How to Make a Monster

Rating:
Summary: PM Sci-fi fairy Tale: Rating 666
Review: "How to BE a Monster"is what it is! Reincarnated CREATURE FEATURES consortium of Lou Arkoff,Stan Winston,and Colleen Camp have technologically concocted a vile,pornographic,post-modern Macbeth(...SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES...)brew of rank Evil. The movie will get by Censors and pseudo-hippies because they will not know what they are watching.But our PM/Deconstructionist Age(read anti-Christian epoch)kids...barely having escaped the American Abortion mills that murdered 46,0000,000 of their brothers and sisters since 1973,will verstehen sehr gut to the max: YOU BECOME LIKE THAT WHICH YOU BEHOLD;YET AMAZING IN POWER& STRENGTH OR:HOWLING IN DREAD & PAIN!The words were Blake's;the original trip was Dante.HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER is visceral; Kriegs/Konzentrations-lager abattoir horrifying; a barely sane excursion BEYOND GOOD & EVIL into ALIENS 4 realm of Hell on Earth where God,goodness & Love do not exist. This movie is a nightmare terror.The cast is "good". So what? Rating: 666;ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER

Rating:
Summary: JUST WHO'S THE MONSTER HERE?
Review: George Hueng's remake of the classics 50's film is a stunning exercise in virtual reality. Although it starts off a little slow, once it kicks in, it is bristling with suspense and great effects. The cast is key in keeping the movie together:
Steven Culp as the handsome owner of the company evolves in a way that's not too flattering;
stalwart Clea Duvall continues her reign as the esoteric teen queen as the selfless, innocent intern, who also undergoes a metamorphosis;
Tyler Mane, the hulking actor, who has spent most of his time hidden behind make-up (Planet of the Apes, X-Men) is an engaging screen presence, very good in a somewhat stereotypical role, and Jason Marsden as acne-infected nerd is also effective.
The movie is its own allegorical spin on monsters, and by the end of the movie, you'll ask yourself---who was the worst monster?

Rating:
Summary: JUST WHO'S THE MONSTER HERE?
Review: George Hueng's remake of the classics 50's film is a stunning exercise in virtual reality. Although it starts off a little slow, once it kicks in, it is bristling with suspense and great effects. The cast is key in keeping the movie together:
Steven Culp as the handsome owner of the company evolves in a way that's not too flattering;
stalwart Clea Duvall continues her reign as the esoteric teen queen as the selfless, innocent intern, who also undergoes a metamorphosis;
Tyler Mane, the hulking actor, who has spent most of his time hidden behind make-up (Planet of the Apes, X-Men) is an engaging screen presence, very good in a somewhat stereotypical role, and Jason Marsden as acne-infected nerd is also effective.
The movie is its own allegorical spin on monsters, and by the end of the movie, you'll ask yourself---who was the worst monster?

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but not entirely original
Review: I recently watched this movie, and I must admit that I was entertained. It is not necessarily for everyone since it is somewhat gory and not entirely original. Specifically, it's essentially Swimming with Sharks meets a monster movie, which is not particularly surprising since George Huang was the writer and director of both movies. That being said, I'm sure many people would, like I did, find it relatively entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Connect- the- dots Creature Feature
Review: The old 1958 B horror gets a new millenium style update.Three computer geeks, Sol, Bug and Hardcore- a psychotic brick-outhouse hippie, are recruited by a computer company to create a scary new game, EVILUTION for a cool $1 million. One of the perks of this is that the boys get to see a REAL LIVE NAKED WOMAN!! (with plastic boobs) in order to get the characters formed right- this actually makes no real sense and just seems perfunctorily pasted into the film, but it's certainly a big thrill for them. However, once the game starts taking shape, the creature within the game comes to life when Sol puts on a virtual reality suit and is transformed. Predictably, he goes on a murderous rampage; because no Creature Feature would be the same without one. Meanwhile, a pretty girl named Laura, who is helping the misfits is receiving threatening e-mails. All this leads up to a virtual kung fu battle. Wow!
The result is so-so, and I just wanted to yank the cyber clowns from the TV set and slap them silly. This movie will probably appeal to 12 and 13 year old boys when they get tired of their Pokemon stuff. For anybody else it's pretty basic and predictable. What next? A CF remake of THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER with Fozzie and Gonzo going rabid? Wocka wocka!!

Rating:
Summary: Connect- the- dots Creature Feature
Review: The old 1958 B horror gets a new millenium style update.Three computer geeks, Sol, Bug and Hardcore- a psychotic brick-outhouse hippie, are recruited by a computer company to create a scary new game, EVILUTION for a cool $1 million. One of the perks of this is that the boys get to see a REAL LIVE NAKED WOMAN!! (with plastic boobs) in order to get the characters formed right- this actually makes no real sense and just seems perfunctorily pasted into the film, but it's certainly a big thrill for them. However, once the game starts taking shape, the creature within the game comes to life when Sol puts on a virtual reality suit and is transformed. Predictably, he goes on a murderous rampage; because no Creature Feature would be the same without one. Meanwhile, a pretty girl named Laura, who is helping the misfits is receiving threatening e-mails. All this leads up to a virtual kung fu battle. Wow!
The result is so-so, and I just wanted to yank the cyber clowns from the TV set and slap them silly. This movie will probably appeal to 12 and 13 year old boys when they get tired of their Pokemon stuff. For anybody else it's pretty basic and predictable. What next? A CF remake of THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER with Fozzie and Gonzo going rabid? Wocka wocka!!

