In the minds of some people, monsters and horror movies go hand in hand. If the movie (or book) has some kind of monster in it, then it should be classed as horror. This isn't necessarily true. Although there are many horror movies that contain monsters (consider 'Alien') there are other monster movies that are simply comedies, such as Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstien (1948). Horror books and movies (at least in my mind) need to be sit-on-the-edge-of-your-chair scary...and they don't necessarily contain monsters. Consider Alfred Hitchcock's horror movies where the horror comes in through a murder victim or some psychologically thrilling plot. Or consider even Stephen King's books, which often don't have any monsters in them, other than the human kind.
Monsters can come from outer space and can be given space in the science fiction genre. Monsters can be scary, such as Frankenstein or Dracula, but they are not always. Monsters can be portrayed in an endearing manner, and sometimes even 'cute' (take a look at E.T., who Steven Spielburg transformed into an almost fairy-tale like alien.)
In my mind, it depends on the type of monster and the plot to say if a particular monster movie should be placed in the horror genre. If its scary, then it should be placed in the horror genre, but it its cute or funny, then monsters should not be included in this film class.
What do you think?
If you like reading science fiction stories, consider my own works:
"The Dolls" a story of alien invasion.
Available at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006ICN2F4
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