After half a decade of working in the DC Universe David F. Sandberg is set to direct a film adaptation of the popular PlayStation horror game Until Dawn. Exclusively reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Sandberg is returning to horror with producer/writer Gary Dauberman (It, The Nun) who is currently doing a pass on the screenplay which was initially written by Blair Butler (The Invitation). The film is being produced by Screen Gems and PlayStation Productions. The latter of which has gotten a ton of mileage out of properties like The Last of Us, Uncharted, and Gran Turismo in the last few years.
The Shazam! franchise has been Sandberg’s recent baby, but after the less than stellar performance of Fury of the Gods early last year, the director had hinted that he would like to make a horror comeback. Until Dawn will be just that as he has previously terrified audiences with Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation, which is still one of the best films in The Conjuring universe. Sandberg has a great eye for the genre and hasn’t been afraid to push the envelope despite hitting the mainstream. Even in his pair of family-friendly Shazam! Films, there are more than a few horror-esc moments that callback to his impressive catalog. Given he has experience working with big ensembles, Until Dawn is the perfect nightmare to remind genre fans why Sandberg is one of the best filmmakers in modern horror.
What’s ‘Until Dawn’ About?
Until Dawn came out in 2015 and was one of the PlayStation 4’s most underrated gems. It was a love letter to the horror genre, seeing a group of young adult friends getting snowed in at a mountain cabin. It’s set up like a classic 80s and 90s slasher with a masked killer on the loose, but it quickly gained its own identity thanks to its supernatural elements and gameplay mechanics. This was an interactive “choose-your-own- adventure” style game where you were in charge of who lived and who died. It all depends on how well you play and what characters you actually like. The game used motion capture technology to recreate the actors’ likeness too. This is where the Scream influences came in as Supermassive Games had a killer ensemble full of well known genre vets and stars that were about to make it big. This included Hayden Panettiere (Scream 4), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), and Brett Dalton (Agents of Shield). If you’re a horror fan, this is a must play experience with the replay factor, due to all the terrifying branching paths, being a major selling factor. Supermassive Games followed up Until Dawn with 2022’s The Quarry, so hopefully that will be made into a film sometime in the near future too.
When Does ‘Until Dawn’ Release? There’s no release date or plot details yet for the adaptation, but it’s being pegged as a rated-R love letter to the genre just like the game. While we wait for more news about Until Dawn, you can stream Sandberg’s Shazam! and Lights Out currently on Netflix.
via Collider