While a significant number of horror-film antagonists are one-dimensional killing machines, many of these others are actually more compelling characters than the protagonists charged with destroying them. Vampires fascinate us because they can be as seductive as they are terrifying. Other monsters, such as Frankenstein's monster or his progeny, Edward Scissorhands, may actually display more humanity than the supposedly threatened populace. And, yes, the malevolent father in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) and Freddy Kreuger ot Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street(1984) may be evil, but they have undeniable personality. Even the masked, robotic killers at the center of the Halloween and Friday the 13th slasher franchises offer more complex histories and motives than their relatively anonymous victims.