Monster Squad: Celebrating the Artists Behind Cinema's Most Memorable Creatures

Leprechauns, lost boys, and labyrinths—the things of bad dreams from the kings of mad screams. 20 special effects artists that helped shape the landscape of modern horror and sci-fi cinema from the 1970s to today finally pull the cobwebs from their secrets.

Heather A. Wixson from Daily Dead interviews legendary and visionary creators Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff, Jr., Tony Gardner,Jennifer Aspinall, Michele Burke, David Marti, Bart Mixon, John Rosengrant, John Dykstra, Phil Tippett, Brian Wade, Steve Wang, Rick Lazzarini, Gabe Bartalos, Mike Elizalde, Kevin Haney, Todd Masters, Bob Keen, John Goodwin, and Steve Johnson.

Discover how your favorite creatures were brought to life and the inspirations behind their imaginations. Illustrated with over 300 behind-the-scenes photos from over 50different horror and science fiction films.

About the author: Heather A. Wixson, a ten-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment, has written for several notable websites, including Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead.

Films discussed in Monster Squad include An American Werewolf in London (1981), Jurassic Park (1993), The Terminator (1984), the original Star Wars trilogy, The Thing (1982), Ghostbusters (1984), Aliens (1986), Hellraiser (1987), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Evil Dead II (1987), the Basket Case films, Predator (1987), Fright Night (1985), the A Nightmare on Elm Street series, Pan’s Labyrinth (2007), Stephen King’s IT (1990), The Lost Boys (1987), Tremors (1990), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Darkman (1990), The Monster Squad (1987), Army of Darkness (1992), the Leprechaun series, Hocus Pocus (1993), Robocop (1987), Planet of the Apes (2001), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), the Friday the 13th series, The Blob (1988), Species (1995), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), the Chucky films, Alien 3 (1992), The Toxic Avenger (1984), The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998), The Dark Crystal (1982), Pumpkinhead (1988), The Addams Family (1991), House (1985), the Hellboy films, Starship Troopers (1997), Attack the Block (2011), Fright Night Part 2 (1988), Mimic (1997), Spaceballs (1987), Slither (2006), The Return of the Living Dead (1985), Tales from the Crypt Presents: DemonKnight (1995), Saturday Night Live, MADtv, and many more.