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Video game movie adaptations, what can we say about them? Finding a good one is as strange as hitting the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and sadly, the Until Dawn movie doesn’t seem like it will break the mold, at least as we see in this trailer. Now that the movie has its first official teaser Until Dawn fans are not convinced at all. Yes, we already knew about the new cast and the bold approach to its story. However, we were not expecting the movie to look like an entirely different product, and at this point, should it even be called Until Dawn?
New Cast, New Plot, New Raised Eyebrows
If you haven’t watched the teaser for the Until Dawn movie, we’ve attached it above so you can analyze whatever the heck is going on with the adaptation. If you’ve watched it, however, let’s break down some of the things the team says about it.
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 giving the audience the same experience.
Gary Dauberman, Until Dawn Writer/Producer
Alright, let’s look at this. Clearly, the writer of the Until Dawn movie mentions in the trailer they want to continue the story without giving the same experience. In truth, that makes a lot of sense. Players who have already played the game may not want to see the exact same thing. Bringing new characters and a new narrative is perfectly fine as long as it is within the confines of the universe it is based on. Frankly, what the teaser showed is nothing like what is in the video game, and it is worrying.
Further in the teaser, David F. Sandberg, the director of Until Dawn, mentions how the whole “different scenarios” aspect will play a role in the film.
One of the creative things the game did is that the people make different choices and die in different ways. The movie has this mechanic where things start over, and then they get to try again. Every time they come back to life, it’s like they’re in a new horror genre.
David F. Sandberg, Director
I must admit that this sounds intriguing, but there’s one thing that doesn’t sit well with me and many other fans: was the name Until Dawn really necessary then?
Movies and Series Need to Stop Using Famous Labels to Promote Themselves
I’m all for experimentation, and if there’s one genre that provides a lot of freedom, it is horror. However, Until Dawn established something solid and, changing it so much isn’t the right call. The house had nothing to do with the scary and eerie location the game had. Many were expecting the mountain getaway full of snow and Wendigos, but no, we got something completely different. The movie could be called “The House of the Time Loop Killings,” and it would’ve worked way better, which leads me to my next point.
Lately, we’ve seen many products using famous names to start gathering an audience sooner, but it usually backfires. Take a look at the Like a Dragon TV show. The name already brought many fans, but it had nothing to do with the game series at all. Then, why wasn’t it called differently? It would’ve worked much better. The same can be said for Until Dawn. If practically everything is different, it doesn’t share anything with the source material, thus making the label unnecessary.
On the other hand, we may be jumping the gun a bit earlier with the Until Dawn teaser, and who knows? Maybe the team behind the film will find a way to connect everything, but I highly doubt it. In truth, the early look isn’t that bad, but it doesn’t share anything with the interactive game we all finished more than once. The setting, the characters, the plot behind everything, the supernatural elements, and the mystery were cornerstones of Until Dawn, and this new direction just doesn’t bring them. Hopefully, the finished product will prove us wrong and do justice to the video game that many of us remember fondly.
