Jay Rohr
Until Dawn is on the horizon. When exactly this video game adaptation arrives remains to be seen. However, fans of the franchise have reason to be optimistic.
For those unfamiliar, Until Dawn is a bit of interactive horror from Supermassive Games. Released in 2015, it follows a group of teenagers staying at a remote mountain lodge. There, they encounter various nightmares from psychos to the supernatural with an unsettling dash of creature feature thrown into the mix. A spicy, cheesy blend of various horror ingredients, the game is a bloody buffet of thrills and chills that garnered favorable reviews, not to mention won a BAFTA award.
Granted, video game adaptations don’t have the best history of successfully transitioning to cinemas. The upside here is that Until Dawn was already essentially a playable movie. Some quick time events gave certain moments a sense of urgency, but mostly, players made periodic choices like a Chose Your Own Adventure. These possessed real consequences since they could get characters permanently killed. This means the upside for filmmakers is that Until Dawn is basically previsualized. Although, that said, it could also be a pitfall.
On the one hand, a shot for shot remake isn’t as easy as it sounds. Director David F. Sandberg is attached to pilot the project. His work with films such as Lights Out (2016) and Annabelle: Creation (2017) show him capable of steering a horror film. Meanwhile, a script is being composed by writers Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler. Both have a history of doing mediocre spinoffs and adaptations such as Dauberman churning out the less than satisfying It films as well as The Nun (2017), while Butler wrote a forgettable Dracula knockoff called The Invitation (2022). Even if they play it safe, sticking mostly to the source material, shot for shot may not be the best route.
Until Dawn allowed players to retell the story over and over. This gave the game a high replay factor, but it means filmmakers will have to choose for the audience. Even if they pick a solid combination of plot points and kills to recreate, maybe even blend in their own fresh frights, fans of the game may be disappointed not seeing their preferred scenarios play out. It’s a tricky tightrope to walk, especially since Until Dawn ventures into some cheesy territory on its own.
The game is full of horror tropes and clichés. Despite solid performances from Hayden Panettiere and Rami Malek, the story line does feature largely archetypal characters as well as relatively predictable scares. In a game, the latter are a signal to players to get ready. In a film, they could induce more yawns than terror. That said, a movie adaptation offers the chance for improvements. Fortunately, the groundwork is there for a solid start. It certainly didn’t hurt that Larry Fessenden lent his prowess as a performer and writer to the source material. Genre fans will recognize the name (and face) of the talented mind behind horror gems such as Habit (1997) and Jug Face (2012).
When it comes to Until Dawn, cautious optimism seems the best bet. Filmmakers have a wonderful well to draw from. There’s nothing definite as far as casting, but a few fresh faces couldn’t hurt. It’s a project worth keeping an eye on. After all, if it succeeds, Until Dawn resulted in numerous spiritual successors such as The Quarry (2022) and games in The Dark Pictures Anthology. This could be the start of a whole series of terrifying adaptations.
