Monsters hold a special place in the history of horror. Stephen King, Tippi Hedren and Joe Dante weigh in on the killer predators in nature, the nightmare creatures of the fantastic, and the monsters inside us, waiting to escape

The history of monster movies is also the history of the evolution of special effects technology; whatever their size or shape and whatever they represent, for many horror fans monsters are the best part of the genre.

Sometimes disgusting, body horror films makes audience members question their prejudices against physical difference, their attitudes about sex and gender, their fear of disease and contamination, and how much appearance determines destiny.

Fans of horror films, like "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3," "Psycho II," "The First Purge," "Bride of Chucky," "Scream 2" and "Gremlins 2: The New Batch," say sometimes sequels are as good or even better than the originals.