10 Horror Movie Characters Who Were SECONDS Away From Dying

This year's Screamquel has really made its mark on the series, reviving what has actually been a much more dependable set of films than any other slasher franchise (looking at you, Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre...).

While number five has its share of close shaves, we instead look back to the series second entry for one of the closest calls with the long-mouthed reaper that any character has survived.

Set two years after the original Woodsboro massacre, Scream 2 picks up the story at Windsor College, where series protagonist Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is being haunted by the ghost(face) of her past. And, soon enough, the whole gang is drawn back into the fray, including Gale (Courteney Cox) and Dewey (David Arquette).

Now, it's not a Scream movie if Deputy Dewey doesn't stare death in the eye, but Scream 2's encounter feels too close for comfort.

During one of the film's most tense sequences, Ghostface hunts Gale through the university's audio labs. Dewey comes to find her without checking his corners and, before you can ask, 'Do you like scary movies?', the killer gets the drop on him. Separated by some industry-standard soundproofing, we are left to imagine Gale's screams as Dewey is knifed bloody and hurled against the Plexiglas window.

How he survived what appear to be mortal wounds just long enough for the paramedics to find him is a question for the ages, but when he's still breathing at the film's conclusion, we're all just glad he did.