The movie “Until Dawn” is a survival horror film, which is based on the interactive video game of the same title released in 2015. This tale features actors such as Peter Stormare, and actress Odessa A’zion who was the lead actress in the remake of “Hellraiser (2022).” With tons of talent on board this project, how does it fair in the market as a whole compared to the video game from which it was derived?
The Original Tale
“Until Dawn” in the video game was about a group of friends gathering about one year later at a cabin in the mountains owned by the parents of one of their friends whose two sisters ended up missing in these very mountains. The story debuts the return of everyone from last year’s gathering along with some new faces and relationships made.
With everyone there to support the grieving brother, and bring some closure to the loss of his sisters, the night slowly turns from heartwarming to bitter cold, as a series of events plague the mountainside. There is a killer on the loose, and he seeks new victims along the mountainside, where the friends must find a way to survive until dawn approaches, where help will be readily available, because of the weather.
The Until Dawn Movie Adaptation
The film adaptation of the game takes an entirely different turn, with a wholly different cast and concept behind the story. Five friends venture on a trip to help their friend Clover gain closure from the disappearance of her sister about one year ago, who went on a trip of her own but was never heard from again. The only clue was the last video story of her trip online, which led the friends to the mountains.
Upon gaining a clue from the store clerk of a town nearby, the friends drive through a rain storm and find a mysterious house, whose surrounding area is free from rainfall, as if they were in the eye of a storm. They investigate the area, only to find a wall of missing people posters but no contact information, and Clover’s sister’s name in a registry book for this inn. On top of this, Clover’s sister is on one of the missing person’s photos on the wall.
As the friends start to gather clues that Clover’s sister is here, weird events start to occur, with their car being stolen by an unseen figure. It is later reviewed that the person who took their vehicle was a mysterious masked killer who seeks their lives, and he succeeds in killing them all. But, this is only night one, as all the friends are brought back to life thanks to a mysterious hourglass on the wall. Each night brings new terrors, and they soon realize that to escape, they must survive until dawn when the hourglass empties.
The Until Dawn Film Overall
“Until Dawn” is the combination of a survival horror video game with each character having a set number of lives ie continues to replay the night again, but only if everyone dies. In essence, it is the merger of concepts found in the movies “The Hills Have Eyes,” “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The Cabin in the Woods,” and “Happy Death Day,” rolled into one. Due to this, you can say that it is “Until Dawn” by name, not by story. This is because the movie borrows the title of the game, but tells a completely different narrative altogether.
Although the tale is different, the addition of a new plot structure brings new interest to the tale, which is its only interesting element. It would appear on the surface that the name was only taken to sell tickets for an entirely different story. This is no different than taking the title of “Batman” and telling a dark origin story of Count Dracula instead. Had the title been different, perhaps a different result would have occurred altogether in market appeal. Why tell a story that has nothing to do with the original tale that you obtained licensing from? If you are familiar with the story’s lore from the game, do not expect anything resembling it for this movie. It is a new tale, with unnecessary branding, but has very chilling concepts altogether.
