Although it was short-lived (only 3 double feature DVDs in 2006), I take my hat off to Lionsgate for making available these Samuel Z. Arkoff Cult Classics in first class, high quality prints. Of the three discs released, this one is by far and away my favorite. HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER combines elements of AIP’s (American International Pictures) previous teenage monster films with HOUSE OF WAX to come up with this bizarre story of a veteran make-up artist, fired by new studio heads, who hypnotizes his creations so they can murder the new owners for their callousness. Robert H. Harris gives a remarkable performance as the nutso artist but it is the behind the scenes look at AIP moviemaking and the color finale that make it really special.
The second feature, BLOOD OF DRACULA (as has been pointed out elsewhere), should really have been titled I WAS A TEENAGE VAMPIRE. The setting is an exclusive girl’s school where troubled teen Sandra Harrison is turned into a vampire through hypnosis by weirdo science teacher Louise Lewis. What makes these drive-in movies so memorable today is the hidden subtext in both. Whether intended or not (and it must have been), both films have a strong homoerotic undercurrent and are sharply critical of adults and conformist behavior. They are also incredible time capsules of the teen drive-in culture of the 1950s which AIP helped to foster. They won’t scare you but they will inform you as to what was going on under the surface of the placid 1950s.
The Capsule Critic 