As someone who really enjoyed the Until Dawn video game, I walked into director David F. Sandberg’s film adaptation with a healthy mix of curiosity and excitement. It was made clear in the marketing that this film wouldn’t be a direct retelling. Instead, the movie takes the spirit and tone of the game and spins a new story that still feels like it belongs in the same terrifying world.
As I sat and watched the movie, it was clear that Sandberg understood what made the game memorable with tension, atmosphere, and an unapologetic love for the horror genre.
The setup wastes no time getting weird and bloody. A group of friends heads to the remote valley where one girl’s sister disappeared a year earlier, and what starts out as a familiar slasher setup quickly becomes something else entirely.
Once the first round of brutal murders happens, the characters wake up right back where they started. But this isn’t some Groundhog Day gimmick. Every time they reset, the rules change. The killer changes. The tone shifts.
One loop feels like a classic ‘80s slasher, the next like a gnarly creature feature. It’s a fun, meta twist that plays out like you’re walking through a horror maze at a haunted attraction.
One thing that I apprciated was how Sandberg and his team embraced the practical effects. The gore is over-the-top, and the creature designs are genuinely disturbing. This movie wants audiences to squirm in their seats.
And while there are a few jump scares, it’s the creativity of the story and the unpredictability of each loop that kept me hooked. You never really know what flavor of horror is coming next, and that unpredictability gives the movie an edge.
The story also holds its own, keeping things playful without losing its sense of danger. There’s something intriguing about watching characters try to game their own deaths, especially as they slowly realize their chances are running out.
The characters aren’t especially deep, but they’re fun to watch, and the cast, Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, Odessa A’zion, Peter Stormare, Maia Mitchell, and Belmont Camelireally sells it. Everyone leans into the chaos, and that energy pays off.
In the end, Until Dawn works both as a love letter to horror films and a gnarly standalone ride. Whether you’ve played the game or not, the film’s fast-paced, genre-hopping approach makes it a bloody good time. It’s messy, loud, clever, and very aware of what kind of movie it is, and I had a blast!