Rating:
Summary: A Surprising Good Time
Review: To be honest, I initially watched the film because Steven Culp, a favorite actor of mine, was in it. (Yes, that's a cheesy reason to watch a movie.) The plot sounded a little silly, so I had my doubts going in. To my surprise, it was brilliant.

Basically, the film is a social commentary disguised as a B horror flick. The movie attempts to define what actually constitutes a monster, and probes the extent to which there is the capacity for darkness in everyone.

While the movie can be a bit contrived in parts, the film delivers overall. I found myself lulled into believing the movie would end predictably, but was pleasantly thrown for a loop.

The characters, as in any good B horror movie, are overblown and a bit unbeleivable. The exceptions are Culp and co-star Clea DuVall. Both are engaging individually, and together, they have a believable chemistry. DuVall's evolution as a character and Culp's final speech were worth the entire movie.

Rating:
Summary: A pleasant surprise, Programmed For Damage!
Review: While not fresh in originality, How To Make A Monster is a nice diversion from the crop of films out there recently that seem to depend on star power and rock tunes to carry them. This entry in the Creature Features series seems to be what Full Moon was trying to attempt in its hey day if it only had the slightly bigger budget.

Basically, several computer game programmers with clashing egos are hired to expedite the release of a new game called Evilution. In the process, a power surge and system overload bring a motion suit to life and the computer then is literally playing the game out with the programmers and office staff, and it's kill or be killed with everyone trapped inside the building.

There's a fair amount of suspense, a few twists, and a lot to say about greed, arrogance, and the lessening value of being just plain nice. The special effects mainly consist of the creature, and all else is done rather modestly which helps keep the story on track instead of being bogged down with massive digitial effects. It's interesting to note that this is a project from the director of Swimming With Sharks. The only sad thing is that this film seems to say that in the end, it's dog eat dog and you might as well forget about trying to be nice.

Everyone plays their attitudes to the hilt, some may be put off by the excessive language but things move along rather swiftly so you don't dwell on that too long. I was hesitant at first to view this because I was concerned that it was going to be a Julie Strain "breast fest" (as if she's not getting enough exposure being married to the editor of Heavy Metal magazine), but her appearance was minimal and yes, her "big guns" made the required appearance to satisfy those who just have to see them. So that part was not as gratuitous as one would think, and even the violence is just enough without getting ridiculously over the top. Overall, it's a satisfying experience and entertains as intended which is a good feat when you consider how so many bigger Hollywood productions seem so empty and stupid and aren't worth a purchase price.

I'm not a video game fanatic and don't know much about computers, but you don't have to be a whiz to be entertained by the subject matter in How To Make A Monster. While not a masterpiece, it's a fun ride and one of the better bets in the sci-fi/horror genre lately. Not a cerebral experience like Session 9 or Donnie Darko, but something you can sit back with a ton of junk food and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A pleasant surprise, Programmed For Damage!
Review: While not fresh in originality, How To Make A Monster is a nice diversion from the crop of films out there recently that seem to depend on star power and rock tunes to carry them. This entry in the Creature Features series seems to be what Full Moon was trying to attempt in its hey day if it only had the slightly bigger budget.

Basically, several computer game programmers with clashing egos are hired to expedite the release of a new game called Evilution. In the process, a power surge and system overload bring a motion suit to life and the computer then is literally playing the game out with the programmers and office staff, and it's kill or be killed with everyone trapped inside the building.

There's a fair amount of suspense, a few twists, and a lot to say about greed, arrogance, and the lessening value of being just plain nice. The special effects mainly consist of the creature, and all else is done rather modestly which helps keep the story on track instead of being bogged down with massive digitial effects. It's interesting to note that this is a project from the director of Swimming With Sharks. The only sad thing is that this film seems to say that in the end, it's dog eat dog and you might as well forget about trying to be nice.

Everyone plays their attitudes to the hilt, some may be put off by the excessive language but things move along rather swiftly so you don't dwell on that too long. I was hesitant at first to view this because I was concerned that it was going to be a Julie Strain "breast fest" (as if she's not getting enough exposure being married to the editor of Heavy Metal magazine), but her appearance was minimal and yes, her "big guns" made the required appearance to satisfy those who just have to see them. So that part was not as gratuitous as one would think, and even the violence is just enough without getting ridiculously over the top. Overall, it's a satisfying experience and entertains as intended which is a good feat when you consider how so many bigger Hollywood productions seem so empty and stupid and aren't worth a purchase price.

I'm not a video game fanatic and don't know much about computers, but you don't have to be a whiz to be entertained by the subject matter in How To Make A Monster. While not a masterpiece, it's a fun ride and one of the better bets in the sci-fi/horror genre lately. Not a cerebral experience like Session 9 or Donnie Darko, but something you can sit back with a ton of junk food and enjoy.