10 Fan Theories That Actually Improve Classic Horror Films

George A. Romero's original classic Night Of The Living Dead features one of the most depressing endings ever, but if a common fan theory is to be believed, it's even more depressing than you thought.

The film was somewhat revolutionary at the time for casting a black actor in the lead role - as sad as that is, in 1968 having a black man be the hero of the movie wasn't very common. In the final moments, Ben walks upstairs while a group of rednecks are outside the house. They see him and shoot him in the head, believing him to be a zombie.

Is that really what they thought, though? Many fans speculate that the rednecks knew Ben wasn't a zombie, but they decided to shoot him anyway because he was a black man. What better time to get away with murdering someone than a zombie apocalypse? Ben is inching forward slowly while holding a gun, which definitely isn't something a zombie would do, and if they could see him well enough to get a headshot, clearly they'd be able to see that.

The film was released six months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., so it would be extremely politically relevant. It's definitely ambiguous, but making the finale a statement on racism certainly seems like something Romero would do.