Plenty of people dismiss horror as being too "juvenile," too interested in making their audience scream instead of making a lasting impact on a viewer.

The fact of the matter is that plenty of horror films are poised to provide a unique sort of commentary that other films are not afforded. Fear is a very unique, personal thing to a human. By looking toward our fears, we are exposing ourselves, perhaps absorbing more from a film than we might anticipate.

If you don't believe us, just ask director George A. Romero. Romero is responsible for films like Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978).. Without Romero, we might never have had the good sense to fear the undead. But in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discussing his 1985 film, Day of the Dead, Romero confessed that the subject of his films was irrelevant. What was truly important was the deeper medium in the films, the commentary on our society. That was what Romero truly wanted his audience to pay attention to.

"I've always said my zombie films don't have to be about zombies," said Romero. "They can be about any disaster. This one is about people failing to respond properly."

Widely considered the father of the zombie film, Romero's work has been the inspiration for various horror directors throughout history, even if Romero himself wasn't especially aware of it.

"I don't pay attention to the other stuff out there," said Romero. "My stuff is my stuff. Take it or leave it."