Until Dawn

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I’ve never experienced the survival horror video game “Until Dawn,” which became popular on PlayStation in 2015. This game was unique due to its extensive exploration elements and intricate butterfly effect gameplay mechanism. The title received positive reviews from critics and unexpectedly garnered significant success for Sony Computer Entertainment.

Despite video games often facing challenges when adapting to the big screen, director David F. Sandberg attempts another take with “Until Dawn”. This film is penned by Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler, where the narrative centers around Clover (Ella Rubin), a young woman grappling with her mother’s demise and her missing sister Melanie (Maia Mitchell) for over a year.

With her companions Max, Nina, Megan, and Abe by her side, Clover embarks on a journey to Glore Valley, the last known location of her sister Melanie. Their objective is to discover any leads about Melanie’s whereabouts by following her footsteps. They initiate their search at a rural general store, where the proprietor (played by Peter Stormare) warns Clover that many individuals have vanished in the region, particularly further up the road. Intrigued and alarmed, this quintet of friends decides to venture deeper into the area, unwittingly setting the scene for the chilling events that unfold.

They venture further into the valley amidst a torrential rain, reaching an isolated reception center that gives off a strange vibe. Firstly, the rain creates a perimeter around the manor, and it doesn’t drip within its boundaries. The oddities escalate once they step inside to escape the storm. Abe notices a bulletin board filled with missing person posters; Nina stumbles upon a guest book where visitors’ names appear repeatedly; Megan begins to hear cryptic messages from unseen entities.

In this version, Sandberg doesn’t spend much time establishing the plot; instead, he plunges straight into the violence as a Jason Voorhees-like psychopath emerges and systematically murders the five protagonists one by one. However, to their astonishment, they all miraculously revive, only to meet their grisly end in a fresh manner each time. This recurring pattern is the story’s unique twist, but unfortunately, it becomes predictable rather swiftly. The characters find themselves trapped in a time loop where they encounter a new terror with each restart. Each restart takes its toll on them progressively.

In the end, Clover, Max, Nina, Abe, and Megan unravel their predicament and need to make it through till dawn if they’re to escape. They discover the truth without much enigma or suspense. Instead, the film emphasizes more on the impending slaughter, which, admittedly, can be quite engaging. The extensive use of practical effects adds an extra thrill to the deaths. Moreover, you can’t help but appreciate how the filmmakers tick off items from the horror movie list (masked killers, a haunted house, supernatural possessions, spooky dolls, clowns, and so on – it has them all). There are even some genuinely humorous lines, though I’m unsure if they were intended to be funny.

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2025-04-25 18:57