp. Directed by George Huang.

One in a series of made-for-cable, in-name-only remakes of cheesy cult classics, this sci-fi horror picture is tailor-made for people who hate video games. Where the original film involved a demented special effects artist who turned innocent teens into killer zombies, the 2001 version revolves around a trio of socially maladjusted computer programmers hired to create a really scary monster for a role-playing game called "Evil-ution." The game is mere weeks from going into production and the beta tests have been a disaster; there's an insane deadline and the promise of a million-dollar bonus the programmers can share or compete for, as they see fit. Each comes with his own special expertise: Hardcore (wrestler Tyler Mane) is a weapons freak, Bug (Jason Marsden) creates chilling sound files and Solomon (Karim Prince) designs A.I. systems that allow games to adapt to user strategies. They're all paranoid, possessive and total geeks. Rounding out the development group are naive intern Laura (Clea DuVall) and go-getting business supervisor Drummond (Steven Culp). Early on, twitchy Bug has the brilliant idea of hiring B-movie icon Julie (Julie Strain, playing a thinly veiled version of herself) to get naked, strap on a motion-capture suit and embody the game's ass-kicking warrior princess. But the electrical storm that follows her brief-but-memorable appearance stomps everyone's buzz: Lightning strikes the building and fries the computer's hard drive, the back-up disk vanishes and everyone is convinced that one of the others is an industrial spy. Solomon stays late to recreate the work, and the next day Hardcore and Bug discover his mutilated corpse. Quicker than you can say, "Who's the killer?" the building's security system locks them all in, putting them at the mercy of their own game, which has taken on a lethal life of its own and killed Solomon by animating the motion-capture suit. Who will survive, and what will be left of them? Writer-director George Huang has his subtexts firmly in place — the titular "monster" alludes in equal parts to the video-game boogey man and the kind of ruthless personality forged in the dog-eat-dog world of business — and makes the most of what is essentially a one-set, five-person stalk-and-slash picture. DuVall is her usual excellent self, though the ever-mutating motion-capture-suit monster will be familiar to anyone who's seen 1999's VIRUS.

Alien: Romulus Director Explains the Ending's Final Monster & What It Means

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The following article contains spoilers for Alien: Romulus.

Fede Álvarez , the Hollywood director responsible for the newest entry in the Alien franchise, Alien: Romulus , has opened up about the surprising conclusion of the horror sci-fi film released just days ago. Just when you think the movie is over, you realize it's only a fake-out ending and there's more to come, including a terrifying new creature; it's a creatively divisive decision that Álvarez has made in his quest to pay homage to every single Alien film.

In an interview with Variety , Álvarez says that the final monster is a tribute to past pivotal events in the franchise. While speaking of the film's surprising and least expected cameo , he shares some details of why the final monster looked like a humanoid and not a typical xenomorph. The monster is the result of a bloodcurdling scene where Kay gives birth to a cocoon that at first appears to hold a baby inside. But then the "adorable" creature turns into something else: a hybrid of human and alien DNA that could only be described as a mix of the Engineers first seen in Scott's Prometheus , with a pinch of xenomorph, and the offspring that Ripley gives birth to in Alien: Resurrection .

Alien: Romulus Review | The Best Film in the Franchise Since James Cameron's Aliens

A desperate miner (Cailee Spaeny) and her synthetic brother (David Jonsson) embark on a risky salvage operation above a distant colony.

Álvarez says that his son was the first to point out the resemblance: "He had recently watched with a buddy of his, all of the Alien movies , and when the offspring comes out, he goes, 'It's like in Resurrection .' I hadn't really processed that that way — but it's true, it's this abomination that comes out." The director says this wasn't what he pushed for at first: "I was hoping that people picked up the whole Engineer part of it ," referring to the creatures in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant .

He adds, "The black goo is the root of the whole thing that was introduced in Prometheus. It's the root of all life, but also, particularly the xenomorphs come out of that thing, which means it has to be inside them. It's the xenomorphs' semen, almost. So we thought, if it affects your DNA, and the Engineers clearly came out of the same root of life , it made complete sense to me that [the offspring of a human and a xenomorph] was going to look like that." He says:

It’s probably a new species, because that mix never happened before.

Alien: Romulus

Alien: Romulus takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots. While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

Alien: Romulus: The Very Definition of a Potent Sequel

Written by Álvarez with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues, Alien: Romulus has already captivated audiences worldwide, who have given it a B+ grade on CinemaScore. The reception by critics has also been great, with an 81% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes . In box office terms, it moved Deadpool & Wolverine's position from the top spot and has made more than $100 million worldwide , and that number is set to grow in the coming weeks.

Alien: Romulus Director’s Chilling 2016 Horror Proves the Series Is in the Right Hands

Director Fede Álvarez has emerged as one of Hollywood's greatest voices, tackling the Alien series after helming the horror knockout Don't Breathe.

For an Alien sequel not directed by original auteur Ridley Scott (who participates as producer this time), this result is obviously big. And though it's no match for the superhero market, it's a direct message to those who often undermine horror as a secondary film genre. The film's notable result coincides with another major horror breakthrough that occurred this weekend: horror darling Longlegs crossed the $100 million mark at the box office, the most for an indie film in 2024. Horror is more alive than ever.

Alien: Romulus is a good example of what a sequel should be. A continuation in a sea of continuations should still feel like an authentic standalone film while following some ground rules. Álvarez checks every box and has made a great space horror film: gritty, gory, dramatic, and relentless.

Alien: Romulus is playing exclusively in theaters worldwide.

