Until Dawn

Until Dawn (2025) takes place in the same universe as the video game, and while it's not a direct adaptation, it has some fun little Easter eggs for fans. It follows Clover and her friends as they return to the remote valley where her sister disappeared a year earlier. They explore this creepy abandoned visitor centre and then a masked killer shows up and starts picking them off one by one. But after they die, they mysteriously wake up at the start of the same night again. There are some genuinely fun moments here. The kills are awesome, really creative and super violent. Big A+ on the gore. A lot of it is practical effects too, which I always love. Sure, there's some CGI, but the practical stuff looks amazing and makes the kills hit harder. There are even some funny moments sprinkled in, which I appreciated. Each night plays out a little differently with new killers and deaths, which was kind of fun to watch. Some nights are stronger than others. One of them dragged a lot, nothing really happened except for one important detail. It was definitely the weakest part of the movie, especially after it started so strong. Thankfully, the next night brought it back to life. There's a moment where a character looks through old videos on their phone from past days they don't remember. I wish they'd done more with it. Instead of just showing the videos one by one, it would've been way more effective as a fast paced montage. It could've really ramped up the tension and adrenaline. It just felt like they skipped over a bunch of really cool stuff we didn't get to see. The movie is loosely inspired by the game, and that's where some people might be disappointed. It has the wendigos, the masked killer (the psycho), and even the doctor, but it's not the same characters or story. I get why fans wanted a more faithful adaptation (I'd love a true Until Dawn movie too!), but for what it is, it wasn't bad at all. The ending hints at a sequel, showing a snowy cabin and a car pulling up. It looks like it's setting up the events before the game takes place. If you haven't played the game, I think you'll enjoy this even more. For me, it wasn't perfect, but it was still fun, and I'd watch it again.

Until Dawn is the latest video game adaption over the hit horror choose your own adventure. Unlike most adaptions, this does its own thing for the most part adding only certain elements and characters from the game into the story. Which will either anger fans of the games or make you interested to see what they do different. I like it doing its own thing. So this Until Dawn follows 5 kids as they get trapped in a death loop while searching for a missing person. The kids are fine although I felt one character gets unrighteously villainized even though they made the most sense. I do like the aspects of togetherness in the kid group as it didn't make any of the kids annoying even though I didn't buy any of their chemistry as friends. The kills are done mostly well. There is a montage section that felt like it would have been better exploring than speeding through it. There is also the stereotypical dumb decisions made by character because they are in a horror movie. I also didn't like their explanation of adding certain creatures from the game and felt a little too fan service. All of that being said, I still had a decent time watching this.

"Until Dawn" is a decent film, entertaining in some scenes and dull in others. Its script, based on the 2015 video game of the same name, is interesting, but as I mentioned, it has its ups and downs. It combines, in a less than successful way, several horror subgenres such as slasher, gore, found footage, and even includes a witch, zombies, and a mad scientist. The cast performs well, with Ella Rubin and Michael Cimino standing out. The director's work could have been better, but he manages to maintain a decent level in his film. The cinematography achieves an oppressive atmosphere reminiscent at times of horror films from the mid-2000s and early 2010s. The special effects have a mixed result, ranging from positive in makeup effects to negative in digital effects. The editing is good without standing out in any novel way. "Until Dawn" is a decent film with no further pretensions.

As someone who has played and loved Until Dawn I was so excited for this movie to release.

Unfortunately I was incredibly disappointed. If this was an original horror movie I would've liked it more than I did.

The film had some good scary moments, decent cast, setting, gore and character design. The kills were inventive and looked good. But this was NOT enough to save this movie.

This was not Until Dawn. This was a poor effort in putting some elements from the game into a messy incoherent movie. The plot was not intriguing and it had little to no mystery/lore that the game so perfectly created. In summary it was a combination of random "scary" things that added very little to the overall experience.

The movie had the makings of an interesting story. But by the finale, nothing was really explained and it ended underwhelmingly.

I would've preferred a carbon copy of the game. I appreciate the effort to try something but when the game had very little to fault I don't understand why so much was changed. At least keep the snowy setting.

Disappointed.

I recently watched Until Dawn (2025) in theaters. The story follows a group of friends searching for one of their missing sisters on a rainy night. Their search leads them to a house-possibly the right one to uncover what happened, but definitely the wrong one to survive, as the house has no intention of letting them leave.

Directed by David F. Sandberg (Shazam!), the film stars Ella Rubin (Anora), Michael Cimino (Never Have I Ever), Odessa A'zion (Hellraiser), Ji-young Yoo (Smoking Tigers), and Maia Mitchell (After the Dark).

I definitely enjoyed this more than I expected. As a PlayStation production, it's shot with a polished, clean style. It reminded me a bit of V/H/S with its layered storytelling-different plots and scenarios folded into an overarching narrative. From an entertainment perspective, it also gave off House of Wax vibes: original kills, satisfying gore, and a straightforward storyline that somehow works despite occasional rough patches in the acting.

I especially loved the kill scenes. There's a great mix of practical effects and CGI. The old lady character was creepy and well executed. There's body detonation and deterioration scenes that are brilliantly done, a nasty throat slash, and an excellent possession scene that stands out. Each villain brought something fresh, and the video sequence toward the end was a highlight. There's a lot happening in this film, and most of it works really well-even if the ending dips into cheesy territory.

In conclusion, Until Dawn feels a bit underrated and is a solid addition to the horror genre. I'd recommend giving it a watch and score it a 6.5-7/10.