Until Dawn (2025): review

Until Dawn adapts the familiar horror video game—or, more precisely, reimagines it. Anyone expecting the original story reproduced exactly will be surprised, though not necessarily disappointed. The film takes creative liberties and gets many things right.

Clover, played by Ella Rubin, travels with friends to the remote valley where her sister disappeared a year earlier. It is a familiar horror setup: woods, isolation, unsettling sounds. But the events do not proceed in a straight line. A seemingly conventional slasher becomes a time-loop nightmare. After the group dies, the night starts again, bringing different dangers and shifts between horror styles: masked killers, demonic creatures, grotesque body horror. That variety sustains tension and creates a surprising momentum.

What convinced me was the range of horror within the premise. Familiar motifs are rearranged in each repetition, almost like a commentary on the genre. It works because the film does not attempt to explain everything. Leaving things in the dark is often more effective than supplying a complete backstory.

Rubin gives Clover a convincing mixture of trauma, defiance, fear, and anger. Michael Cimino brings emotional depth as Max, while Ji-young Yoo’s Megan contributes to the tension within the group. Peter Stormare also appears in a small but important role, providing a welcome connection to the game.

Director David F. Sandberg brings his recognizable approach: shadows, selectively deployed jump scares, and strong images. The film looks accomplished without feeling excessively polished. Its physical effects give it an old-school quality that I particularly enjoyed.

Not everything works. The story becomes somewhat confusing in its second half because it keeps reinventing itself. Viewers seeking a fully closed ending may also be dissatisfied. But Until Dawn wants to disturb, surprise, and challenge rather than feel entirely smooth—and it does.

This is a bold, wild horror ride willing to take chances. It may feel unfamiliar to players, but it is definitely worth a look for genre fans.