Project Terror: Monster on Campus (1958)

In San Antonio, "Project Terror" most commonly refers to the classic local horror movie show that aired on KENS-TV (Channel 5) from 1960 to the mid-1980s. The Classic TV Show
The Host: The show was famously hosted by Joe Alston (also known as "Captain Gus"), who provided voice-over introductions for late-night horror and sci-fi films.
The Intro: It is legendary for its eerie opening featuring a green oscilloscope's pulsing ovals and a siren, accompanied by the tagline: "Project Terror... where the scientific and the terrifying emerge!".
Legacy: San Antonio native Robert Rodriguez paid homage to the show by naming his 2007 zombie film "Planet Terror" after it.
Monster on the Campus is a 1958 black-and-white science fiction/horror film in which a university professor is transformed into a murderous, ape-like prehistoric man after accidental contact with the irradiated blood of a coelacanth fish. It was directed by the acclaimed Jack Arnold and starred Arthur Franz as the lead.
Professor Donald Blake, a paleontology instructor at Dunsfield University, is thrilled to receive a perfectly preserved coelacanth specimen, a "living fossil," for his research. The fish has been treated with gamma rays for preservation, which unknowingly alters its blood.
The horror begins when contact with the fish's contaminated blood causes rapid, reverse evolution.
First, a student's dog laps up some of the meltwater from the fish and turns into a savage, saber-toothed wolf-like creature.
Next, Dr. Blake accidentally cuts his hand on the fish's teeth and gets his blood mixed with the contaminated water. He subsequently transforms into a hulking, ape-like Neanderthal man and commits a series of murders on campus, with no memory of the events when he reverts to his human form.
Later, a dragonfly also feeds on the fish and grows to a giant size.
The local police, led by Lt. Mike Stevens, are baffled by the murders, as the evidence points away from the mild-mannered professor. Eventually, Dr. Blake realizes he is the monster, a modern Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In a final confrontation, he transforms one last time and is shot by the police, ending the terror.
Director: Jack Arnold
Writer: David Duncan
Producer: Joseph Gershenson
Starring:
Arthur Franz as Dr. Donald Blake
Joanna Moore as Madeline Howard
Judson Pratt as Lt. Mike Stevens
Troy Donahue as Jimmy Flanders
Whit Bissell as Dr. Oliver Cole
Eddie Parker as the Monster (uncredited stuntman)
The film is generally considered a low-budget, "B-movie" effort, but one that has developed a certain campy charm for fans of the era.
Reviewers often note it as a straightforward variation on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and werewolf themes.
While director Jack Arnold himself reportedly felt the film was below the standard of his other, more famous sci-fi movies like Creature from the Black Lagoon or The Incredible Shrinking Man, critics have praised the competent direction and solid performances, particularly from Arthur Franz.
The special effects, especially the giant dragonfly and the monster makeup (which was a re-used mask from a previous film), are often pointed out as cheesy or hokey, but contribute to the film's nostalgic appeal.