- Date of Release: 25 April 2025
- Genre: Drama, Horror, Psychological
- Language: English
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Until Dawn
Introduction
The level of the horror genre saw its peak with the release of the English film Sinners last week. But yet again, there comes another film that has significantly lowered the bar for horror films (although, the good news is that it atleast is watchable). The very concept of the 2015 video game Until Dawn is intriguing – the player has to ensure that he/she survives the night while having to make all the necessary choices along the way. And because this is a video game, you do get ‘lives’ to stay in the game. Now, this concept is a little tricky to execute onscreen, especially because the ‘interactive’ element of the game is instantly negated. The best case scenario for this format would probably have been on the lines of Black Mirror – Bandersnatch (2018), an experimental interactive film that would account for the wacky concept of the game. Sadly because the video game comes in the feature film format, the film Until Dawn instantly has its limitations almost being reduced to a regular slasher drama with very little innovation going in favour of it. Its plus? It is watchable!
Story & Screenplay
The premise of Until Dawn is interesting – a group of 5 folks namely Clover (Ella Rubin), her ex boyfriend wanting a patchup named Max (Michael Cimino), Nina (Odessa A’zion) and her boyfriend Abe (Belmont Cameli) along with a mysterious psychic friend Megan (Ji-young Yoo) follow a set of clues in order to trace the Clover’s sister Melanie (Maia Mitchell) who had mysteriously disappeared a year ago. The mild emotional connect is attempted from the gaze of Clover whose last interaction with her sister merely ended with an argument. So the motivation of Clover is more with respect to the guilt that she has in her heart. Interestingly, the symbol of the time paradox remains an eerily lit house that is seemingly stuck in time, almost unaffected and dry from the rainfall occuring in the vicinity. The registrar book in the house holds consecutive 13 signatures of various people in a row, and accompanied by a hour-glass at a distance. What could be the mystery behind it?
The slasher proceedings do not take long to kickstart the horror quotient in the drama. The tropes are simplistic and stereotypical – the characters are entrapped in this location with nowhere to go. To add to the mix is a masked killer who begins to hunt them down one by one, almost presenting this drama in the micro-form of a larger slasher film that hokds a similar premise. The twist – like the video game, the characters are given ‘lives’. They all return to life even as the hour glass rotates and steadies itself in the opposite direction. The task like the video game is simple – survive until dawn and make yourself out of the setup. But here in lies one of the major issues of the film – creative bankruptcy.
The key ingredient with horror is in the name itself. If the events are horrific enough, you often begin to detach from the proceedings, something that happens (upto an extent here). The innovation around the events is missing. Imagine this – what if every ‘life’ of the characters had a different shade of horror? If the first one is strictly a slasher setup, the second could have been a ouija board, the third a body horror setup, the fourth a paranormal activity setup, the fifth a Lynchian style of horror…. The setup was there to not only experiment with the horror elements but also provide a homage to some of the most iconic horror films that have been produced, all in the form of the game that is underway. But sadly, apart from the dripping water ‘life’ that wonderfully involves shocking multiple explosions, the events largely get repetitive and increasingly weird, even as masked killers are replaced by ‘monsters’.
You can tell that the concept of the horror film did not land on point, even as the group begins to gain awareness with respect to their survival strategies. A recurring theme attempted is that of friendship and unity, but the core emotions were never previously established in a manner to really root for any of the characters. And even as the drama traverses in the ‘Cabin In The Woods’ phase, it doesn’t offer enough resistance with respect to the ‘hunting elements’, while also negating the degrees of horror and its implications should the odds not be in favour of the characters. Another issue was with respect to the convenience and the predictability of the plot that had a direct impact on its ending, something that was largely underwhelming. And that quite honestly, summed up the screenplay that was mid at best despite a unique concept in hand.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational but exude of surface-level emotions that are largely binary and broad-stroked. The BGM doesn’t exactly land either. It tries to be intimidating and horrifying in a few places but apart from a few moments, it ends up being middling while never raising the stakes in a scene. The cinematography comprises of frames that dimly lit and quite flat with respect to the setting. One important ingredient that could have been utilized but eventually goes missing is claustrophobia, something that could have added to the atmospherics of the drama. The editing is pretty good here, and does a convincing job in holding the proceedings together. Director David F Sandberg falters with the execution here. If even the basic tropes of the slasher genre do not evoke a sense of fear, or even mildly startling you, then you know that the execution is off. To his credit, a few scenes involving an ‘explosion’ are done well, but largely, the direction remains underwhelming.
Performances
The performances are decent by the members of the cast. Peter Stormare as Hill is hardly intimidating and he soon fizzles out of his role despite having a key role to play. Maia Mitchell as Melanie is decent here. Ji-young Yoo as Megan is good but largely wasted, and her psychic prowess in the film remains largely untapped. Belmont Cameli as Abe and Odessa A’zion as Nina are good and both have their moments to shine. Michael Cimino as Max does a fair job but the impact that his character ought to have had in the screenplay is missing. Clearly, it is Ella Rubin as Clover who has the best written role and she also manages to do a good job by bringing bouts of urgency to it.
Conclusion
Until Dawn is unique concept wasted in a mid-tier stereotypical slasher horror that ends up being a mixed bag. It is watchable but lacks the finesse of a well-executed horror film thereby making for an above average watch. Available in a theatre near you.
