Posted in: Movies, Sony | Tagged: film, horror, sony pictures, Until Dawn

Until Dawn Director Says the Writers Worked with the Game's Team

The director of Until Dawn from Sony Pictures and PlayStation reveals that the film's writers worked alongside the team behind the game.

Set to terrify moviegoers and horror fans later this month, Until Dawn—a cinematic adaptation of the 2015 horror game—is gearing up to revive the title for an entirely different audience. Directed by David F. Sandberg (Lights Out, Shazam!), this R-rated film from Screen Gems and PlayStation Productions diverges from the game's iconic cabin-in-the-woods tale, delivering a standalone story within the same chilling universe. From producer/writer Gary Dauberman (Annabelle: Creation) and writer Blair Butler (The Invitation), the movie swaps the game's branching narrative for a time-loop structure, blending slasher, supernatural, and creature-feature elements into a gruesome love letter to horror.

The plot follows Clover (Ella Rubin), a young woman searching for her sister Melanie (Maia Mitchell), who vanished a year prior in Glore Valley, a remote Pennsylvania mining town. Joined by friends Max (Michael Cimino), Nina (Odessa A'zion), Megan (Ji-young Yoo), and Abel (Belmont Cameli), Clover's quest spirals into a nightmare when they're trapped in a time loop at an abandoned visitor center. Each night resets with a new killer—sometimes a masked slasher, sometimes a monstrous entity like the game's Wendigo—each death more horrific than the last. To break the cycle, they must survive until dawn, with Peter Stormare reprising his role as a cryptic Dr. Hill, tying the film to its source.

Until Dawn Writers Spoke with the Original Game's Team When Penning the Script

Now, the filmmaker is sharing a few new details about Until Dawn during a Reddit AMA. "Most memorable moment filming was a scene [previewed in the trailer] in the bathroom," he writes. "We had to shoot that last because we really destroyed that set. I know the writers, Gary and Blair, talked a lot with the makers of the game while writing the script. Fan engagement has been mostly through early screenings. They've been very positive. There's been apprehension because it's not the same story as the game (it's more like a continuation of the game), but once they see the film, they've really liked it. There are definitely Easter eggs and connections to the game."

Due to the game having such a strong fanbase, the title has faced its fair share of buzz and backlash, making it a divisive adaptation upon its trailer reveal. However, as we've seen time and time again, an exact cash grab replica isn't always the answer either. And let's be honest, the time loop genre isn't always a bad thing, so perhaps Until Dawn will end up surprising audiences when it arrives in theaters on April 25, 2025.

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