Supermassive Games has long been recognized as a trendsetter in cinematic horror adventure games. With Until Dawn and the Dark Pictures Anthology, they’ve stayed on that same track with interactive horror films disguised as games, or maybe the other way around, depending on how you look at it. So when an actual film based on their flagship title, Until Dawn, was announced, I wasn’t exactly rushing to celebrate.
It felt like a weird loop, taking something inspired by horror movies and turning it back into one. It sounded like a bad idea, honestly. But with a premise that felt self-contained and maybe just weird enough to work, I went in cautiously curious. And I’ll be honest: I came out of it way more impressed than I expected.
The story of Until Dawn follows a group of friends led by Clover (played by Ella Rubin) as they retrace the final steps of her sister, who vanished the previous year under mysterious circumstances. They end up in this isolated house, and things go south fast. What makes it stand out is that they’re caught in this loop where, every time the entire group dies, the night resets. Same location, different threats. But every time it rewinds, the stakes feel heavier. The only goal: survive until dawn. And, of course, everything in the world seems absolutely hellbent on making sure they don’t.
“What I really liked about Until Dawn is that it isn’t just a carbon copy of the game.”
The trailers for Until Dawn somewhat sold it, suggesting that each death would send the group into a different horror genre, and while that’s not entirely accurate, they do switch things up just enough with each loop to keep it interesting. Each run through the night has a slightly different tone or introduces something new to deal with. That slight shift is enough to keep you from getting bored of seeing the same setting over and over again. It’s not a full-on genre hop, but the idea is there, and it works. It even feels like the characters themselves become a little more self-aware with each run, like they’re picking up on the patterns too.
What I really liked about Until Dawn is that it isn’t just a carbon copy of the game. It’s not the same characters, not the same story beat for beat. It takes place in the same universe, sure, but it does its own thing. There are nods to the original, such as the ever-present killer mask from the game, which appears more frequently than I expected. It’s not subtle, and that’s the point. Even Peter Stormare’s character gets a return, and it fits surprisingly well and doesn’t feel forced.
One thing they really nailed was the tone. Until Dawn could’ve leaned into cheap jump scares and called it a day. But it doesn’t. The fear builds more from the tension and unease than anything else. Yeah, there are a few jumps in there, and one of them actually got me pretty good, but they don’t overuse them. Most of the fear stems from a gnawing sense of dread, knowing these characters are stuck and things are only going to get worse. When the movie does go for a scare, it lands because it has been earned.
“What’s clever is how much Until Dawn feels like watching someone try to get a “perfect run” in one of Supermassive’s games.”
That being said, Until Dawn doesn’t take itself too seriously the whole time. There’s a surprising amount of humour baked in, and it works. Nina (played by Odessa A’zion) and Abe (Belmont Cameli) are easily the MVPs of the group. Their back-and-forth is genuinely funny without feeling forced. But they’re not just there for laughs, they’ve got emotional weight too. When the movie asks them to dig deeper, they’re more than capable. And that balance between fun and fear is what keeps the movie feeling fresh. It’s not just grim death after grim death. There’s personality, and that goes a long way.
What’s clever is how much Until Dawn feels like watching someone try to get a “perfect run” in one of Supermassive’s games. You can almost hear the click of choices being made—who goes where, who splits from the group. It’s got that same trial-and-error vibe that fans of the games will immediately recognize. And that gives it a really cool energy. It’s not just a horror movie, it’s a horror movie that knows it’s built like a game.
Creature-wise, it leans more heavily into the original Until Dawn side of things than Dark Pictures. We’re dealing with Wendigo territory here. And while I wish they’d explored the creature designs even more than they did, what we do see is genuinely impressive. There’s this one montage that hints at other monsters that might’ve been caught in similar loops or failed runs. It’s a really cool idea, and I almost wish they’d held on to that longer. The practical effects, in particular, deserve considerable credit. They are super detailed, nasty in all the right ways, and not overly reliant on CGI.
At the end of the day, Until Dawn the movie works because it respects where it came from while still doing something new. It doesn’t try to just retell the game. The acting’s solid across the board, the story is engaging enough to carry you through, and the horror is sharp without being exhausting. It leans into the weirdness of its premise in all the right ways, and even though it stumbles a bit here and there (mostly when it feels like it’s holding back), it still pulls off something fun, freaky, and fresh. If you’re into the game, you’ll appreciate the little details. And if you’re not? It still works as a standalone horror movie with a really cool concept. Either way, it’s a surprisingly solid time.
