We’re not exactly thirsting for adaptations of horror video games in a world of The Last of Us and multiple takes on Resident Evil. But with its record-length script and writing team that includes horror icon, Larry Fessenden, Unti Dawn was one of the more anticipated titles. In the decade since the game’s release, Sony has heard multiple pitches for an adaptation, so fans have been patiently waiting for what they’d ultimately commit to. So, did Sony make it worth the wait to see what writers Gary Dauberman (some Annabelle movies) and Blair Butler came up with? Not entirely. This somewhat flimsy haunted house feature isn’t exactly the dream adaptation of everyone’s favorite meaty videogame, but despite looking like a late take on The Cabin in the Woods, it has more in common with the game than it appears, which makes it a worthy time at the movies.
This film adaptation doesn’t follow the familiar game characters, but instead, a gaggle of young friends taking their friend, Clover (Ella Rubin), on a pilgrimage to where her missing sister was last seen. Hoping to assist her in contending with her grief so she can move on, a group of horror film archetypes sets off into the boondocks to try and decipher Maia’s (Melanie Paul) last known location. After a chance meeting with a cryptic gas station attendant (Peter Stormare, of Dr. Allan Hill in the videogame fame), they’re directed to Glore Valley. This spooky mining town seems to be marked only by its abandoned welcome center. The gang discovers a wall full of “Missing” posters, a guest book with repeated signatures, and a mysterious skull-clad hourglass, hinting that perhaps there’s something spookier going on than a building that has been seemingly abandoned since the 90s. When they’re suddenly attacked by a masked killer, then jolted back to seconds before nightfall, they put together the rules governing their escape: die, and the night resets. At least for a little while.
For those uninitiated by trailers and marketing, the first act does something special, similar to what 2009’s Friday the 13th remake did: it seems to kill all the leads in the beginning. Of course, when the first piece of cannon fodder is picked off, one might assume it’s final, but using this to set off a massacre creates an interesting sense of stakes that makes the opening act thrilling. However, it’s naturally just a setup for the movie’s “resetting” night gag, which is slowly developed throughout the rest of the runtime.
“Survive the night or become a part of it,” ends up being the primary rule, and Clover soon becomes player one in a game to keep her friends all alive. It’s in this set of rules that the movie gets closer to the rules of the game, at least for the sorts of players who went back in for multiple chances to keep their friends alive. For those not in the know, the video game has the player make multiple choices and challenges, the results of which will change the outcome of your game and affect how many of the main cast of characters will survive the night (I kept two alive, for those wondering, soooo). Mid-movie twists and lore drops help tie this adaptation closer to the source material, for better or for worse, but it does render the film more of a faithful look at the game than you’d think by its obvious “cabin in the woods” movie setup. It’s refreshing and reinvigorating at the midpoint, even though it doesn’t atone for the fact that the main cast is a thin collection of those aforementioned archetypes who don’t have much going on outside a couple of one-note, one-liners spat out at opportune times. The 15-plus hour or so game has a lot more time for development, and the movie might have used its time more wisely to tackle that instead of its long shots of weather anomalies.
Director David F. Sandberg makes the most of what he is given, though. The guy best known in horror for Lights Out (and those superhero movies or something) knows how to craft a good scare and balance it with comedy and heart. That’s all over this movie, where similar slices and deaths are used for humor, romance, and sadness. The use of cell phone videos to hasten repetition in the second act is clever, as it also introduces a new shooting style of scares, especially the worm one, seemingly lit by a cell phone flash and viewed through a lens held by a shaky hand. The jump scares are clichéd but effective, and POV geographical scans often make the movie feel like being in a game. Yes, there are also easter eggs and calls to things like video game rules (I love when they find a map in a drawer), so the ordeal does sometimes make you feel like picking up a controller.
The long-awaited Until Dawn isn’t the most innovative attempt at a supernatural slasher, which is perhaps unfortunate because its source material surely is. But its midpoint connection to the game that inspired it and the use of scares that keep the sands moving through the hourglass make it a fun little fright that’ll surely spawn conversations about sequels.
Until Dawn hits theaters April 25, 2025
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