I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

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

deliciously fun revenge movie with lots of gay sub- and not so subtext a pair of lovers working in the makeup dept of AIP, one dominant the other submissive, are faced with the big faze out... well, one of them is not about to take it lying down so to speak! this is a richly observed little movie. lots of brilliant touches - for example the makeup job for the teen werewolf is as good or better than much of what we see today, while the teenage whatsits looks like some kind of paper mache effort attempted by a blind man. the effect is of something gone terribly wrong.the performances are more than adequate and the lead Robert H. Harris is nothing short of inspired.don't want to say anything to spoil or ruin, but if you have the least taste for camp, get busy and track down this amusement packed spectacular!

How To Make a Monster (1958) * 1/2 (out of 4) Semi-sequel to I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein deals with a makeup artist (Robert H. Harris) who is fired by the studio so he turns two teens into the werewolf and Frankenstein monster for revenge. Okay, this is a pretty bad film but for some strange reason it manages to be mildly entertaining on a campy level. The performances by the teens are all rather bad but this here leads to a few laughs. The make up ranges from very good to poor but the ending in color is a very nice touch. This is certainly the weakest of the three films but fans of bad cinema should enjoy.

How to Make a Monster is an American International Pictures film about and set on the lot of American International Pictures. The premise is that the studio has been sold, and the new owners are going to make some major changes, including canning in-house employee Pete Dumond (Robert H. Harris), a noted master of horror make-up. It then becomes a relatively simple revenge flick, with a nice, slightly sci-fi twist in the method of revenge.The idea behind this film is very clever. It also provided an effective means of saving money on the production, since not many sets had to be built or dressed, and even when that was necessary, AIP was able to use materials on hand from other films, such as the gallery of masks, in a way that makes this a self-referential treat for horror fans. The idea is good enough that especially in our modern era of film industry cannibalization, it's surprising that it hasn't been used far more often.Aside from the admirable tightness of the script and the evergreen attraction of revenge films, How to Make a Monster works as well as it does because of the performances. Harris is a fairly subtle psycho, and extremely effective as an anti-hero. Especially in contemporary times, his situation--getting laid off after a company takeover--will find him many sympathizers, but it's also that he plays the role with such a mellow, likable, grandfatherly charm, and a self-righteousness rooted in his expertise and pride in a job well done. As others have noted, there are subtexts in the film of (homo)sexual predation, which give an added air of creepiness to Harris. His unwitting targets on that end, Tony Mantell (Gary Conway) and Larry Drake (Gary Clarke), are played with an appropriate wide-eyed and willing innocence.If there's a flaw in How to Make a Monster it's that nothing about it--except maybe the very final scene--is particularly atmospheric or suspenseful, but oddly, it really doesn't matter, because it's a good story told well enough that it keeps you engaged for its length. I still haven't quite figured out why a few American International Pictures, including this one, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957) and War of the Colossal Beast (1958), have the final scenes in color (I know it was a gimmick, but I don't really get the attraction of it as a gimmick), but it doesn't disrupt the flow of the film and it's nice seeing the gallery of masks in color.

Contains spoilers a wonderful Herman Cohen production, and his third film with talented director Herbert L. Strock. This film is a lot of fun, and is very entertaining! Director Strock keeps things moving at a fast pace! And it is a pure delight! Music and story line are excellent and so is the fine cinematography! Robert H. Harris stars as makeup man Pete Dumont, the new owners are taking over the studio, that Pete works for,(American International). Monster makeup man Pete is given the pink slip, as they no longer need his services, because monster movies are out and musicals are in! The egotistical studio executives treat Pete with heartless abandonment! Harris excels in his role as the psychotic Pete Dumont! He begins to lose his mind, and becomes a homicidal maniac,as he methodically kills all who are in his way, one by one! He also does it with the aid of his mesmerizing makeup. Pete tries to bring two young actors, into his madness, and succeeds through the aid of his makeup he uses on them, they become assassins! The young actors are Gary Conway, and Gary Clarke, as Tony and Larry, the teenage Frankenstein, and the teenage werewolf. Tony and Larry are not cognitive of the murders they commit afterwards, while under the influence of the mind controlling drug, that Pete has introduced to his makeup formula! The local police are baffled as dead studio executives start showing up all around the studio! Even a studio guard, is beaten to a pulp by Pete who is in monster makeup, after he starts to ask Pete one question too many! The police captain played by the well liked veteran fifties Si Fi actor, Morris Ankrum. Also in the cast is another Si Fi great Thomas B. Henry (The Brain From Planet Arous) (Twenty Million Miles To Earth) many others, he plays a studio director. One memorable scene shows Gary Clarke in full teenage werewolf makeup, as he throttles a studio executive, while spittle runs down his mouth! Another scene has the powerfully built Conway hiding in a executive's garage as the teenage Frankenstein, he proceeds to break the back of the smart aleck executive. Gary Conway and Gary Clarke are two excellent actors and they do well in this film. The ending is a gem, as Pete by this time is a raving lunatic! After he kills his assistant (Paul Brinegar) with a large ceremonial knife, he then attempts to separate the boys heads from their bodies and add them to his monster collection on his wall! Tony and Larry don't like the idea of decapitation, and try to escape. A fire breaks out and the whole place starts going up in flames! Tony and Larry get out, but Pete is left standing in the middle of the flames screaming about the destruction of his children! The climax turns to color. On the wall of the makeup man's house are some of monster maker Paul Blaisdell's finest creations! This film is just as entertaining as another Herman Cohen and Herbert L. Strock collaboration, (I Was A Teenage Frankenstein) also for American International Pictures. Under the excellent direction of Herbert L. Strock this movie works. Strock also also directed one of the best science fiction movies of the fifties (The Magnetic Monster), for United Artists, when he was called in to replace the first director. Both films are highly recommended!