4. George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead)
This might be a controversial statement among Romero fans, but to me, his debut, Night of the Living Dead, has always been his best film. As much as I love Dawn of the Dead and its social commentary, Night felt that much more fresh with its politically incisive sentiment, its eerie monochromatic cinematography, and its superb performances. Since then, Romero is of course best known for the various "...of the Dead" films (Day, Land, Diary and Survival), though the quality is wildly inconsistent - especially in later entries - and most fail to come even close to Night (or Dawn) in terms of mood and atmosphere. Sifting through Romero's filmography does uncover a few hidden gems - The Crazies, Martin and Creep Show - though again, there's nothing here that manages to match up with his superbly iconic debut zombie film. Given that Romero hasn't made a film in almost 5 years, perhaps he's hanging it up for good?