• Fede Alvarez

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On The Job follows our infectiously funny host and Orlando expert, Brendan O'Connor, as he celebrates the people behind the events, attractions, and businesses that make Orlando a truly uniq... Read all On The Job follows our infectiously funny host and Orlando expert, Brendan O'Connor, as he celebrates the people behind the events, attractions, and businesses that make Orlando a truly unique place to call home. In every episode Brendan receives hands-on training from the lesser... Read all On The Job follows our infectiously funny host and Orlando expert, Brendan O'Connor, as he celebrates the people behind the events, attractions, and businesses that make Orlando a truly unique place to call home. In every episode Brendan receives hands-on training from the lesser known people behind the scenes of local businesses. Whether it's helping milk venomous st... Read all

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• May 16, 2024 (United States)
• United States
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The jaw-dropping 'Alien: Romulus' ending sets it apart from other blockbusters. Here's what happens.

• "Alien: Romulus" is set on a derelict space station where a group of scavengers face the Xenomorphs.
• The final act of the film cranks up the horror with a stunning twist.
• Here's the ending of "Alien: Romulus," explained.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Alien: Romulus."

" Alien: Romulus " is set in between the events of 1979's " Alien " and 1986's "Aliens" when a group of scavengers from the Jackson's Star mining colony raid a derelict space station, looking for a way to escape their bleak existence.

Predictably, the group sticks its nose where it doesn't belong, and a young woman named Navarro (Aileen Wu) ends up on the wrong side of a Facehugger. This leads to a bloodthirsty fight for survival as the Xenomorphs overrun the station.

"Alien: Romulus" could easily have replicated the other films in the franchise and simply focused on the terrifying nature of the Xenomorph.

But " Evil Dead " director Fede Alvarez pushes things further in the second half of the film when he ties it to the 2012 prequel "Prometheus," and cranks up the body horror with a stunningly gruesome twist.

Here's the ending, explained.

Weyland-Yutani experimented with the black goo from "Prometheus."

Rain ( Cailee Spaeny ) travels with a crew, including her adopted android brother, Andy (David Jonsson), to the "Renaissance" station, which is divided into two sections. They find themselves in the section called "Remus," where all the Facehuggers are kept in cryo-storage.

When the crew's ship, the Corbelan IV, gets accidentally knocked over to the other side of the station, called "Romulus," Rain and Tyler (Archie Renaux) have to fight their way over to the second half.

They discover that Weyland-Yutani, the nefarious company that owns the station and the colony, has synthesized a black serum from the Xenomorphs and the Facehuggers.

It's the same black substance that appears in Ridley Scott 's "Prometheus." It drastically alters the DNA of a living organism to evolve it into something more monstrous. Weyland-Yutani wants to use the goo to create a workforce that doesn't get sick when they terraform planets or mine alien worlds for resources.

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But when they continue to make their way to the ship, Kay (Isabela Merced), who is pregnant, gets taken by the Xenomorph. She narrowly survives the ordeal, albeit with some injuries, and she injects the goo into her neck in an attempt to save her unborn child.

Fast-forward 20 minutes, and Kay endures a hideous birth because the serum has accelerated her baby's growth — and also genetically altered the fetus. She painfully delivers an alien egg, which contains a Xenomorph/human hybrid inside.

The "Offspring" feeds on Kay.

The creature — called the "Offspring" in the credits — almost immediately grows to a towering size and starts feeding on Kay because her body secretes more of the gooey substance seen in the Romulus lab.

It's a horrific twist on the Renaissance-era painting seen on the wall of the station earlier in the film, which depicts a newborn baby suckling on its mother's corpse.

Kay's Xenomorph/human baby also looks notably similar to the 10-foot-tall Engineers who appeared in "Prometheus" and were essentially responsible for creating mankind.

Rain slips into a spacesuit while the Offspring suckles on its now-dead mother. When the Offspring eventually chases Rain, she detaches the ship's cargo container into the asteroid field below so the monstrous being gets bombarded by the debris.

Like any good horror film though, the Offspring manages to rear its ugly head into the camera for one last jumpscare before it gets seemingly annihilated in space.

The whole sequence, filled with practical effects, feels like an instant adrenaline rush that sets it apart from many other blockbusters, which often deliver predictable fight scenes filled with dull CGI.

Rain and Andy survive and head to Yvaga III.

Rain and her adopted android sibling are the only surviving members of the crew after their ordeal on the Renaissance station, and Rain puts them both into stasis pods as they set the ship on a course to Yvaga III — a supposedly peaceful planet.

In a narration that mirrors Ripley's (Sigourney Weaver) at the end of the original "Alien" movie, Rain notes that she's not sure if the ship will make it to Yvaga III, but she's hopeful about the future.

This is a considerable shift in her demeanor considering how worried she was about life at the start of the story.

"Alien: Romulus" has no post-credits scenes, but the ending leaves plenty of room for a sequel.

Audiences don't have to stick around while the credits roll, as there isn't an extra scene waiting at the end. (Although it's always worth noting all the people who worked hard on the film!)

But the absence of a post-credits scene doesn't mean that a sequel isn't possible.

It would be very easy for 20th Century Studios to find a way to bring Spaeny and Jonsson back for a follow-up mvoie. As fans have seen in previous "Alien" films, all it takes is for one Facehugger to have snuck onboard the ship, and this could all start again.

Alternatively, the story could pick up with Weyland-Yutani searching for the remains of the Xenomorph/human hybrid, since the company is so concerned with creating the perfect organism.

The film also specifically points out that androids are not welcome on Yvaga III, which could be a problem for Rain and Andy if they make it to their destination.

Watch: Going behind the scenes of 8 horror movies, from 'Nope' to 'X'

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