Until Dawn (2025) Review

Is an American survival horror movie directed by David F. Sandberg, and is an original standalone story that expands upon the game's mythology.

By the time I posted this review, I haven't played the game yet. But plan to.

Plot:

A group of friends trapped in a time loop and must survive against it.

It's possible to make a Until Dawn movie, but the results fall apart. This is a stand-alone movie that, in the same universe as the game, but what happened in the movie doesn't make sense. It seems like it is like to barrow from other movies like Groundhog Day with the whole timeloop and Silent Hill with the deserted town. The story gets too complicated with exposition dialogue with them trying to explain stuff and doesn't even do a good job with the sources it have. There's a lot of plot holes in this movie that make the movie suffer on the rules that it has in it. Also, it likes to add random things in it and is never brought up again. It also seems like the filmmakers are going for the best ending, like Supermassive Games, other interactive games. The movie also mostly uses cheap jump scares throughout, but it does contain pretty good suspense in it. The reveal on what's going on raises more questions and doesn't make sense.

As for the connection with the game, The Psycho from the game acts more like a slasher villain. But the Wendigos are pretty similar to the game, but the way the movie handles the transformation isn't similar.

One issue is that the characters are hardly developed and are not likable at all. We don't get time on spending with them to get to know them, and they act like generic tropes. At least the games do a good job with getting to know the characters, which the movie fails at. The movie does have one actor from the game to reprise his role, which is interesting. Also, the acting itself is fine for the most part, but nothing too big.

One big positive is that the special effects are pretty good. I like the makeup effects on the Wendigos that look like the game counterpart and have great details to them. Even the psycho mask resembles the game counterpart. The movie contains a lot of graphic deaths in it, and the practical gore effects look pretty good. I also like the setting of the abandoned town that has a nice atmosphere to it with its lighting.

Until Dawn is one of those movies that want to tell its own story while adding in things from the game. While the movie has pretty good special effects, the story is a big issue, and you better off playing the game.

Rating: 5/10