Until Dawn

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/until-dawn-review/ "Until Dawn brings the original material to the big screen competently, especially shining in its technical aspects - mysterious atmosphere, grisly deaths, fast pacing, and an ability to keep the viewer engaged until the very end. Ella Rubin stands out in a cast that meets the bare minimum, and David F. Sandberg proves yet again that he's a filmmaker with vision, talent, and the creativity to craft visually captivating horror sequences. Nevertheless, the flawed screenplay, lack of emotional cohesion, and a rushed ending prevent the movie from reaching a more enduring level of enjoyment. It entertains effectively - but fleetingly." Rating: B-

Sadly, there really isn’t much new to say about this derivative horror film. It’s the usual bunch of friends in the car routine, only this time it’s a woman-hunt they are on. You see, “Melanie” whom we very briefly meet at the start - has gone missing and so her sister “Clover” (Ella Rubin) has recruited her ex “Max” (Michael Cimino), best pal “Nina” (Odessa A’zion) and her new boyfriend “Abe” (Belmont Cameli) and the slightly spiritual “Megan” (Ji-young Yoo) to try to find out what happened. As the song goes: “if you go into the woods tonight, you’re in for a big surprise…” and so dodgy and ill-conceived decisions galore now ensue as the usual set-piece housebound horror kicks in and the story sort of lurches around like a gory version of “Groundhog Day”. The acting and writing vie for the award for being the blandest - especially the shockingly wooden Cameli, and the whole thing recycles itself to the point where I was quickly on the side of the perpetrator of these dastardly goings-on. What’s more annoying is that the plot did have some potential; it could have been better had the director relied less on the tried and tested formulae and taken a few risks with the story. As it is, his only risk was to engage a forgettable cast and leave us with an halfway house between the mystic and the makeshift. It’s an adequate summer release, but not in the least scary nor memorable.