Movie Review: UNTIL DAWN might make you yawn

Another exclusive PlayStation title recently saw an adaptation in Until Dawn, directed by David F. Sanberg. The film, penned by Blair Butler and Gary Dauberman, is based on the videogame of the same title, which falls under the horror-survival genre and won several awards. The film stars Ella Rubin as Clover, who is traveling with friends in search of her missing sister. Visiting her last known location, Clover and friends, played by Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo and Belmont Cameli, discover a house in the middle of nowhere, but not everything is as it seems.

The group of friends soon find themselves fighting for their lives against a variety of monstrous entities, and a mysterious hourglass that has begun a countdown until dawn. The group begins to piece together that their survival is eminent on that timer, and that making it until dawn isn’t as easy as it seems. The group is killed over and over again, restarting the night moments before the murderous chaos begins. Stuck in a time loop, the group realizes that something different is after them each night, and each death holds a clue to their survival. But, how many chances will they get before their deaths become permanent? And who can make it until dawn?

I am only slightly familiar with the source material for this adaptation, but from what I am familiar with, it seems to split hairs on fidelity. While some aspects of the film seem to follow canon pretty closely, there are definitely a lot of creative liberties introduced in the flick. Unlike a similar adaptation, The Last of Us, which is wildly popular and applauded for its intimate relationship with its source material, Until Dawn seems to fall flat in comparison. In my own opinion, I think the idea would have worked much better as a limited series. So much seems crammed into the less-than-2-hour film that pulls away from doing justice in curating a faithful adaptation. At some points, it seems discombobulated and disorienting. This could be purposeful, as audiences get to experience the same anxieties and fears that the characters fighting for survival are also channeling. But, it just seems to fall a bit shy.

The performances were mediocre, as it can’t be easy to die over and over again on camera. The disheveled appearance of the actors as the night resets each time did help sell their experience. The idea for a successful story is there, and that is confirmed by the popularity of the videogame, but its shift onto the big screen missed a few key components. The film has some fun scares, and the practical effects were done nicely without unnecessary CGI or dark shots that can make horror films a nuisance to try and navigate. While it holds strong against other videogame adaptations, 2021’s Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City being a prime example, there is considerable amount of room for improvement.

Until Dawn earns C+.