Movie Review: Until Dawn (2025)

Synopsis: A year after her sister, Melanie, went missing, Clover and four of her friends visit the last place she knew Melanie was alive to pay their respects. After getting a clue from a local convenience store clerk, the group heads to Glore Valley, a deserted town that was destroyed by a mining disaster with only the visitor center remaining. Soon after arriving, the friends discover they are in a time loop, terrorized by monsters and other deadly traps on a repeating cycle until they can survive until dawn.

Who's in it? The movie stars Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A'zion, Ji-Young Yoo, Peter Stormare and Belmont Cameli.

Review: I came across Until Dawn while scrolling through movies on Netflix as I waited for my wife to get done at her sewing studio. I had never heard of the video game that inspired this film but thought it looked intriguing. We ended up watching it yesterday evening and it more than exceeded our expectations.

I tend to be a bit critical about modern horror films because they have a habit of trying to do too much - too much gore, too much backstory, etc. This film, in comparison, is a good blueprint for making a horror film, especially one that is based on a game. It gives a brief introduction of the main characters and why they are traveling together, gets right into the action without a ton of exposition and fills in the blanks as it goes. While there is quite a bit of gore, it's nothing I would consider excessive (it fit the specific situations) and the plot isn't anything overly complicated, they need to survive to escape.

What really impressed me about this movie was there wasn't much for downtime once Clover (Rubin) and company figure out they are in danger. Once they are killed, a whole new night begins, and they immediately start over. There's no time for planning, no time for romance (as happens in way too many films) and it always feels like they can die at any moment.

The variety of ways they could die was also something that kept the movie intense throughout and I'm not ashamed to say I even found myself cringing a bit when the group discovered what happens if they drink or even get a drop of water on them. I also liked how the movie would add one new deadly obstacle with each night while keeping the ones they encountered before. It made surviving seem even more impossible.

One thing that also impressed me was the characters weren't making it easy for those things to kill them. Unlike MANY other horror films, I don't think I could describe any of the group as being idiotic. They weren't making poor choices; they were just put in a situation where it was unclear what the right choice was. Maybe the only lone exception to this was the decision to get out of the car in the first place. I mean, if I discovered a single building that even the rain was actively trying to avoid, I think I would have just turned around and left.

Another thing that helped this movie was the decision not to attempt to explain everything. There were some vague clues about why the events were happening and the motivations of the guy who was seemingly behind it, Dr. Hill (Stormare) but the writers also seemed to understand less equals more when it comes to films in this genre and sometimes it's fine just leaving certain details unexplained. Again, other films should pay attention to this one.

Final Opinion: I have no intention of playing the video game because I am confident I would stand no chance of beating it. However, I was very impressed with this film and would watch a sequel if one is made.

My Grade: A

________________________________________________________________

Here are some reviews of other movies from 2025:

Movie Review: Drop (2025)

Movie Review: The Monkey (2025)

Movie Review: Back in Action (2025)

Movie Review: Flight Risk (2025)