On Thursday, January 16th, Sony Pictures Entertainment released the Until Dawn movie trailer and I have to admit, my optimism for seeing the game I’ve loved for years made into this movie has dissipated significantly.
This hot take of an article will contain spoilers for Until Dawn the game so be warned if you haven’t played it and want to.
Until Dawn Game Synopsys
In the game, you follow multiple characters who return to one of their family homes-Josh, Beth, and Hannah’s- after a year of the twin girls’ disappearances for a night of partying with all the friends. However, things go quickly awry when they quickly discover there’s a mad man loose on the mountain where the family lodge is. Josh gets killed by a large blade and others are psychologically tortured and knocked out.
Beyond this, two characters, Mike and Jessica, are off on their own when Jessica is brutally taken by what appears to be more than a human figure. It turns out that the real enemy on the mountain are the wendigos, monsters whose spirits are unleashed because of the act of cannibalism. They must survive until dawn and most characters can die in brutal ways at different times if you’re not careful. However, you can save them all if you play your cards right, get everyone killed, or somewhere in between. The game heavily relies on your choices in how you progress.
Due to this game mechanic, I was curious how they would translate the characters into film. After all, the survival of the characters depends on individual player choices. So my initial theory was they would simply choose who is canon to save and die. However, they went a totally different route that gives this mechanic a rather large focus in the movie, when it’s only a small part in the game itself.
Movie Trailer
We’re introduced to our cast, all who have different names, which I also thought was an interesting decision if they’re making an Until Dawn game, but I’ll accept that they wanted to tell an alternate story… Except it’s barely recognizable as its counterpart. The premise of this film is that these characters come across an old house to find one of the character’s sister. Things happen as they discover other missing people, a character’s car disappears and they’re trapped at this house where they get killed and revived over the course of the night and they must survive Until Dawn. It’s also revealed that they become part of the missing people, presumably something to do with this cursed house they’re trapped in.
They seem to have included elements from the game, such as the psycho killer who is just Josh having a mental break and to somewhat punish his friends for his sisters’ disappearances. We also get a quick look at multiple wendigos, so they at least kept one of the most important plot points of the game. Whether it’s even done well is up for debate when the movie comes out this year.
They also introduce the idea that they’re there for 13 nights and that nobody survives beyond that, which immediately makes no sense because why is it even called Until Dawn then? Why even name drop the until dawn line in the movie itself? They’re surviving for nearly two weeks, not just over the course of a night like the original game. Sure, maybe I’m just missing plot points as this is just a trailer, but it doesn’t leave me with high hopes.
They introduce many new and different deaths that can occur for them, which isn’t something I have an issue with because you don’t want a beat by beat retelling of the game but some things do bother me, like the absence of snow. They’re in the middle of nowhere in a big looking house. It’s not a towering lodge overlooking a snowy mountain. It feels more standard for a horror film but I really do wish they did the snow element of the game.
I won’t say I’m an avid horror fan, but I don’t think a lot of horror movies take place in a snowy environment and I think it added a lot to the tension of the game. It puts them in precarious situations unrelated to murderers on the mountain. They have to brave the harsh elements of the wild as well and they’re also trapped until dawn partially because the snowstorm is so heavy, rescue can’t come until then.
Overall Thoughts
I wanted to be excited for this movie, and maybe I’ll check it out when it comes out in theaters. I just have to try to separate my strong feelings and enjoyment of the original material and allow myself to get invested in a much different retelling. I never expected a complete retelling of the game, that’s not realistic, but I at least wanted to see a similar environment, the characters coming to life on the big screen, and implementing the message of mental health like the game proper does. Part of the game delves into the deteriorating mind of Josh after the loss of his sisters and the utter tragedy that he is the sole character (until the remaster came out) that cannot escape the night alive.
He is berated by his therapist in his mind, and he carries a lot of guilt for not being there for them before their deaths. It would’ve been a cool psychological thriller on the big screen instead of the usual thriller flick that it began as, and what this movie is clearly more interested in doing. I’ll consider giving this movie a chance when it comes out later this year, but as it stands, I do not have high hopes for it.
