‘UNTIL DAWN’ Review: A Delightfully Ingenious Cinematic Respawn of Playstation’s Popular Video Game

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

Rated R, 1 hour and 43 minutes

Directed by: David F. Sandberg

Starring: Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, Belmont Cameli, Maia Mitchell, Peter Stormare

In our modern era, we’ve seen plenty of video game adaptations completely bungled by unimaginative direction and hokey, derivative storytelling. Yet we can breathe a sigh of relief as UNTIL DAWN’s translation from Playstation console to silver screen is not just a good video game movie, but a good movie. Period. Director/ producer David F. Sandberg, along with producer/ writer Gary Dauberman and writer Blair Butler, has taken the creative controls in an adventure that mimics gameplay and blazes a new trail chronicling a group of friends’ harrowing, hellacious trip. They’ve delivered one of the most fun, entertaining and delightfully ingenious horror films of the year that doubles as a love letter to the genre and all its subsets. It slays all day – or rather, all night long.

Clover (Ella Rubin) is having a rough go at life. Her mother died over a year ago and her younger sister Melanie (Maia Mitchell) has gone missing in that time. The overwhelming grief she’s felt has caused her to quit almost everything in her life, from school to her romantic relationship with sensitive soul Max (Michael Cimino), who still cares deeply for her. She’s even tried to peace out permanently. But when those attempts failed, she decided to make a last ditch effort to retrace Melanie’s last known steps.

This leads to Clover, Max and their buddies – badass bestie Nina (Odessa A’zion), her boyfriend Abe (Belmont Cameli) and clairvoyant Megan (Ji-young Yoo) – traveling through the desolate, remote wilderness of Glore Valley. Though eerily cautioned by the local gas station grocer (Peter Stormare), the gang proceed to the Visitor’s Center up the road. Nina spots Melanie’s name scribbled in the guestbook and, as soon as she inks her own, They become unwitting players in a twisted game to survive the night or become a part of it. The gang must learn the rules in order to beat a clock that resets, while battling against witches, Wendigos, supernatural forces, sociopathic serial killers and creepy crawlies that will surely have you squirming in your seat.

Sandberg and Co make good use of their R-rating, earning every inch of it with splatterrific sequences and horrifying creature designs. There are thrills and kills galore. It’s a fear factory come alive replete with crowd-pleasing, well-crafted scares and suspense. Each scenario we’re placed in has its own identity, where it channels its horror film references with absolute reverence (EVIL DEAD, POLTERGEIST and Sandberg’s own LIGHTS OUT, amongst many others) while innovatively tweaking their application for a refreshed product. They combine different subgenres of horror (supernatural, slasher, body and possession horror, zombies, etc.) into one overarching tale to sensational, surprising effect.

Rather than an expected standard montage being dumped at the halfway mark, the filmmakers cleverly utilize vignettes of cell phone video clips to show time passage, advancing the narrative and character development. Sandberg makes smart use of practical makeup and visual effects (assisted by seamless CGI and pristine editing) throughout. The bifurcation, body part explosions and general bloody carnage are gloriously gory highlights.

It’s a tricky notion, but the filmmakers find that perfect balance in having audiences root for these characters to both die at the behest of our sadistic pleasure and also ultimately survive their dangerous quests. Plus they sneak in a little sincerity through the backdoor with themes and sentiments surrounding depression, fear and vulnerability, exploring the paralyzing stagnation sorrow casts over one’s life and how that impacts others. The bathroom sequence, where the group hunkers down in one place, is one of the film’s most exhilarating, blending the metaphorical context of wallowing in anguish with a hefty sense of gross-out hilarity and combustible practical effects.

While not entirely dependent on gamers being its primary target audience, the film deploys its Easter Eggs in judicious fashion. Pay close attention during that 3^rd act showdown. The story, of course, diverges from the game, but fans should delight in how the lore and legacy ultimately converge with it.

Grade: B+

UNTIL DAWN opens on April 25.