10 More Horror Movie Characters Who Were Seconds Away From Surviving

A true classic of the genre, Ben's death in Night of the Living Dead was so surprising and impactful we're still regularly talking about it over 50 years later.

To sum up this ghoulish zombie tale: a group of human survivors band together to defend a house against the undead, with only one of them, Ben, being smart and strong enough to not become zombie chow. He manages to secure himself in the cellar, awakening in the morning to the sounds of a hunting party clearing the zombies from the area.

It looks like help has arrived but, of course, things aren't that simple.

Ben tentatively goes upstairs to investigate the commotion outside, only for the hunting party to spot him through the window and shoot him in the head, mistaking him for one of the shamblers.

It's an incredibly poignant ending that's aged like a fine wine, and it's partly so heartbreaking because had Ben taken a few more seconds to investigate the noise, he might not have met a grisly end.