10 Movie Characters Who Were Seconds Away From Surviving
3. The Final Casualties - The Mist (2007)
The Mist, based on the novella of the same name by Stephen King, features one of modern horror's most devastating and painfully avoidable climaxes.
At the end of the movie, intent on finding his way home amongst the chaos and tragedy surrounding him, David teams up with his young son and a handful survivors to drive through the mist, past the monsters lurking within, and to hopefully find some kind of safety down the road.
The trip proves traumatic, though, as David finds his wife dead and his home destroyed. With no way of outrunning the mist or its monstrous inhabitants, he and the others agree to end their lives, and David uses a pistol to shoot his own son and the other survivors.
But, out of bullets, David goes to offer himself to the mist, only for a parade of tanks to push past him, preparing to re-establish order in the town. David - along with the audience - then drops to his knees and screams, knowing if he'd just waited a few moments, his son and friends would still be alive.