Now available on digital is the horror film, Until Dawn. The film will be available on Blu-ray, Ultra 4K and DVD on July 8, 2025.
Until Dawn stars Ella Ruben, Maia Mitchell, Belmont Cameli, Willem Van Der Vegt, Michael Cimino, Peter Stormare, Odessa A’Zion and Ji-Young Yoo.
One year after her sister Melanie (Mitchell) mysteriously disappeared, Clover (Ruben) and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one…only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening. Trapped in the valley, they’re forced to relive the night again and again – only each time the killer threat is different, each more terrifying than the last. Hope dwindling, the group soon realizes they have a limited number of deaths left, and the only way to escape is to survive until dawn.
I didn’t know that Until Dawn is loosely based on a video game. When I saw the opening credits started with Playstation, I had to Google it to find out why. I didn’t know Playstation was involved in making movies too. In fact, I’ve heard of many of the films they released including Grand Turismo, Uncharted and Twisted Metal (television series).
Whenever I see a movie that is based on something such as a book or television series (or in this case a video game), I always worry that I might not be able to follow alone if I don’t know the backstory or characters. Since I know nothing about the video game Until Dawn, I had nothing to compare this film too. In addition, I didn’t feel lost or confused. To me, it’s a stand alone story/movie. You don’t need to know anything about the game in order to enjoy this film.
This is an interesting film. In a way it reminds me of Groundhog Day where the characters are reliving the same day over and over again, however in this case each day brings new horrors and they all die. That’s not something that happened in Groundhog Day, that’s for sure. Each morning the cast of characters are alive again, even though the night before they were killed in gruesome and horrific ways.
The reliving each day over and over again might not be a fresh idea, but how they film handled it was. I didn’t feel like this was a horror version of Groundhog Day. This is it’s own film.
If you are not into jump scares and gross (sometimes too gross) kills, you might not want to see this film. There are plenty of them throughout. As a horror movie “snob,” these things don’t bother me. I’m used to it. When I think about someone like my daughter, who is easily scared, she’d probably jump out of her skin watching this movie.
I won’t say that this film is predictable. Yes, you start to catch on that the characters will die each night, but how they die is not predictable in any way. I like that the film kept me on my toes guessing what would happen next.
As I mentioned, I watch A LOT of horror movies. Most are just boring, silly or “blah, blah, blah…” This movie had some fresh twists to it.
I like that there is not just one killer in this film. It’s not like they are running away from a guy in a mask. Yes, there is a masked killer in this film, but there are also cryptids and paranormal happenings as well. It’s a mixture of “evil” from other horror movies, which I thought was really cool.
The acting was decent. I won’t say that any particular actor stood out the most. I think all of the young actors did an excellent job.
The cinematography added to the eeriness. The old buildings, dark hallways, eerie woods… it all adds to the “fear factor” in this film. In fact, I sometimes thought the backgrounds/locations were more scary than the action happening on the screen.
I appreciate being able to see what is going on too. Sometimes horror movies are just too dark all the time that I honestly can’t make everything out (if that makes sense). I didn’t have that issue with this film.
As far as the creatures and homicidal maniacs are concerned, they were pretty good too. The creatures did look a little “cheesy” from certain angles, but overall they were pretty good.
There will be special features on the Blu-ray and DVD versions of this film.
BLU-RAY™, DIGITAL & DVD EXTRAS
- Deleted & Extended Scenes
- Adapting a Nightmare – Join David F. Sandberg (Dir / Prod) and Gary Dauberman (Writer / Prod) as they explore the inspirations behind the film, the fun of genre-switching and how they expanded the universe of the game.
- Death-Defying Cast – Dying over and over never felt so good – meet the fearless, game-for-anything cast as they attempt to survive Until Dawn.
- Practical Terrors – From wendigos to exploding bodies, Director David F. Sandberg knows the value of practical effects – and how those prosthetics, props, and blood elicit a more authentic reaction from the cast.
- Commentary with Director David F. Sandberg & Producer Lotta Losten
This film has a run time of 103 minutes and is rated “R” for strong bloody horror violence, gore and language throughout.
This film is released for home enjoyment from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. To keep up to date on Sony Pictures releases visit SonyPictures.com. You can also follow them on social media.
Did you see Until Dawn? If so, what did you think about it? Feel free to comment and share your thoughts. I always love to hear from readers.
Below is the film’s theatrical trailer for your enjoyment.
Kimberly
*I received a free digital code in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
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