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Dr. Judith Cohen's belief that Nicole had invented the most outrageous accusations only to mask real sexual abuse was challenged by two eminent authorities—Dr. Richard Schechter and Dr. Gary Glass—both of whom examined Nicole on behalf of the court. During her session with Glass, Nicole broke down and said she wanted to be reunited with her parents. Glass testified that he was "embarrassed for my profession for the treatment that was provided" to Nicole. All charges were dropped, and several months later, after a separation of close to two years, Nicole returned to live with her parents.

Nicole, Renee and Rick Althaus filed lawsuits against Dr. Judith Cohen and Priscilla Zappa. At her trial in 1994 Dr. Cohen argued that, as Nicole's treating psychiatrist, she was not responsible for making a diagnosis of Nicole's mental ailments. The jury found Dr. Cohen and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic guilty of malpractice for failing to investigate the source of Nicole's sensational allegations. After years of appeals, in August 2000 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the verdict awarding Rick and Renee $273,000 in damages, ruling that Dr. Cohen had no obligation to Rick and Renee because they were "third parties." However, the same court let stand the decision in favor of Nicole Althaus vs. Dr. Cohen, and Nicole was finally able to collect $58,000 in damages.

Dr. Judith Cohen is now Medical Director of the Center for Traumatic Stress in Children and Adolescents at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. Priscilla Zappa remains a popular teacher at Mt. Lebanon High School.

In a bizarre twist during the Cohen trial Nicole Althaus testified that she had in fact been molested, but not by her parents. The person who fondled her, she claimed, was Priscilla Zappa, her teacher and foster care-giver while she had been removed from her parents. At Zappa's trial in 1996, Dennis Watson, Priscilla Zappa's attorney, turned the tables on Nicole, arguing that Nicole had been judged incompetent to testify against her parents, and that the same standard should apply to her testimony against Mrs. Zappa. The jury agreed and Zappa was acquitted of all charges.

In the end we see a battered and exhausted but ever-optimistic Althaus family holding together. Nicole, now an adult, has successfully graduated from college and works with troubled adolescents. She would rather not think about the havoc she once wrought, but Nicole's exaggerated cheerfulness leaves us wondering about her future.

Hungry for Monsters employs classical techniques of long-format documentary: interviews, illustration, and atmosphere. As with other films by producer/director Csicsery, there is no outside narration, and the story tells itself through the subjects, visual information, and written text on the screen. The result allows the audience to get closer to the details, and to puzzle over the issues without filtering the material through extraneous commentary.