Until Dawn: The Latest Film Based on a Survival Horror Video Game

Larry Fessenden digs wendigos. He wrote and directed Wendigo and The Last Winter, featuring a sort of metaphorical wendigo. He and Graham Reznick also the long, branching story that unfolded in the popular horror-survival video game Until Dawn, which included wendigo content. The Twin Peaks-y “world” of the popular PlayStation game has been adapted for the big screen, but the narrative and characters are completely different in David F. Sandberg’s Until Dawn, which opens tomorrow in theaters.

In the game, Josh Washington lost two twin sisters. Clover only lost one, but Melanie’s disappearance really launched her on a downward spiral. As the film opens, Clover and her friends are on the last leg of a road-trip retracing Melanie’s last known whereabouts. It has been a super-fun trip for everyone, especially for Abel, her bestie Nina’s new boyfriend. No closure appears imminent, despite the rituals conducted by her supposedly physic friend Megan. However, just as they prepare to pack it all in, the strange guy at the gas station suggests they check out Glore Valley, the place where all the missing people seem to vanish.

Off they go, right into a time-loop, which sounds like a major departure from the game. Regardless, it is a surprisingly sinister macguffin. If they live past the crack of dawn, they break the cycle. However, this is not Groundhog Day. Each night, they are killed in a different manner, by a new bogeyman, so it is impossible anticipate the danger or correct past mistakes. Somehow, the evil force tormenting them is connected to the freak 1952 catastrophe that destroyed the mining town that suddenly appears around them. Presumably, the mystery man, Dr. Hill, is also involved, since he clearly comes and goes as he pleases.

Sandberg’s film could be highly divisive among fans of the game, since it tells a radically different story. However, open-minded horror fans should appreciate its original take on time-loop terror. The screenplay co-written by Gary Dauberman (who also directed the recent Salem’s Lot remake) and Blair Butler is surprisingly clever. They torment the heck out of those dumb kids, while keeping the audience guessing. There is also some nifty design work, particularly in the eerie “visitors’ center,” where each nightly nightmare begins.

Ella Rubin’s performance as Clover is at least a cut above the horror industry standard. Of course, Peter Stormare is massively creepy as Hill. He also represents the only original cast-member from the game to also appear in the film, albeit in a different role. (Presumably, bringing back Rami Malek with him would have been too expensive, since he won the Oscar three years after appearing in the game.) The rest of the ensemble is serviceable, with Ji-youg Yoo earning credit for her spectacular freakouts, as Megan.

Most viewers coming in without expectations based on prior gameplay will consider Until Dawn a scrappy over-achiever. Weirdly, it further proves the Survival Horror genre is the most adaptable for film, because story plays such an important role, as previously exemplified by Five Nights at Freddy’s, Dreadout, and Detention. It gets decidedly violent, but it is scary—and different, which is definitely something. Recommended for horror fans who can divorce it from the game, Until Dawn opens tomorrow (4/25) in theaters, including the Look W57 in New York.