Gamers aren’t happy with the ‘Until Dawn’ film: “Stop taking beloved games then completely changing them”
The film adaptation of the beloved Until Dawn video game hits cinemas today (April 25) – but gamers aren’t happy with the movie.
Until Dawn was originally released in 2015 for the PlayStation 4 and follows eight young adults trying to survive the harsh terrain of Blackwood Mountain. Who lives through the horror is down to the decisions the player makes through the course of the terrifying game.
A surprise hit, Until Dawn inspired a spin-off (2016’s Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood) and a prequel (2018’s The Impatient) while spiritual successor The Quarry was released in 2022. A remake of Until Dawn came to PlayStation 5 and PC last October. The same year, a film adaptation was announced.
“The movie has the same tone and vibe but it expands upon the universe,” explained director Gary F. Sandberg, before confirming one major change. “One of the creative things the game did is that people make different choices and die in different ways. The movie has this mechanic where things start over and they get to try again. Every time they come back to life, it’s like they are in a new horror genre. To survive, they have to make it until dawn.”
“As a huge fan of the Until Dawn game and how cinematic it was, I thought a lot about how we could continue the story without just giving the audience the same experience they got when they were playing,” added writer Gary Dauberman.
Some fans were worried about the changes when the first trailer for Until Dawn was released earlier this year. Now the film is in cinemas, more gamers have come out to complain about the adaptation.
So they made a movie called Until Dawn but they rewrote the entire story and has nothing to do with the game THEN WHY DO YOU WANT THE UNTIL DAWN LOGO AAA HOLLYWOOD SUCK MY LITTLE TOE YOU INCOMPETENT DONUTHOLES https://t.co/QxeMgC1S4U
— SquChan
(@SquChanVT) April 25, 2025
“They chose to make a movie called Until Dawn with practically nothing connecting it to Until Dawn. It’s ridiculous,” said one fan on Reddit. “When I saw the trailer I gave up hope that it would be anything like the game. I just hoped it would either bring the vibe of Until Dawn or at least be a good movie. It failed on all accounts,” wrote another. “Just got out of the cinemas after watching this and honestly, I would’ve enjoyed it if it wasn’t advertised with the premise of Until Dawn,” added a third.
Taking to X, one gamer wrote: “The movie concept would have been fine but it’s just not Until Dawn. Stop using beloved games to make a film and completely changing them. Literally just make your film and call it something else!!”
It’s not just gaming fans who are panning the Until Dawn film either. It currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 62 per cent while review aggregate site Metacritic has given it a “mixed” rating, with an average review score of 56.
In other news, Sydney Sweeney will reportedly star in an adaptation of hit co-op game Split Fiction, while Wicked’s Jon M. Chu is set to direct.
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Ali Shutler
NME
