“Until Dawn” follows Clover and her friends, who are forced to relive the same torturous night over and over again after heading to a remote valley to search for her missing sister.

While many watched “Until Dawn” as fans of the video game, I am not one of them. Never having played before, I was able to view the film with a clear mind.

It may be because of this that I found “Until Dawn” to be… OK.

A Horror Adaptation That Plays It Safe

“Until Dawn” takes the video game and places elements of it within a time-loop scenario. Because of its obligation to fans, the film spends very minimal time on the characters, with more effort being placed on the various threats and monsters.

Those looking for a more complete picture will likely be disappointed. But… did you really come to see “Until Dawn” for the characters? Most likely not.

Director David F. Sandberg strikes gold with the initial introduction to the time-loop concept. It gradually grows more stale with each flip of the hourglass.

This is very much a traditional horror movie – one that doesn’t take too many risks. It has the same half-baked characters and lopsided script that plague many movies in the genre.

Performances and Themes That Only Go So Far

Many horror films struggle to find a well-rounded cast. Surprisingly, “Until Dawn” isn’t one of them. While none are spectacular, Ella Rubin (Clover), Michael Cimino (Max), Odessa A’zion (Nina), Ji-young Yoo (Megan) and Belmont Cameli (Abe) all deliver serviceable performances.

Peter Stormare (Dr. Hill) reprises his role from the video game. While facing limited screentime, he brings just enough creep factor to be a compelling antagonist.

Rubin proves to be the star of the show, with the most emotional arc of all the characters.

“Until Dawn” uses Clover’s trauma to propel the plot forward. However, it never really does anything meaningful with it.

The movie has the potential to broach serious themes of depression and grief, but doesn’t get past surface level. And even then, most of the discussion comes in the first 20 minutes alone. This makes “Until Dawn” extra frustrating.

Its priorities are in the right place for the kind of film it aims to be, but it still would have been nice to see some effort to make this story meaningful.

Entertainment Wins Out Over Depth

Despite its flaws, “Until Dawn” manages to entertain. At 103 minutes long, it is constantly moving at a breakneck pace. After quickly moving into the central narrative, the film never lets up. This allows many of its faults to be overshadowed by an array of fun moments.

Though, this is to a fault at times. Within this confined runtime, it almost feels like “Until Dawn” is attempting to do too much. There are multiple open plot threads, and none of them are given full attention.

On a visual level, “Until Dawn” feels… dull. It’s constantly dark and never takes full advantage of the isolated environment. Even with the darkness, the film is at least visible, which is more than what many other horror movies can say. Cinematographer Maxime Alexandre brings various sources of light to even the darkest moments, making for many edge-of-your-seat sequences.

The impressive practical effects deserve to be highlighted as well. Whether it’s the creature designs or the gory violence, this will deliver enough scares for horror fans. The kills may not be overly creative, but the blood-soaked moments are present.

“Until Dawn” gets the job done. It isn’t flashy, nor overly memorable. But… it’s entertaining enough. And it will likely satisfy both fans of the video game and newcomers. There’s fun to be had and there are also eyes to be rolled – often at the same time.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5