Like any good horror buff, Sandberg knows that the best horror films need only a few well-honed elements to work: a group of young people, the aforementioned scary cabin, and in this case, clowns. The script is based on a PlayStation game written by horror filmmakers Larry Fessenden and Graham Reznick, who took inspiration from movies like Evil Dead and Poltergeist, and the film adaptation indeed boasts that Evil Dead influence in its setting, characters and gore factor.
But Until Dawn is also influenced by postmodern, self-referential films like The Cabin in the Woods and Happy Death Day that play with form and expectations. It melds horror tropes with the rules of video game play (repetition, multiple lives) resulting in a film that’s part genre tribute, part choose your own adventure, part interactive haunted house.
Summary:
Bloody fun for those who enjoy this kind of good old-fashioned romp in the woods.
