I get asked a lot- "What are your favorite movies from the 'Masters of Horror'? When I say 'Masters of Horror' I mean the true masters from the late 1970's and 1980's; George A. Romero, Tobe Hooper, Wes Craven, John Carpenter and David Cronenberg. A lot of people may really get angry when I say this, but I truly feel (with an exception of Cronenberg) that all of these directors are well past their prime and really have not done anything worthwhile since the late 1980's (and with Craven the mid 1990's).
However, if I would have to pick two of my favorite movies from each of the aforementioned directors I'd pick these:
George A. Romero:
#1) Day Of The Dead (1985): I absolutely love this movie and think it's far superior to Dawn Of The Dead in may ways. The story not only has a very desperate, claustrophobic feel to it, but it's pretty much everyone's nightmare come true. Imagine being trapped underground with a bunch of evil fucks with machine guns and the alternative is combating the undead and probably being eaten alive. I also feel that this is Tom Savini's best movie special effects wise and has some of the best gore from the 1980's.