10 MORE Horror Movies Where The Hero ALMOST Won

Frank Darabont and Stephen King really are the cinematic equivalent of peanut butter and jelly. Couple them up, and you get a combination for the ages. Yet, whereas their first two films - The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile - had the purpose to uplift, there is no more resoundingly devastating coda left on an audience than with their third (and sadly final, as Darabont has retired) movie, The Mist.

Taking King’s B-movie-inspired short story and turning it into an enthralling bottleneck horror, Darabont brings his directing A-game, as a group of stranded survivors hole up in a diner while an ominous mist floods their entire town. Those who dare venture out into the mist are torn apart by gloopy and merciless creatures.

Factor in a divide among the survivors that pits several against each other, and Thomas Jane’s protagonist, David, is lucky to escape in a car with his young son and two survivors in tow. Unfortunately, that car runs out of gas, and it looks to be the end of the line for all. All they have is a gun with three bullets left. David performs the honorary (and horrifying) act of ending things for all parties, including his son, then steps out, with impending monstrous footsteps seemingly about to seal his fate.

But that doesn’t happen. Emerging from the mist instead is a military force that has begun to make quick work of the creatures and turn the fate of the world around. The sacrifice was all for nothing. If only David would've waited a few more minutes.