When the cinematic adaptation of Until Dawn debuted on Netflix recently, I approached it with cautious anticipation. Following director David F. Sandberg’s theatrical release earlier in the year, which left me profoundly disappointed, I found myself in agreement with Polygon’s assessment: the movie attempted to cram too much into its runtime. I was also disheartened by the minimal presence of elements from the original game, reduced to fleeting references or radical character transformations – Dr. Hill, I’m looking at you – that felt jarring and detached from the source material.
Yet, as a devoted fan of both the celebrated video game and its creators, Supermassive Games, I couldn’t resist revisiting Until Dawn. Intrigued to re-evaluate my initial impression, I dove back in on Netflix. And to my surprise? Until Dawn truly delivers.
[Ed. note: Spoilers are discussed from both the Until Dawn game and film.]
<div class="body-img landscape ">
<div class="responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item" style="padding-bottom:47.23665564478%" data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/until-dawn_2.jpg" data-modal-id="single-image-modal" data-modal-container-id="single-image-modal-container" data-img-caption=""Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment""> <source media="(min-width: 1024px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 768px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 481px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 0px)" data- />
<img width="2117" height="1000" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="A group of 5 teens stand together. They all look distressed and injured. From the film adaptation of Until Dawn (2025)" data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/until-dawn_2.jpg" src="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/until-dawn_2.jpg" style="display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;"/>
</picture>
<figcaption class="body-img-caption">Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div>During my second viewing, I experimented with a different approach: treating the film as a standalone horror experience, divorced from its video game origins. I tried viewing it simply as a horror movie about young adults trapped in a sinister, haunted house. Admittedly, this sounds somewhat disingenuous. How can one ignore the film’s explicitly stated basis?
The truth is, it proved impossible to completely detach myself. The movie initiates with Melanie (Maia Mitchell) desperately fleeing from an underground bunker, only to be captured and murdered in the woods by a masked figure, eerily reminiscent of the killer in the game.
We’re then introduced to the core characters: a group of teenage companions embarking on a road trip to support Clover (Ella Rubin) in coping with the disappearance of her sister, Melanie, a year prior. Accompanying her are friends Megan (Ji-young Yoo), Max (Michael Cimino), Nina (Odessa A’zion), and Nina’s boyfriend, Abe (Belmont Cameli). Unbeknownst to her friends, Clover has been secretly investigating Melanie’s last known location, intentionally leading them to Glore Valley, where they stumble upon a mysterious lodge. While exploring, Nina discovers Melanie’s name, along with others, in the lodge’s registry, corroborated by missing person posters found by Abe. Just as the mystery deepens, a masked assailant invades, resulting in a massacre…
<div class="body-img landscape mobile-optimized">
<div class="responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item" style="padding-bottom:46.511627906977%" data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/until-dawn_4.jpg" data-modal-id="single-image-modal" data-modal-container-id="single-image-modal-container" data-img-caption=""Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment""> <source media="(min-width: 1024px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 768px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 481px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 0px)" data- />
<img width="2150" height="1000" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="An hourglass with white sand inside. It is slowly trickling down. From the film adaptation of Until Dawn (2025)." data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/until-dawn_4.jpg" src="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/until-dawn_4.jpg" style="display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;"/>
</picture>
<figcaption class="body-img-caption">Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div>You might think the movie ends there, but *oh no*, it turns out that the names of the group are also written in the book. This traps them in a time loop until they can survive until dawn. During my initial viewing, I deemed this concept absurd. A key aspect of the *Until Dawn* game is that your choices have irreversible consequences. Once a character perishes, they remain dead (until you inevitably replay the game in an attempt to save everyone, of course.)
However, upon a second viewing, I’ve come to appreciate the movie’s subtle nod to the gameplay experience. The time loop mechanic, combined with the grotesque creatures and inventive death scenarios (resulting in a hybrid experience reminiscent of *Groundhog Day* meets *Cabin in the Woods*), draws attention to another cornerstone of the video game: the butterfly effect.
In *Until Dawn*, the butterfly effect forced players to make decisions that permanently shaped the game’s narrative. Dismissing Ashley at a critical moment, for example, might prevent her from opening a door during a Wendigo chase, leading to your demise. Similarly, finding totems granted characters glimpses into future decisions. The time loops in the film serve a similar function, warning characters what to avoid to increase their chances of surviving the next iteration.
It’s not a flawless adaptation, and the movie’s central twist still feels somewhat underwhelming. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised to discover new, delightful nuances upon a second viewing.
One such instance is the exceptional sequence in the mines where Clover hides amidst debris as a Wendigo (a creature from Algonquian folklore) shrieks overhead, a clear homage to Emily’s confrontation with the same creatures in the video game.
<div class="body-img landscape ">
<div class="responsive-img image-expandable img-article-item" style="padding-bottom:43.290043290043%" data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/until-dawn_3.jpg" data-modal-id="single-image-modal" data-modal-container-id="single-image-modal-container" data-img-caption=""Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment""> <source media="(min-width: 1024px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 768px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 481px)" data- />
<source media="(min-width: 0px)" data- />
<img width="2310" height="1000" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="Peter Stomare as Dr. Hill. He has a long beard and wears a cap. He has a distrustful expression on his face. From the film adaptation of Until Dawn (2025)." data-img-url="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/until-dawn_3.jpg" src="https://static1.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/until-dawn_3.jpg" style="display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;"/>
</picture>
<figcaption class="body-img-caption">Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div>Another defining aspect of the game was the cast of thoroughly unpleasant characters. During my initial viewing, I missed this dynamic. Can any scene truly rival Emily’s iconic “understand the palm of my hand, bitch?” in the pantheon of video game horror? The absence of messy interpersonal conflicts in the film felt glaring. The film attempts to recreate this with Max and Clover’s history, but it falls short of the intensity of Jessica and Emily’s fight over Mike, or Matt accusing Emily of infidelity while she clings to the ruins of a burning building. The *Until Dawn* movie’s cast feels more mature and generally *too* kind. Abe, for instance, reacts with surprising composure when his girlfriend stabs him with a pickaxe simply because he was being annoying. (Okay, he suggested sacrificing someone, but still…).
While certain creative decisions raise eyebrows – such as Dr. Hill’s transformation into the mastermind behind the mines – I reluctantly acknowledge the film’s genuine connection to the game. Its exploration of trauma as the true horror, and its potential to corrupt, mirrors the source material’s core theme.
In conclusion, the *Until Dawn* movie may be somewhat awkward and burdened by excessive horror tropes, but as far as video game adaptations go, I found it enjoyable. It certainly isn’t the worst adaptation I’ve seen – a title still held by *Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time*.