How to Make a Monster

In the wake of NBN Associates' takeover of American International Studios, Pete Dumond learns he will be fired after 25 years as chief makeup artist. The new owners declare a shift toward musicals and comedies, sidelining the horror that made the studio famous. Pete resolves to exact revenge using the very monsters he helped build.

During a stage presentation, the new management showcases a rock musical number featuring John Ashley, signaling a future far from horror. Pete watches with mounting fury as his world of monsters is dismissed. He starts to plot how his creations could turn the tables on his former employers.

Consumed by resentment, Pete resolves to weaponize the monsters he created over decades. He vows to destroy his former colleagues by unleashing them, turning art into weaponry. The plan begins behind the scenes, away from prying eyes.

Pete begins mixing a numbing ingredient into his foundation cream and tells the young actors that their careers will end unless they submit to him. He formulates a cream that dulls willpower on contact, giving him control over his targets. The prep work lays the groundwork for his manipulation.

Using the numbing cream, Pete draws Larry Drake and Tony Mantell, who play monsters in Werewolf Meets Frankenstein, into his control. They become his unwitting puppets while in their monster makeup. Pete moves pieces on the studio floor without their awareness.

Pete orders Larry, in Teenage Werewolf makeup, to kill John Nixon in the studio projection room. The instruction exploits the actors' disguises to stage a murder that seems like a film sequence rather than a crime. The studio tension rises as danger unfolds.

That night, Monahan, an older guard with budding investigative ambitions, visits the makeup room carrying a little black book noting recent events including a late check-out at 9:12 PM. He hints at ambitions to become chief of security on the lot, drawing Pete's anxiety. Pete grows uneasy as the net tightens.

In a panic to cover his tracks, Pete, disguised as Caveman, ambushes Monahan in the studio commissary and kills him. The murder marks a dangerous escalation and pushes the investigation closer to home. Richards, the older guard, later discovers Monahan's missing body.

After Monahan's death, Tony in Teenage Frankenstein makeup is instructed to attack John Clayton and choke him to death when he returns home in his 1958 Lincoln convertible. The murder demonstrates the reach of Pete's control over his puppets. Investigators begin to suspect a pattern tied to Pete's old makeup room.

Investigators uncover two crucial clues: a maid's description of Frankenstein's monster and a lab analysis showing a peculiar ingredient in Clayton's nails matching items in Pete's old makeup room. The evidence folds Pete into the center of the case and narrows the suspect pool. The trail grows more damning as the case unfolds.

The police head toward Pete's house, believing he is behind the murders. Pete hosts a grim farewell party for Rivero, Larry, and Tony, turning his home into a museum of every monster he created. The ominous setup foreshadows a deadly confrontation.

In a tense moment, Pete distrusts Rivero and stabs him to death in the kitchen. The murder removes a potential witness and heightens the danger inside the house. The remaining trio realizes they are trapped with a murderous creator.

Larry and Tony attempt to escape the locked living room, but Pete attacks them with a knife. The confrontation escalates as the house fills with smoke and flames. The trio struggles to survive as Pete's grip on reality collapses.

A candle topple ignites the monster museum, and Pete is burned to death while trying to save the mounted heads of his creations. The fire consumes the building as his obsession meets a fiery end. Larry and Tony fight to stay alive amidst the blaze.

The police break through the locked door just before the flames reach the boys, rescuing Larry and Tony. The case closes with the surviving victims recounting the horror of Pete's control, and the studio mourning the loss of its infamous makeup artist and his monstrous legacy. The film ends as a cautionary tale about revenge and obsession.