Cast: Ella Rubin as Clover, Michael Cimino as Max, Odessa A’zion as Nina, Ji-Young Yoo as Megan, Belmont Cameli as Abe, Maia Mitchell as Melanie, and Peter Stormare as Dr. hill.

Written By:Gary Dauberman Annabelle Creation) and Blair Butler (The Invitation)

Directed By: David F. Sandburg (Shazam, Lights Out, Annabelle: creation)

Notable Producers: Gary Dauberman, David F. Sandburg

original Score by: Benjamin Wallfisch (13 Lives, The Flash, Hidden Figures, Annabelle Creation)

Studio: Sony/ Screen Gems

Release Year: 2025

rated R for Strong Bloody Violence, Gore, and Strong Language throughout

Runtime: 93 minutes

Audio Description Produced By: The Media Access Group at WGBH Studios

Written By:

Narrated By: Peter Jaycock

What Is it? Based on the popular video game of the same name, a group of friends retraces the steps of a missing sister of one of the friend group, which leads them to a sleepy hamlet where things certainly are not as they seem. now, if they want to get out of this nightmare, all they have to do is survive until dawn. Unsurprisingly, that is really hard to do. Luckily, they get repeated chances as they respawn once everyone has been killed off, and get to try again. However, with each death, they start to sustain damage, leaving them wondering just how many attempts their bodies can take.

Why it Works: The main cast is mostly worth rooting for, and their acting isn’t bad especially for the genre. Michael Cimino continues to prove he has some nerdy charisma and energy, making for an atypical leading man. Some of the ideas here aren’t bad, like how water affects things. Some of the kills are brutal, but the film isn’t necessarily as mean spirited as some other attempts at horror comedy this year have been, like Heart Eyes. it isn’t quite as funny, but it also engaged me more because I was genuinely interested to see if any of them would survive a night. David O. Sandburg might have been the perfect choice for this, since he’s balanced comedy before in Shazam, and has firm roots in the horror genre. no matter what I say in the next paragraph it is important to understand that despite the flaws, I finished having felt entertained.

Why It Doesn’t: There’s a dichotomy here they can’t figure out, where they want to introduce all these new ideas and horrors, but they also keep relying on the slasher guy who keeps popping up. He’s in more than one night, and arguably, that’s what is wrong with the film. Until Dawn is close to being a cabin In The Woods affair, as they deal with different things each night, but there’s still a masked killer lurking. The slasher genre was tackled in the first life, now give me something else. It fights itself, not really sure what the rules are. In one scene, one of the girls is possessed of literally no fault of her own, and in the process loses her life for the night. She didn’t touch a haunted object or read from a book, the night just chose her, which seems increasingly unfair considering they figure out they only get just so many chances at this.

the original video game was popular because it took what horror films are, and tried to put that into a video game, where you have recognizable actors (Rami Malek, Hayden Panitierre) and it has a little choose your own adventure vibe. Since the video game was homage, the movie struggles with how to adapt it. Being a horror movie paying tribute to your own genre is just meta, and has been done before. Until Dawn struggles with its script, trying really awkwardly to balance any expectation one might have from playing the game, with also the whole reason it exists. their primary villain in the film essentially running everything mentions how the nights change because the whole thing feeds on fear, and the fear comes from the unknown. So, why is the masked killer in so many scenarios? At one point, there might have been a good idea, but the execution in script form (or possibly even the editing bay) ultimtely short changes us a bit.

The Audio Description: Peter Jaycock narrates here for Media Access Group, and I normally associate his voice with Taylor Sheridan’s stuff. However, he works surprisingly well in the horror genre. The kills are well described, with a lean into the gory bits. As a blind audience, most people who have ever seen a film before will realize what is going on with the water. it is telegraphed, because the narrator has to pay really specific attention to who has the cup, so you know everyone is in the same boat. I did really like this track, and want to hear Peter on more horror titles.

Why you Might Like It: you just love horror movies with cabins in the woods. It is fairly gory, so people looking for blood to be spilled will not be totally disappointed. chances are, if you liked the video game, you probablly are already aware that the average on video game adaptations does not work in its favor.

why you Might Not Like It: It pays homage to better films. It also isn’t scary, as any potential jump scare is telegraphed. Especially for a blind audience, during the water sequence.

But grade: Just a little note. i have a hard time giving a rotten score to a film that did technically entertain me. It is far from perfect, but I never played with my phone, and it held my attention the whole 93 minutes. At the end, i had a lot of thoughts, but ultimately, I was entertained.

Fresh: 6.3/10