10 Horror Movie Characters Who Were SECONDS Away From Surviving

7. James "One" Shade - Resident Evil

charlize theron prometheus
Pathe

The laser room scene from Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil is easily the best part of the entire, bafflingly successful franchise.

When a squad of commandos led by James "One" Shade (Colin Salmon) attempt to access the Umbrella Corporation's malevolent A.I. known as the Red Queen, she deploys a defense mechanism in the hallway leading to her chamber.

The Red Queen seals the four commandos inside the hallway and fires a series of red-hot lasers across the hall in increasingly perilous succession, making short work of all the soldiers except for One.

Though One puts up an athletic effort to avoid the lasers, the Red Queen finally pulls out her pièce de résistance - a boxed grid of lasers that fill the entire hallway and make it seemingly impossible for anyone to escape.

Though techie Kaplan (Martin Crewes) does manage to hack the laser grid, he's ultimately a few seconds too late to save One's life, as the grid still passes through his body before shutting down, cutting him into meaty chunks.

You can certainly argue that One could've survived by simply stepping back a few extra feet - he still had room! - but if Kaplan had just been a teensy bit faster on the computer, One would've made it regardless.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.