Imagine witnessing your closest friends brutally meet their end in front of you, getting murdered by that same psycho, then the clock resets, only for you to meet that same end over and over again in a new way.
Covers for the Until Dawn game & movie
Created in 2015 as a horror video game, Until Dawn is also a Sony Pictures horror film released in April 2025, that expands on the game’s universe. Directed by horror specialist David F. Sandberg and written by Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler, the film features a group of friends trapped on a mountain who are hunted by a masked killer and various monsters. The group comes together in both pictures for the anniversary of a loved one’s disappearance, which is the main reason they stay in this sketchy situation in the first place.
The movie and game have a mix of similar and different elements. Both stories involve a group of people coming together around the anniversary of a disappearance. While the game takes place on an old friend’s lodge on Blackwood Mountain, the movie takes you to a mysterious abandoned bed and breakfast in the eye of a bad storm. There are differences in the specific characters, and while you can only die once in the game, every time someone dies in the movie, once all the characters die, they return to the same spot in the house where they began.
The movie follows the young adult protagonist, Clover, and her four friends, set a year after the disappearance of Clover’s sister, Melanie. The plot traps the group in a remote valley where each death resets the night in an increasingly deadly loop. Watching this movie as someone who had never heard of the game before, it didn’t take me long to figure out the main theme with recurring reminders on the screen. The first things they encountered in the inn were a bulletin board full of missing posters with only pictures on them and a notebook filled with lists of repeating names, the handwriting becoming more and more shaky. They consistently use the shot of an hourglass sand timer, and every time the whole group dies and resets, a new part of the town appears.
Clover in the midst of the nightmare
The backstory of Glore Valley, where this group ends up, is a quiet little town that was devastated by a significant mining accident, leaving barely any survivors. This prompted the introduction of psychiatrist Dr. Allen Hill, who created the concept of the time loop to experiment with subjects. A new part of the town appeared every time the characters died, a subtle yet telling detail of their fate.
It opens with a woman (Melanie), trying desperately to get away from a shrieking creature, thinking she’s finally safe, only to be met by a silent masked man holding a pickaxe.
“No, please, I can’t die again” might be a short fragment, but it was an important clue for the plot of this story.
I thought the characters were likable, but didn’t have enough time for real development and backstory for anyone except Clover. Played by Ella Rubin, she drives the story forward in search of her sister. Nina, played by Odessa A’zion, is often the first to notice clues and solve problems, bringing along her recent boyfriend, Abe (Belmont Cameli), who brings some muscle and determination. Max, played by Michael Cimino, is very loyal to his friends and always ready to step in when things get dangerous. Played by Ji‑young Yoo, Megan is spiritual and courageous, questioning the strange events while facing her own fears.
Together, their relationships and fears are tested as they try to break free from the endless nightmare. They have to work to survive the night until dawn, or become a part of it.
The loop itself is a manifestation of the character’s fears and traumas, according to Dr. Hill, and continues until at least one person can survive until dawn. The cycle is broken when Clover confronts Dr. Hill and poisons his coffee through a leak in the ceiling, causing him to explode.
This movie will have you on the edge of your seat and invested until the end – the gore is highly realistic, and scenes are packed with action. If you’re a horror flick fan, this could be the movie for you.
