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How to Make a Monster (2001) -- An evil video game comes to life and hunts the group of developers.

Overview

User Rating:
4.6/10   953 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
George Huang
Writer (WGA):
George Huang (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for How to Make a Monster on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 October 2001 (USA) more
Genre:
Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller more
Plot:
An evil video game comes to life and hunts the group of developers. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Horror Business director launches Cottonmouth.TV
 (From Fangoria. 6 November 2008, 1:38 AM, PST)
Cottonmouth Now On-Line! Watch It Now!
 (From Icons of Fright. 31 October 2008, 8:24 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
A cheesy good time more (55 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Clea DuVall ... Laura (as Clea Duvall)

Steven Culp ... Drummond

Tyler Mane ... Hardcore

Jason Marsden ... Bug

Karim Prince ... Sol
Julie Strain ... Julie
James Sullivan ... Monster
Te'ron A. O'Neal ... Kid #1

Aaron Fors ... Kid #2
Brittney Lee Harvey ... Kid #3
Eric Michael Zee ... Programmer #1 (as Eric Zee)

Hillary Tuck ... New Intern (as Hilary Tuck)

Scott Wordham ... Laura's Assistant
Jeff Edwards ... Puppeteer
Shane Mahan ... Puppeteer
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for violence/gore, language and nudity.
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
91 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.78 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Certification:
Finland:K-15 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Germany:16 | UK:15 | USA:R
Company:
Creature Features Productions LLC more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the background of the office, there are many game boxes including the popular MMORPG Everquest. Two of the games, Baldur's Gate & Baldur's Gate 2, had several characters and items voiced by Jason Marsden-Bug. more
Quotes:
Bug: I'm tired of being a 'maybe'. I want to be a 'yes!' more
Movie Connections:
References Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) more
Soundtrack:
Alive more

FAQ

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User Comments

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful.
A cheesy good time, 17 September 2007
Author: slayrrr666 (slayrrr666@yahoo.com) from Los Angeles, Ca

"How to Make a Monster" is a fun and really entertaining cheesy creature feature.

**SPOILERS**

Desperate to fix a new video game, Peter Drummond, (Steven Culp) assigns intern Laura Wheeler, (Clea DuVall) to fix the game's problems. Rounding up renegade programmers Hardcore, (Tyler Mane) Bug, (Jason Marsden) and Sol, (Karim Prince) to fix the game and are given a month to do so. Several weeks of attempts later, they all have ideas for improving the game only for their feelings for each other and their egos to get the better of them. As they near completion, they attempt a go-round to determine what final changes need to be made. Trying to get it finished, they take off for the night and come back the next morning to find one of the group members is dead. Carrying on in the need for money, the remaining members find that the death is the result of the monster created for the game coming to life through a power-surge and is killing the group. Forced into a struggle to get out alive, they turn to different strategies to defeat the monster.

The Good News: This one's not all that bad. Considering the source material, this here manages to get a lot of mileage from it. From the constant video-game play-through to the images achieved through the game and all the background into the business, there's a lot of it and it makes for an interesting viewing. Another great aspect is the interesting monster created. This has a unique back-story, however contrived, and uses a pretty good creepy look to great effect. This one even gets a decent transformation sequence where it manages to acquire more parts and weapons to make it even more frightening. With the spiked horn, shoulder spikes, large frame and huge blades, this one is quite impressive and frightening at times, and with the real scary face, this one scores some great scenes from it's appearance. It's even quite creepy without the monster, as there's some really great stalking scenes early on to be had, due to a plethora of off-screen noises and crashes to get some jumps in. The deaths, though not at all that elaborate, do feature enough blood and gore to satisfy. The last half-hour is the film's best part, as it features a lot of action, some big chasing and stalking and is it's most watchable part. That's the best part of the film, and alone is worth the watch.

The Bad News: There's not a whole lot wrong with this one. Most of this one's flaws result from one area, namely the cheapness of the film. Even though the film is filled with computer graphics, there's still plenty of really cheap graphics. It's nearly impossible for them to become fearful of the images generated from the creature, or even the simulated games. They look like computer games, which is great but they don't look good or convincing in an actual movie. It looks quite terrible, doesn't generate any scares or suspense and takes away a whole lot of whatever good it accumulated in the positives. The cheapness also extends to other areas, as the boring beginning, cramped location and lack of any big moments not done without using CGI all attest to. It does pick up considerably with it's great fight, but there's a real shortage of big moments in this one. There's even a real shortage of kills in here, as this one really doesn't have any real deaths on-screen. The number is incredibly low, making the lack of any real blood or gore a real shortcoming. Featuring bloody aftermath and blood splotches during the few kills done on-screen is nothing really spectacular and only serves to make them more noticeable. They are the real flaws in the film.

The Final Verdict: It's a clichéd, cheesy creature feature yet that doesn't mean that it won't entertain. Give it a shot if you're in for some harmless fun or have a particular love for these kinds are encouraged to give it a shot, while those who have a disdain for those types should stay away from it.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and Nudity

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