Until Dawn review: Uneven though jumpy horror game adaptation

For fans of the cult-favourite 2015 video game, Until Dawn, the new film adaptation arrives with a heavy dose of anticipation—and a fair bit of apprehension. Can a movie capture the branching chaos, character dynamics, and creeping dread that made the original interactive experience so memorable? The short answer: sort of.

Director David F. Sandberg (Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation) brings a slick visual style and leans hard into the game’s horror pedigree, embracing tropes with a wink and a blood-soaked grin. Masked slasher? Check. Folk? Oh yeah. Found footage? At its tension-filled best.

The movie introduces us to Clover and her friends, who, after the mysterious disappearance of Clover’s sister, find themselves trapped in a remote valley. Each time they’re horrifically murdered, they wake up to relive the nightmare, with each cycle plunging them into a different horror subgenre.

It’s a familiar set up into classic slasher territory, and the film delivers on that front with a decent body count, some clever kills, and enough jump scares to keep you from settling comfortably into your seat. The result is a film that’s more experimental than fans might expect—and while it doesn’t always land, it’s never dull.

It’s an ambitious, sometimes disorienting approach that captures the spirit of Until Dawn—especially its love of horror tropes—but trades the game’s emotional stakes and branching narrative for a relatively simple structure that won’t offer too many surprises. Any Groundhog Day-style movie runs the risk of dull repetition, and though this largely avoids that, it falls into the trap of over-correction, veering off into some unnecessary directions and ending with a finale that feels a little more convoluted than it needs to be.

For fans of the game, the absence of its branching narratives and the thrill of decision-making could leave a void. Instead of feeling like an active participant, you’re a passive observer, watching characters make questionable choices without the satisfaction of influencing their fates.

That’s not to say there aren’t definitely strong points to Until Dawn. The visuals are striking, the shifts between horror styles are handled with real flair, and Peter Stormare’s return as Dr. Hill is a welcome touch of continuity. Sandberg’s direction gives the film a polished, occasionally surreal edge that leans into the nightmarish repetition.

Ultimately, Until Dawn is an enjoyable, if uneven, ride. It’s a love letter to the game that will please fans with its Easter Eggs and callbacks, but it struggles to stand completely on its own. For horror aficionados, it’s worth a watch—just don’t expect the same level of engagement you had with a controller in your hands.

Until Dawn is out in cinemas now

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