Summary
The phrase “interactive movies” has been thrown around since the early days whenHeavy Rainwas a new and exciting title on the scene. These games have a strong story at the heart, featuring minimal gameplay for players to engage with. In titles like these, gamers may have to execute QTEs or make decisions under pressure to determine if a character lives or dies.
The developers at Supermassive Games took this style of game and added a terrifying twist with their first horror game,Until Dawn, throwing in jump scares, eerie locations, potential hauntings, and supernatural themes. However, some scenes are more memorable than others, deserving to feature in theUntil Dawnmovie in some shape or form.
11The Prank
A Great Way To Introduce Characters And Set The Scene
To think, all the horrors could have been avoided if they had decided not to go through with their mean-spirited prank. One year prior to the main events ofUntil Dawn, the group of friends is gathered at the Washington Lodge. One of the twins, Hannah, has a pretty major crush on Mike. Because of this, Jessica, Emily, and co. concoct an extreme joke thatleads to devastating consequences.
Mike pretends to be interested in Hannah, inviting her to meet privately. But their meeting isn’t so private, as everyone apart from Sam, Josh, Chris, and twin sister Beth are hiding in the room to laugh at what they see as her naivety. Embarrassed, she runs out into the snow, and Beth gives chase, with the two eventually falling off a cliff. This is a startling way to start the game, and it would certainly grab the attention of viewers if it was repurposed for the movie adaptation.
10Jessica Being Dragged Through The Window
This Moment Is As Frightening As It Is Iconic
Jessica and Mike are one ofthe duos inUntil Dawnand are subsequently ejected from the main lodge after tensions between her and Emily bubble over. For the sake of enjoying a peaceful weekend, Josh hands them the keys to the guest lodge. The walk there seems peaceful enough for the most part until they are chased inside by an unseen creature, assuming it was a bear.
Unfortunately, it turns out it was something far more terrifying, when a long-fingered hand reaches in through the window in the door and drags Jessica outside and down into the mines. This scene sparks the action-hero inside Mike and results in one of the most effective jump scares in the game. If the movie doesn’t replicate it or do something similar, it would truly be sacrificing the opportunity for a memorable scene.
9Jack Fiddler’s Death
The Cast’s Best Shot At Survival Dies In A Shocking Scene
It’s something that often appears in horror movies: A helpful stranger with answers and the methods for stopping evil arrives to save the day and the protagonists, withLoomis fromHalloweenbeing a prime example. The stranger has been on the mountain for a long time, compiling information about the threat and referring to them as Wendigos, creatures that were once human but devolved into monsters that crave the taste of human flesh.
In a bid to save one of the other characters, Chris leaves the safety of the lodge with the stranger after being given the rundown of how dangerous these creatures are. But even armed with a flamethrower and all the knowledge he has gathered, a Wendigo still manages to completely behead him. This shocking scene fromUntil Dawnfurther demonstrates just how much danger each character is in.
8The Psycho Chases Sam
An Important Scene That Sets Up Sam As The Final Girl
The Final Girl is a must-have trope in slasher movies, whichUntil Dawnparrots in many ways. Sam is the shining example of a typical final girl; she is one of the smartest and kindest characters, and she doesn’t get intimate with anyone else, something that normally means death for horror figures.
Her status as a final girl shines through most in the scene where the masked killer chases her through the lodge, challenging her to think fast on her feet to avoid being caught and killed. It’s the kind of scene that feels right at home in horror movies and, as such, definitely deserves screen time in the movie adaptation.
7The Killer’s Traps
These Scenes Provide An Element Of Grindhouse Horror
There is a killer on the mountain who seems intent on picking off the characters one by one. As the night progresses, the party fractures, with Mike, Jess, Matt, and Emily all leaving the lodge in their respective pairs, leaving Sam, Chris, and Ashley as the remaining victims of the killer’s cruel games.
