Until Dawn

Until Dawn is loosely based on a 2015 survival video game. I say loosely as it doesn't follow the game at all.

The mixing of various horror sub-genres from slasher to ghost story to zombies to witchcraft, is an exciting attempt of keeping the audience glued to their seats for the next unexpected way to die for our fateful five protagonists.

The movie Cabin in the Woods come to mind as it resembles it somewhat with all the events monitored by an overlord.

This movie has three to four good jump scares and is not for the faint of heart for sure. Its basically ""Groundhog day"" with a bucket load of blood and gore!

Overall, a bloody good time if you prefer to turn your brains off. However Spontaneous Combustion had me rolling with laughter.

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.

There's been a lot of hate for this one and I guess us Game Loyalists really wanted the same storyline. But I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. There are lots and lots of nods to the game the psychiatrist, the stalker mask, the butterfly necklace, the mines, the psych hospital , as well as the Groundhog Day, 12:01, Happy Death Day 2U - time plot. There are plenty of good original kills and plenty of original game content and the ending leads a nod to perhaps this was a prequel of what's still to come. There isn't a lot of great horror out there at the moment and I think Sony did and Ok job with this one. It's not great but it's worth a Friday Night Fright Night.

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.

"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.