You don’t need to have played the video game to see the Easter eggs in every sH๏τ of the new slasher Until Dawn. In the age of stellar video game adaptations, Until Dawn enters a crowded market, but it handles the pressure well, setting itself up to be one of the classics of the genre it’s so in love with. The concept does a lot of the heavy lifting, as it’s inarguably a great idea. The time loop is a well-worn trope in cinema, but the film makes it fresh with every go-round.
Wasting no time, Until Dawn throws us into a typical horror setup. A group of teens, Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, and Belmont Cameli, are on a road trip/grief tour in search of Clover’s (Rubin) missing sister. Was it a good idea for Clover to take the word of a scary gas station clerk (played by Peter Stormare)? Probably not. However, we expect some stupidity from the cast of a horror film. If anything, these characters are smarter than most, learning from their mistakes and adapting to the world of the story.
This world is a large part of what attracts us to Until Dawn. It’s not a copy-and-paste take on the game, as the movie lets the characters explore the consequences of their choices on a loop instead of following a single night. The director, David F. Sandberg, coming off the failure of Shazam: Fury of the Gods, might have redeemed himself with Until Dawn, a movie steeped in a good old-fashioned love of the genre. The way fear plays a role in our decisions is at the forefront, but the film doesn’t force us to psychoanalyze ourselves.
Until Dawn Is Immersive, Fun & Shines When It Doesn’t Take Itself Too Seriously
Spending Time In The Nightmarish World Is The Best Part Of Until Dawn
One element for which I’m eternally grateful is that Until Dawn sidesteps the lazy choice of mining the story for Gen Z-style humor and jokes. The use of videos early on is a little jarring, but even this aspect of modern life is transformed into a tribute to found-footage style projects. The characters are the teenagers of our time, and they lean into archetypal territory, but they’re never caricatures. We never really get to know them, you can’t in a horror movie, but we know enough to see that they were crafted to stand the test of time.
The production design is a highlight, fully immersing us in this nightmarish world and expanding naturally. After each ride on the merry-go-round of death, the characters retain shadows of their past injuries and kills. It’s a great trick that demonstrates how their resurrections aren’t a clean slate. These marks are a visual representation of what Until Dawn does so well. Each loop is fresh, different, and just as exciting, and there isn’t an infinite number of chances; we have two ticking clocks, and they’re equally stressful.
It will take horror fans only a few moments to start drawing comparisons between Until Dawn and Final Destination, and this is good news for the future of what instantly markets itself as a franchise. Is Until Dawn a ground-breaking subversion of the horror film? No, of course not. But it’s a thrilling ride, and the fun the production is having with itself is contagious. There are moments of humor and necessary breaks in the tension that let us laugh and allow us to get braver alongside the characters.
Until Dawn doesn’t waste too much time trying to have a message, as it knows that isn’t what the story is for.
Character development is always where horror movies struggle to find the right balance, and Until Dawn doesn’t buck this trend. As a whole, the cast has decent chemistry. I’m not sure I fully believe they would be friends in real life, but the performances are decent. Rubin has the tough job of playing Clover, our pseudo-final girl, who undergoes the emotional journey that’s supposed to represent the larger themes that Until Dawn hints at, somewhat heavy-handedly. Unfortunately, she’s not quite up to the task, but part of this is the fault of the script.
The movie is at its best when it’s not taking itself too seriously. Until Dawn‘s weakest moments are when the action slows down and the writing attempts to psychoanalyze Clover and her issues. While it’s necessary for her to have a fraught emotional backstory and for there to be hints of development, these transitions are far from seamless. Like all scary movies, Until Dawn sprinkles in commentary about the nature of grief and fear. However, it doesn’t waste too much time trying to have a message, as it knows that isn’t what the story is for.
Until Dawn’s Pacing Flags At The End, But The Movie Sticks The Landing
The Tense Final Sequence Makes Up For The Film’s Pacing Issues
The final act is when things get a little sticky. After a certain point, the story picks up steam and reveals enough background to start pushing toward the conclusion in earnest, but there’s an awkward jump in the pacing that Until Dawn isn’t fully equipped to handle. Since the last tension-packed sequence makes up for this, it makes sense that Until Dawn was ready to jump to the end and force the characters to live the night like it’s really their last. The ending is a culmination of everything we’ve learned, coupled with some good bone-crunching gore.
As grotesque as some of the scenes are, it’s a horror movie with a relatively happy ending. Even though we’ve seen everybody die many times over by the movie’s conclusion, you never stop rooting for Clover and her friends to get the chance to really live. You can’t fault Until Dawn for already dropping hints about a potential sequel; the building blocks of a long-running universe of terror are all there. With any luck, this strong start will be just the beginning of a terrifying universe every audience member can enjoy.
