Peter Stormare is the only actor from the game to come back for the movie (Sony)
With only a few months before its release, the Until Dawn movie has revealed it’s got a surprisingly intriguing premise, that may actually justify its existence.
With the movie adaptation of Until Dawn scheduled to arrive in cinemas on April 25, Sony has finally begun to market it, after months of silence.
Only last week did they make it apparent that the movie wouldn’t be a direct adaptation of the game and will instead feature a new cast of characters in an original story. A detail that got overshadowed by the announcements of movies for Horizon Zero Dawn and Helldivers 2.
Regardless, the first (sort of) trailer for the Until Dawn movie has dropped and, to our surprise, it sounds like it could end up more interesting than the original game, due to how it’s adapting certain story and gameplay elements.
The trailer is very short, at just over a minute long, and mostly consists of writer/producer Gary Dauberman (who also wrote the two It movies) and director David F. Sandberg talking over footage from the film.
However, they do provide some insight into the movie’s plot, which sees new protagonist Clover and her friends investigating a mysterious valley in search of her missing sister.
Since the game has a branching narrative, where player choices determine who lives and who dies, Dauberman and Sandberg decided to translate that into the movie as a time loop. So, as the characters die, the loop resets and they’re brought back to life.
What intrigues us the most is the promise that every loop sees the cast trapped in a different horror genre. There’s not enough in the trailer to tell how many genres will be represented, but it’s left us hoping the movie will live up to the premise.
One of our favourite aspects of the Until Dawn game was how it covered multiple horror genres, incorporating elements of slasher movies, monster movies, and psychological thrillers. Although they merely happened at different times, rather than being caused by an overarching plot element.
Reworking Until Dawn into a horror themed roguelike is such a neat idea that a part of us wishes they saved this for a sequel to the game. Although it’s not clear if there ever is going to be an Until Dawn 2.
Sony no doubt hoped the 2024 PlayStation 5/PC remake would revitalise interest in the franchise, even going to the trouble of adding new post credits scenes that tease a sequel.
Unfortunately, aside from being completely pointless, the remake arguably looked worse than the original. Plus, while we don’t have any sales figures, player data from its launch shows it struggled to find an audience, meaning it was likely a financial flop for Sony.
Perhaps if the Until Dawn movie proves as successful as something like the Uncharted movie (which was a box office hit and is slated to get a sequel), that could encourage Sony to commission another game.
Any sequel probably wouldn’t be handled by original developer Supermassive Games, which had no involvement with the remake and has since kept busy with similar interactive horror games like The Dark Pictures Anthology and Dead By Daylight spin-off The Casting Of Frank Stone.
Do you want an Until Dawn 2? (Sony)
Until Dawn movie sounds better than the game in debut trailer