With a legacy of spine-tingling scares and player-driven storytelling, Until Dawn has remained one of PlayStation’s most beloved horror titles since its release in 2015. Now, a decade later, the nightmare returns—this time on the big screen. Directed by Annabelle: Creation and Lights Out helmer David F. Sandberg, the upcoming live-action adaptation marks the 10th anniversary of the original game with a bold new take that pays homage to its source while breaking fresh ground. Equal parts slasher, supernatural mystery, and time-loop thriller, the film captures the terrifying unpredictability that made the game a cult classic.
Until Dawn follows Clover, a young woman still haunted by the disappearance of her sister Melanie a year earlier. Alongside her friends, Clover journeys to the remote valley where Melanie vanished, only to find themselves stalked by a masked killer and trapped in a harrowing time loop. With each death resetting the night—and raising the stakes—they must confront not only the horrors around them, but the fear that they may never escape. We caught up with director David F. Sandberg ahead of the film’s release to talk about bringing the game’s brutal world to life, the thrill of practical effects, and why Peter Stormare’s return was non-negotiable.
SCREAM: Congratulations on upending every horror trope in the book with Until Dawn. How did the special premiere of the film go yesterday?
David F. Sandberg: It went great. The movie played so well with an audience because they get so vocal. They get so reactive to everything. They scream, they laugh, and they go, “What the fuck?” The movie is full of surprises, so it’s very satisfying to see the audience react in such a big way.
SCREAM: I love the video game but hadn’t played it in a few years—but it didn’t matter that I hadn’t revisited the world in a while. How did you and Sony approach creating a movie that’s completely accessible to anyone unfamiliar with the original IP, while also catering to die-hard fans of the game?
DFS: What I loved about the script was that it didn’t just try to retell the same story from the game—it was more like an expansion of the universe. It’s all in the same world. You can play the game, you can watch the movie, and it all kind of ties together.
We had a lot of freedom to do whatever we wanted, but since it’s a PlayStation production, there were definitely things they insisted had to be in there. And for me, because the game is so violent and gory, it was really important that the movie matched that. We couldn’t do a PG-13 version when the game is that extreme. It was fun to add those little connections and Easter eggs, too.
And it was super important to have Peter Stormare return as Hill. PlayStation really pushed for that as well. I even wrote him a letter in Swedish—since we’re both Swedes—but he didn’t need much convincing. He really cares about the character.
SCREAM: Peter Stormare was a win/win for you, especially since you originally wanted him in your first feature, Lights Out, but that didn’t happen.
DFS: That’s absolutely right. In that movie, the studio said he couldn’t play a family man because he’s “too creepy.” But here, he could be as creepy as ever.
SCREAM: Speaking of the original game, as that’s Larry Fessenden’s baby, did you get any input from him? Has he seen the movie and shared his thoughts?
DFS: Actually, no. I’ve never met him. Gary [Dauberman] and Blair [Butler], who wrote the script, were in touch a lot with the game’s developers to get their input on the universe and where things might go. But I haven’t had any contact with Larry, unfortunately. I’m a big fan, though. The game is brilliant—it’s like being in a movie, but an interactive one, you know?
SCREAM: While you mentioned how great it was to go full-on R-rated—because the game goes there too—did you ever find yourself reining things in a bit? The narrative could easily have gone “sky’s the limit,” but you still need to keep things grounded enough for audiences to stay invested in the characters’ plight, right?
DFS: One of the important things, story-wise, was making sure there was a limit to how many times the characters could die—and that it really wears them down and changes them. That way, it doesn’t just feel like a Groundhog Day rehash where it’s like, “Well, I can just die again, no big deal.” There had to be real consequences. That said, I don’t know that I was consciously trying not to go too far. We were more limited by time and budget than anything else. Especially in the found footage section—that was really fun to do because those scenes didn’t need to connect to everything else. You’ll notice not all the actors are in those scenes. That’s because we only had certain actors on certain days, so we had to work around that.
It was also a chance for me to throw in things I’ve always wanted to do. The worm-in-the-face scene? I had that idea for like 20 years! And the scene with the tall masked man—that’s me in the costume—we used a miniature set to make me look huge. I’ve always wanted to try that.
But I don’t really think about not going too far. I’ve actually been criticised for that in the past—like in Shazam, when the monsters start eating people, some said, “That’s way too much for a family movie. What were you thinking?” So I might not be the best judge of where the line is.
SCREAM: What makes this film such a blast—besides the premise itself—is that it’s so obvious the cast and crew had a lot of fun making it. And it really feels like you all went out of your way to keep the audience constantly on their toes, screaming, laughing, and on the edge of their seats. I’m guessing a lot of that fun also came from doing so many of the gruesome set pieces in-camera rather than relying on VFX? You shared a behind-the-scenes video showing how you pulled off some incredible effects with prosthetics, deft editing, and sleight-of-hand directing.
DFS: Thank you! We had a lot of fun, but it was also really tough. It takes so much time and planning. It’s fun in the way that it’s like designing a magic trick—you have to figure out where you can hide the seams—but it’s a huge challenge. Movies aren’t really scheduled to be made that way anymore, so we were constantly racing against the clock.
A lot of the time, we had to improvise on the day and figure out what we could pull off with the limited time we had. Often, the best option was to go classic. Luckily, I’ve done a lot of horror over the years, so I’ve built up a bit of a toolbox for situations like that—being able to come up with something quickly based on whatever the day throws at you. That challenge actually worked in the film’s favour, I think, in a really big way.
Until Dawn will release exclusively in Movie Theatres April 25, 2025.
WORDS: Howard Gorman
