In director David F Sandberg’s Until Dawn, Clover (Ella Rubin) goes to a remote place with her friends in search of her missing sister Melanie (Maia Mitchell). However, they soon get into a situation that forces them to confront their worst nightmares, including a murderer in a mask. The characters try to fight back until they realise that they are in a time loop. After each death, they come back to life in a vicious cycle that would continue until they find a way out of the situation.

Until Dawn has a reasonably intriguing premise, but the film fails to immerse you in its world due to a major flaw in its narrative: The characters realise immediately after their first deaths that they are reliving the same day. Usually, characters trapped in a time loop have this realisation gradually. While this deviance from the norm itself may not make it flawed, it is the execution that does. Contrast this to the time loop element in a film such as Edge of Tomorrow or Source Code, for instance. When the protagonist realises he is reliving the same day, it is more of a gradual realisation for him. Why? Because you witness his growing frustration, his attempts to change outcomes based on prior knowledge, and the subtle cues in his behaviour. This lets you figure out the time loop at the same time he does, so you feel like you are trapped in it with him. The storytelling in such films ensures that you feel the protagonist’s desperation and the weight of the repeating cycle.

Director: David F Sandberg

Cast: Ella Rubin, Maia Mitchell, Peter Stormare, Michael Cimino, Odessa A'zion

On the other hand, the characters in Until Dawn behave like, 'Oh, we are in this movie' as opposed to 'We are in this situation'. At one point, when he has a sense of deja vu, a character says something along the lines of “Did this not occur in that movie?” This meta-level awareness feels less like genuine character reaction and more like an acknowledgement of the film’s genre mechanics. It hinders the sense that the characters are truly trapped and terrified, thus diminishing the suspense and emotional investment for the viewer. Consequently, the film never really immerses you in its world of masked killers, witches, and mythological creatures.

Until Dawn is a reminder that when characters behave in a way that suggests meta-awareness of their story or genre rather than a genuine emotional response to their situation, it becomes harder to suspend disbelief. The horror elements lose their impact because the characters never fully inhabit the fear and desperation that such threats would realistically evoke. The fear, confusion, and desperation and the struggle to understand the impossible never become palpable in Until Dawn. The film fails to draw you into the characters' plight and make you feel the claustrophobia and psychological toll of the repeating cycle. As a result, the events in the film become repetitive, making even its 100-minute runtime a slog to sit through. The characters die and come back over and over, but there is no major payoff to the main plot points. The film's execution of its horror elements feels as repetitive and ultimately lifeless as the done-to-death trope it inadvertently exploits.

Sandberg’s idea of blending multiple genre elements—time loop, horror, survival thriller, and psychological thriller—is noble, but the film does not make the most of it. The film merely touches upon Clover’s psychological toll after the loss of her mother and her sister’s disappearance rather than fully exploring it. Rubin does her best to flesh out her character with conviction, but the screenplay lets her down. The film even toys with a Shutter Island-like psychological angle, but it also goes nowhere. Ultimately, Until Dawn flirts with potent ideas, but it dawns on you way too early that the film is not making the most of it.