“Until Dawn” Delivers Effective Scares and Chilling Visual Effects

“Until Dawn” is a 2015 interactive drama survival horror game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Sony Picture Entertainment for PlayStation. In the game, players assume control of eight young adults who have to survive on Blackwood Mountain when their lives are threatened. The game also features a butterfly effect system in which players must make choices that may change the story.

From what I’ve read online, the filmmakers deviated away from the 2015 game so the movie is loosely based on the game - which caused a stir from fans of the game. Now, I’m not familiar at all with the game, so I’m not entirely sure how close or not so close the movie is. So, let’s get into it!

One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one … only to wake up and find themselves at the beginning of the same evening.

Trapped in the valley, they’re forced to relive the nightmare again and again - only each time the killer threat is different, each more terrifying than the last. Hope dwindling, the group soon realizes they have a limited number of deaths left, and the only way to escape is to survive until dawn.

“Until Dawn” delivers quite a few good scares and if you enjoy some bloody scenes, this movie will definitely be up your alley. Like I stated before, a few viewers have had mixed reactions to this movie since the movie heavily deviates from the video game (which most video game adaptations end up doing). And, honestly, I thought it was a fun horror movie.

This video game adaptation uses the butterfly effect/”Groundhog Day” elements which is used in quite a few horror movies. Now, despite the sort of predictable use of the butterfly effect, “Until Dawn” utilizes it quite well. Each time the friends come back after getting brutally killed, the threat becomes worse which really builds the tension.

Throughout the movie, we get to see some scenes that can really stand out, including an intense sequence where we see one of the characters outrun a Wendigo, which are really known in the video game (had to look it up). The time loop can also get really intense as it also creates a constant sense of dread for the characters.

Now, even though “Until Dawn” does deliver some fun scares and intense moments, the movie can be over-reliant on jump scares. The filmmakers also use practical effects for the gory moments, which I thought makes the movie look even scarier.

“Until Dawn” is a decent horror movie that may win over people who aren’t familiar with the game. It offers some good fun scares which can also leave you highly entertained.

Cast: Ella Rubin (Clover); Michael Cimino (Max); Odessa A’zion (Nina); Ji-young Yoo (Megan); Belmont Cameli (Abe); Maia Mitchell (Melanie); Peter Stormane (Dr. Hill).

Writer/director: Blair Butler (writer) (The Invitation; Hell Fest); Gary Dauberman (writer); (Max’s Salem’s Lot; It: Chapter Two; Annabelle Comes Home); David F. Sandberg (director) (Lights Out; the Shazam movies; Annabelle: Creation).

Trivia: A live action adaptation based on the video game “Until Dawn” was announced in January 2024. While not being a direct adaptation of the game, this movie (despite an original story) is also set in the same universe of the game.

MPA: Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, gore and language throughout   (running time 103 minutes) 

• David F. Sandberg employed mostly practical VFX on this movie.

• Wendigos are implied to only see movement in the film. Until Dawn (2015) employed was a motion sensor as a gameplay mechanic that required players to stay still to avoid Wendigos.

• The film is an original story set in the universe of the video game Until Dawn (2015), instead of being a direct adaptation. Director David F. Sandberg was very open about making an original film based on Until Dawn (2015) rather than a direct adaptation: "The game is pretty much a 10-hour movie, so I think it wouldn't have been as interesting for me if we were doing just the game, because then it's going to be like a cut-down, non-interactive version of the game, which just wouldn't be the same thing."

• Clover and her friends stop at a convenience store named "Hartley's." The name of the store refers to Chris Hartley, Josh's friend and one of the eight playable characters in Until Dawn (2015).

• In the Glore lodge, Clover and her friends find a logbook with the signatures of all the people who were trapped and killed by the house. These people's signatures are rewritten every time the house's time loop resets. However, Melanie's signatures grow harder to read with each passing day, conveying how she is slowly losing herself as she transforms into a Wendigo. The same thing happened in Until Dawn (2015) with Hannah Washington, who kept a diary to document her last days alive as she was trapped in a mine; like Melanie, Hannah's writing becomes less articulate and more like scribbles as she transforms into a monstrous Wendigo.

• This film released on the tenth anniversary of Until Dawn (2015).

• Until Dawn (2015) has as its cover/poster art an hourglass resembling a skull, to represent the story's theme of time, with the player's actions having butterfly effects that influence future events. This image appears in the film as a prop: an hourglass with a skull decoration is mounted on the wall of the house, and resets itself at the end of each night, signifying that time has been reversed and all the deaths that occurred are undone.