Until Dawnhas become one of the most memorable games of the past 10 years. Developed by Supermassive Games as a PlayStation exclusive,Until Dawnis a narrative horror game that follows a group of friends as they attempt to survive the night at a remote lodge on Blackwood Mountain. The game is similar to other choose-your-own-adventure-style titles likeTelltale’s The Walking Dead, as every decision the player makes while exploring the mountain can have a devastating impact on the story. Despite its limited marketing,Until Dawnbecame a big success for Sony thanks to its cinematic storytelling and branching narrative.
Alongside the game’s spiritual sequelThe Quarryand last year’sUntil Dawnremake, Sony is continuing to capitalize onUntil Dawn’s positive reception with a cinematic adaptation releasing later this year. Many fans were excited by this news, butrecently released plot details have madeUntil Dawnplayers skeptical. Though it looks to be a dramatic departure from the source material, theUntil Dawnmovie could give Supermassive an interesting path forward for this franchise.
The Disappointment and Appeal of the Until Dawn Movie
Directed by David F. Sandberg — director ofLights Out,Annabelle: Creation, andShazam!— theUntil Dawnmovie centers around a friend group of entirely new characters played by Ella Rubin, Odessa A’zion, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, Belmon Cameli, and Maia Mitchell. Stranded in a mysterious valley, the group soon finds themselves on the run from a masked murderer. However, after each of the friends is killed, they wake up unharmed at the beginning of this terrifying night. As they continually die over and over again, the group realizes that the only way to break the cycle is to survive — as the title suggests — until dawn. The task is easier said than done, though. Not only does the group have a limited number of lives, butUntilDawn’s time looppits the friends against a new scenario inspired by a different subgenre of horror every time it resets.
Noticeable Differences Between the Film and Game
Upon being revealed, this premise was controversial. Besides focusing on a friend group of young adults on the run from supernatural horrors, the film’s plot has nothing to do with the game that supposedly inspired it. There areno returning characters from theUntilDawngame— though actor Peter Stormare does make an appearance in the film’s first trailer — and while the plot does include mechanics that sound straight out of a video game, neither the limited pool of 13 lives nor the evolving horror time loop were featured in the originalUntil Dawn. As one fan on Reddit stated, “I think it looks really fun. I just wish they didn’t slap the UNTIL DAWN name on what looks like an original spec script. That’s going to be held against the movie by fans, no matter how good it is.”
How Supermassive Could Run With the Film’s Premise
While theUntil Dawnmovie might not feel like a movie based on theUntil Dawngame, its set-up still screams “video game.” The horror-themed time loop and its limited lives are intriguing ideas, and they present Supermassive with the opportunity to go full circle after the film’s release. Imagine if Supermassive made a newUntil Dawngame based not on the game but instead on the movie. A branching narrative game that evolves from one classic horror premise into another any time the protagonist dies has so much potential for both creativity and replayability, which could make itThe Cabin in the Woodsof video games. ThoughUntil Dawnfans might not be pleased with the upcoming film, that doesn’t mean that Supermassive should distance itself from such a promising concept.
