It’s 1944. The world-renowned Dr. Igor Markoff is researching acromegaly when he spots Patricia, daughter of famed concert pianist Anthony Lawrence. Patricia is the living embodiment of Dr. Markoff’s late wife, and he will stop at nothing to have her — even infect others with the deadly disease. The Monster Maker is a PRC film that despite its low score on Rotten Tomatoes, still provides audiences with chills that only demented villains from the pre-and post-atomic era can bring.
When I needed some movies downloaded to watch on my flight to Long Beach for Midsummer Scream, I knew I could trust Screambox to give me something good — and they definitely delivered. I absolutely adore older horror films, ones that you would find airing on TCM during October. I saw The Monster Maker, and even without reading the description clicked “download.” I was greeted with a storyline filled with mystery, deceit, and monstrous implications — literally.
If you like science fiction-tinted black and white films, The Monster Maker is it. As Dr. Markoff tries harder and harder to win the affections of an unwilling “Pat,” we see his story unravel to reveal… well, I don’t want to spoil it. What I will spoil though is the monster. I find it so funny that this is the second time that acromegaly has played a major role in a movie I’ve watched in the past year. I don’t know what was going on in the 40s and 50s that made everyone so scared of acromegaly, but apparently it was the same as the dangers of quicksand is to millennials. Anyway, Lawrence “acquires” the disease and morphs into a hideous monster with bulging muscles and a lumpy, grotesque physique; Dr. Markoff and his assistant Maxine have the only cure — but at a cost.
I’m not sure why there is such a low score on Rotten Tomatoes (5% at the time of this writing) because The Monster Maker was a fun and energetic piece of work. The plot has a wow-factor that I was totally hooked on. The cinematography is done well. Mad scientist vibes are there. And the scare factor — though basically zero by today’s standards — was well-done for the time. At just over an hour, The Monster Maker was a quick and easy film to get through that didn’t drag on more than needed.
All that said, I loved The Monster Maker! It’s something I can enjoy over and over, and one that I’d no-doubt have playing at a monster movie night.
What did you think of The Monster Maker? Let us know in the comments!
The Monster Maker is available to stream on Screambox.