The first one involves a massive horizontal saw that will tear either Josh or Ashley apart, but it will kill Josh no matter what Chris chooses. The second involves a circular saw descending towards Chris and Ashley, with Chris holding the gun and, thus, being forced to choose who will live or die. These deadly games involve gratuitous amounts of blood, gore, and gut-wrenching dread that would not be out of place ingrindhouse horror or aSawmovieand are a must-have for the movie adaptation.
6The Masked Killer Reveal
The First Twist Of The Game Is A Must-Have
Before the Wendigo reveal, it would seem that the only danger the characters ofUntil Dawnface is the presence of a masked killer up on the mountain with them. He seems to have taken inspiration from Jigsaw, as he placed Chris, Ashley, and Josh in these horrid survival games, forcing Chris to choose who lives and dies both times.
It likely came as a shock to many when the killer took off the mask and revealed himself to be Josh, bragging over his victory in a way that is almost too exuberant, professing that it was a return prank for what happened to his sisters last year. The killer reveal is aclassic trope from slasher movies, specifically in movies such asScream, where the killer is always someone the survivors know well. With this being such a pinnacle moment in the game, it needs to be recreated with care and respect for theUntil Dawnmovie.
5The Fire Tower
All the characters inUntil Dawnneed their share of screentime, and Matt and Emily’s scenes certainly cannot be skipped. Though their face off against the elks was also unsettling, it has nothing on the situation they find themselves in when they visit the fire tower.
They travel up to the tower to radio for help and find themselves in need of an immediate rescue. A Wendigo tries to break into the radio room, and when it fails, it instead brings down the tower, which falls into the mine. Emily and Matt both face dangers as they must find a wayoff the fallen tower through careful choices, but this leads them into even more danger in the mines. As the best Matt and Emily sequence and one of the most adrenaline-fueling ones in the game, this is a must-have for the movie.
4The Sanatorium
Mike’s Visit To The Sanatorium Makes For Some Of The Most Impactful Chapters
The Sanatorium is a major location inUntil Dawn, and it’s the place Mike ends up at afterseeking vengeance for the potential death of his girlfriend Jessica. An eerie building that has been long-defunct, every nook and cranny here is nothing short of horrifying. Even befriending and exploring with the wolf does little to offset the terror, especially when the Wendigos appear on the scene.
As a rather lengthy section of the game, the sanatorium would have to be condescended to fit into theUntil Dawnmovie’s runtime, but it is an essential part of the story. There are plenty of documents that hint at the torrid history of the mines in the mountain, and it gives Mike an excellent character arc that turns him from a typical high school jerk into a brave action hero. What sections they should include is difficult to decide, as the producers are spoiled for choice.
3The Big Reveal Of Hannah’s Fate
The Final Twist Is One For The Ages
After falling from the cliff down to the ravine below, it seemed guaranteed that Hannah and Beth’s fates were sealed. And this was half-true, as Beth died in the fall, but it would seem that Hannah miraculously survived and remained down there for the entire year.
Reaching this part of the mines, players can find hints scattered around about Hannah’s survival, from the make-shift grave marker carved with Beth’s name, Hannah’s glasses and locket found in different locations, and a diary that slowly devolves as she gives into hunger and eats her sister. This act of desperation turned Hannah into a Wendigo, with the final twist revealing one of these creatures to have the same butterfly tattoo that she had. It is wonderfully done, and it is by far the most surprising twist in the game. If the movie-makers only intend to include one plot twist in the movie, it needs to be this one.
2Josh’s Hallucinations
Some Of The Most Terrifying Visuals In The Game
The mines are a horrifying location that almost all the characters inUntil Dawnfind themselves in at one point or another, including Josh. Josh suffers from severe mental health issues that could be the reason for the rather extreme ‘pranks’ he plays on his friends, and they are definitely the reason why he hasvivid and nightmarish hallucinations.
While alone in the mines, he sees twisted versions of his sisters covered in blood, their faces zombified, and Hannah even peels off her face in a stomach-churning scene. He thinks he also sees a giant pig’s head burrowing out of a fleshy wall with a series of sickening squeals. These hallucinations are equal parts disgusting and terrifying, and the movie-makers could definitely amp this scene up to 11 to terrify the viewers in theUntil Dawnmovie.
