whether it is giant monster films in the 1950s , slasher films in the 1970s and 1980s , vampire films of the 1980s and 1990s , or zombie films of the 2000s , each cycle with its special type of monster seems to tap into a deep-seeded fear in culture such as fears of the atomic bomb , feminism , aids , and terrorism or infectious disease ( depending on how one breaks down the zombie ) .