Video game adaptations are notoriously hard to get right. Over the years, I’ve faced quite a few disappointments (looking at you, “Borderlands,” “Uncharted,” and “Tomb Raider”). So, when I heard that one of my favorite horror games, “Until Dawn,” was being adapted into a movie, my excitement was immediately mixed with a heavy dose of worry.
Sony just dropped the first full trailer for “Until Dawn” (set to be released on April 25, 2025) and I’m feeling even more conflicted. This is a game I’ve played countless times and absolutely adore, so seeing it brought to life should’ve been thrilling. But honestly? The trailer left me feeling empty. Sure, it’s only two minutes of footage, but judging by what Sony has shown us here, it has planted doubts in my mind — one being that this movie’s premise works well on its own without “Until Dawn” attached to it.
Check out the trailer below:
For those who aren’t familiar with the game, “Until Dawn” centers around eight friends who reunite at a remote mountain lodge, a year after two sisters vanish. As eerie events unfold, players must navigate a tense, branching story filled with betrayal, survival, and supernatural threats. Choices shape the outcome, meaning the player determines who lives or dies in this thrilling blend of teen slasher and psychological horror.
The movie is taking a different approach by introducing a fresh narrative within the universe of the original game. It focuses on Clover (Ella Rubin), who, a year after her sister Melanie's (Maia Mitchell) mysterious disappearance, ventures with friends to the remote valley where Melanie vanished. There, they become trapped in a harrowing time loop that forces them to relive the same night repeatedly, each time facing new, terrifying threats. Their only hope for escape is to “survive until dawn.”
Don’t get me wrong, I always want to give video game adaptations a fair shot. We’ve seen some solid successes lately with “Fallout,” “The Last of Us” and even “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (yes, I’m a fan). And maybe “Until Dawn” will surprise me. But since it was one of my most anticipated movies of 2025, I can’t help feeling uneasy about how this is shaping up.
‘Until Dawn’ movie leaves out the best parts of the video game
If you showed this trailer to a video game fan without mentioning it’s based on “Until Dawn,” they’d probably mistake it for just another generic horror movie. Everything that made the game so engaging has been stripped away to cram it into a more manageable movie format, and it shows.
Within the first 20 seconds, I was already disappointed. The movie isn’t set on a snowy mountain lodge with that eerie, signature blue tint (one of the game’s most defining features). Part of what makes “Until Dawn” so effective is its unique setting. There aren’t many horror games that take place on an isolated, snow-covered mountain. Instead, the movie trades that in for a basic creepy house in a remote valley. It’s not remotely menacing, and honestly, it looks ... sunny? Gone too are the environmental hazards that made navigating the game’s dangerous terrain so intense. The mines, the dense forests, the punishing cold — all of which added a layer of survival horror that’s completely missing here.
And then there’s the most glaring departure: the characters and story. The movie introduces a new group of characters trapped in what feels like a horror-tinged version of “Groundhog Day.” This is a far cry from the original game, where you controlled a group of teens trying to survive the night while making pivotal choices that affected their fates.
The threat in the game was the chilling presence of wendigos (a terrifying concept that has been largely pushed aside in the movie). Sure, I noticed a familiar mask from the game and caught a few fleeting glimpses of wendigos, but neither captured the same fear-inducing atmosphere that the game delivered so well.
Most importantly, the whole point of “Until Dawn” as a game was to make players feel like they were in a horror movie, where they could control the characters’ fates. The game’s brilliance lay in forcing you to make smart decisions, knowing every choice could have serious consequences later. Turning it into a movie completely undermines that premise, and stripping away most of what made the game special leaves us with what feels like just another generic horror flick.
That said, we’ve only seen two minutes of footage so far (and I’ve already torn into it quite a bit), so I don’t want to write it off entirely. The trailer itself isn’t bad, and if you separate it from the game, the premise actually sounds pretty intriguing. I’ll definitely still be watching it in theaters, especially with the exciting cameo of Peter Stormare (who voiced Dr. Hill in the game).
I’m still holding onto hope for ‘Until Dawn’
I’m still holding onto hope for “Until Dawn.” Despite my frustrations with the movie adaptation, the game’s legacy is too strong to be overshadowed by one misstep. “Until Dawn” set itself apart as a masterpiece of interactive storytelling, where choices truly mattered and every decision carried weight. Its setting, atmosphere, and memorable characters created an experience that’s hard to replicate — and that’s exactly why fans are so protective of it.
While the adaptation seems to deviate from what made the game special, I’m not ready to give up on it entirely. There’s always a chance it could surprise us or at least introduce new audiences to the source material. If nothing else, it’s a reminder of what made the game so great in the first place. For now, I’m holding onto the hope that “Until Dawn” will get the recognition and adaptation it truly deserves.
And who knows? Sony might be playing us, and the movie could have plenty more cameos and easter eggs that made the game so fun to play. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see when “Until Dawn” hits theaters on April 25, 2025.
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