Sony has released the first trailer for the Until Dawn movie adaptation which reveals a smart twist to the horror game.
The PlayStation title allows players to take control of eight characters at a remote mountain retreat, with fans able to change the story through certain choices, while all characters can die or survive based on those choices.
Fans were concerned when it was revealed that the movie wouldn’t adapt the same story, but the trailer shows how it honours that story mechanic by having its characters relive their deaths in a time loop.
Watch the Until Dawn trailer above.
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Along with the trailer, Sony released the official synopsis for the Until Dawn adaptation. “One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers,” it reads.
“Exploring an abandoned visitor centre, 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 nightmare again and again – only each time the killer threat is different, each more terrifying than the last. Hope dwindling, the group soon realises they have a limited number of deaths left, and the only way to escape is to survive until dawn.”
Earlier this week, a preview featurette for Until Dawn saw director David F Sandberg explain the approach to adapting the game.
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“The movie has this mechanic where things start over and they get to try again,” he noted. “Every time they come back to life, it’s like they’re in a new horror genre. To survive, they have to make it until dawn.”
Sandberg added that the movie will have the “same tone and vibe” as the game, but “expands upon the universe”.
Until Dawn stars The Chair‘s Ella Rubin, Love, Victor‘s Michael Cimino, Freaky Tales‘ Ji-young Yoo, Hellraiser‘s Odessa A’zion, The Artful Dodger‘s Maia Mitchell, and original Until Dawn game star Peter Stormare, who played Doctor Hill.
Sandberg is best known for horrors Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation, as well as Shazam! and its sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Until Dawn is released in cinemas on April 25.
Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘i’ as a sub-editor.
