Until Dawn review (2025)
Until Dawn is a movie fighting a tremendously uphill battle. Taken on its own, it’s a pretty respectable horror movie and under a different name probably would have been received better for its unique concept.
The problem is Until Dawn is based/loosely inspired/originating from the 2015 Supermassive Games landmark video game, which felt like playing in an immersive horror movie. The Supermassive team were clear fans of the genre as everything about the game is a love letter to things that go bump in the night, creepy unnerving psychos and crazy twists. It didn’t hurt that the game featured an immensely talented cast including Hayden Panettiere, Brett Dalton, Jordan Fisher and future Oscar winner Rami Malek.
There was no way for director David F. Sandberg (Shazam: Fury of the Gods) and screenwriters Blair Butler (The Invitation) and Gary Dauberman (It) to match the higher-than-average quality of the game, which had more time for character development and a comparatively larger budget to concoct the Until Dawn universe compared to the big screen. Also, the game’s longer run time fostered greater investment in the characters making their deaths feel far more meaningful.
Recognizing that, the filmmakers come up with a concept that works well enough as a standalone experience while retaining some elements from the game. In this sense, Until Dawn shares a lot in common with the original Resident Evil movie. That 2002 film captured the feel of the game as opposed to recreating the events and big moments featuring franchise favorites.
It’s a smarter play than attempting and likely failing an under two-hour adaptation of one of the great horror games on the last 20 years. Fans of the game will still spot several similarities.
A young girl, Mel (Maia Mitchell), has been missing for a year prompting her sister, Clover (Ella Rubin, Anora) and friends to go searching for her. What Clover and company don’t know is that Mel emerged from a hole in the ground only to get presumably killed by a deranged looking weirdo with a clown mask wielding a pickaxe.
Clover, Max (Michael Cimino), Megan (Ji-young Yoo) Nina (Odessa A’zion) and Abe (Belmont Cameli) try and retrace Mel’s journey. They stumble onto a gas station manned by a creepy attendant (Peter Stormare reprising his role from the games) and eventually make their way to Glore Valley’s welcome center.
MORE:
- Marvel Legends X-Factor Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) review (2025)
- Straw review (2025)
- Andor TV Series Episode Guide and Recap
- DC Multiverse Page Punchers Damage review (2025)
No one is actually at the welcome center though Nina spots something off with the guest lodge. The same names keep signing in over and over until they’re replaced by another name.
Wisely cautious about the weird settings, the group explores the center for more clues relating to Mel’s disappearance when they start encountering that same masked man (Tibor Szauervein) who cruelly and savagely kills them. This is where the real fun in Until Dawn begins.
Once the final member of the crew is killed, the five are all mysteriously resurrected. They remember that they were killed but have little memory of the events that led to their deaths. Eventually they piece together that the mysterious hourglass on the clock is counting down to dawn. If they can survive the various horrors and menaces trying to kill them until dawn they’ll survive. Unlike Groundhog Day, which Blair and Dauberman make a cute line to not directly reference, the group can’t stack residual knowledge every time they get killed.
Sandberg probably leans too hard into the gore for the murder scenes. Some characters get their heads smashed in; others get dismembered while other deaths see them literally explode. There’s certainly some dark humor at play as Sandberg seems to wink at viewers with some of the death scenes.
Like the game, Until Dawn incorporates various horror killers into the mix. Their costumes and makeup work are all very well done. Ditto for the set design with the right amount of dirt, grime and blood liberally splattered around.
The cast have believable chemistry, and the resurrection loop does help to get invested in their plight. It does feel like somewhat of a missed opportunity to not have a larger cast in order to foster more drama with some friends not making it through to the final act.
Stormare seems to have a blast revisiting his character and hamming it up even further for the full live screen take. In the game, the cast did their performances via motion capture.
Until Dawn couldn’t and doesn’t surpass its inspiration, but for viewers seeking a different kind of horror thrill, this is a fairly solid diversion.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Photo Credit: Sony
Pre-order Until Dawn on 4K now at Amazon.
Want to play the inspiration for the movie? Check out the PlayStation 4 game on Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.