Summary

Perri Nemiroff speaks to David F. Sandberg and Gary Dauberman ahead of the release of their adaptation of Until Dawn.

The pair discusses the key roles the game developers played in fashioning the final cut of the film.

Dauberman and Sandberg use Until Dawn to craft their love letter to horror, even turning Sandberg into a slasher fan.

The video game adaptation has now fully embedded itself in our global viewing habits, with the likes of The Last of Us and the recent box-office smash-hit A Minecraft Movie proving the sub-genre to be enormously popular. When it comes to horror games, the Five Nights at Freddy’s film adaptation showcases just how seamlessly horror can transition from video game to big screen, something that will likely benefit director David F. Sandberg and writer Gary Dauberman in their upcoming adaptation of the 2015 survival horror game, Until Dawn.
However, rather than simply adapting the main plot of the video game, Sandberg, Dauberman, and their team are instead offering a new story entirely, set within the game’s continuity and starring Ella Rubin (Anora), Odessa A’Zion (Hellraiser), Michael Cimino (Love, Victor), and Peter Stormare, who’s reprising his role as Dr. Hill from the games. Because of this, the narrative possibilities are almost endless, leaving millions of fans worldwide on tenterhooks as they seek extra details regarding the film’s story.
Well, seek no more, as Perri Nemiroff sat down with both Sandberg and Dauberman for Collider to discuss all things Until Dawn, including the casting process, the game developers’ influence on the final product, and even some spoiler-filled chat about the movie’s more explosive scenes.
The Original Game Developers Played a Key Role in the Making of ‘Until Dawn’

“We talked to the developers a lot.”

PERRI NEMIROFF: I wanted to start with a fun question – one inspired by a certain Easter egg in the movie. If you two were stuck in Glore Valley, stuck in this time loop, what would your greatest strength be, the thing that would help you survive the night, but then also, what would your greatest weakness be, the thing that would do you in?
DAVID F. SANDBERG: The greatest strength is that we’ve seen a lot of horror movies, so we might be able to figure out, “Oh, I think this night is this genre.”
GARY DAUBERMAN: It could be a weakness, too, though, because it’d paralyze me knowing that, “Fuck, any kind of…”
SANDBERG: Yeah, “I know it’s coming, so I’m just gonna crawl down and die.” [Laughs]
DAUBERMAN: Fuck, man. That is tough. The weaknesses, I have a lot more of those than strengths. It’s a lot of just cowering in the corner and screaming.
Every time I think seeing a bunch of horror movies would help me, I think about what happens to those particular characters. They don’t make it to the end, more often than not.
DAUBERMAN: The thing we remind actors all the time is you don’t know you’re in a horror movie. You’re not scared yet because you don’t know. You just heard a sound in the other room. It’s just a sound. How often are you sitting at home, you hear a sound in the other room, and you just go in the other room and check it out?
All the time. Something will get me!

Image via Sony Pictures

Going back to the beginning of this process, Gary, what would you say is the biggest difference between draft one of this screenplay and the final film everyone will see in theaters?
DAUBERMAN: The biggest difference? It’s a great question because it’s a lot of drafts. I think a lot of it has to come down to character stuff. There’s different character choices. Much like the game, some died and some survived. So, I think it was really about some character choices and character relationships that really changed from draft one to where the movie is at now. I don’t think we changed too many of the scares themselves or genres.
SANBERG: We made tweaks to them.
DAUBERMAN: Yeah, tweaks, but nothing crazy. It was more character stuff and mythology and lore. We thought a lot about the game. We talked to the developers a lot, who made some tweaks, too, about where they saw the overall arching lore of the franchise. Things like that were the biggest changes from draft one to the movie.
Can you give an example of that? A time when the collaboration with the game developers wound up shining through your story idea?
DAUBERMAN: It was Dr. Hill, his character, what he represents, and what he does. There was a lot of back and forth and conversation.
‘Until Dawn’ is David F. Sandberg’s Love Letter to Horror

“I’m not the biggest slasher fan, but I’ve sort of been converted after doing this.”

Image via Sony Pictures

David, I’ll lean into the characters with you, specifically casting, because it does feel like the success of the film hinges on finding the right ensemble. You want to find an ensemble of actors who all suit their particular roles, of course, but did they all have some sort of shared quality that signaled to you that they would be able to handle the horror filmmaking aspects of it all?
SANDBERG: Well, they all share the fact that they didn’t listen to my warnings about how difficult this movie was going to be for them. When we did casting, we told them, “Listen, you’re going to be wet, you’re going to be bloody and dirty. You’re gonna have to crawl through dirt and do stunts,” and they still did the movie. But you need those kinds of people who are really up for it. It was a long casting process to find everyone, but we did it right because they were instant friends and got along so well. It was super easy.
DAUBERMAN: It was great chemistry.
Of all the key roles in this movie, which was the easiest to fill, where the right person magically appeared, but then also, which role in the movie was the most difficult to find the perfect fit for?
DAUBERMAN: Well, Peter [Stormare], of course, because he’s in the game, so he was the easiest.
SANDBERG: Odessa [A’zion] was pretty quick as Nina because it felt like, “Well, that’s how I see Nina. That’s perfect.”
DAUBERMAN: I’ve worked with Michael [Cimino] on Annabelle Comes Home, and I love him.
I’ve been following him ever since!
DAUBERMAN: He’s the best.
SANDBERG: When they’re right for the part, they’re right. Some you look for for a long time, but as soon as you see them, it’s like, “That’s the person,” you know?

Image via Sony Pictures

I was reading a lot about how you approached making this movie like a love letter to horror, and as a horror lover, I feel that big time. I understand there’s going to be a multitude of answers to this question, but if you could each pinpoint the number one thing you wanted to pay homage to or really celebrate through Until Dawn, what would it be and why?
SANDBERG: We wanted to stay true to the feel of the game. A big part of that is the slasher element and the Wendigos, so those two things were important. Especially that first slasher night. That was something that I really enjoyed a lot. I’m not the biggest slasher fan, but I’ve sort of been converted after doing this, where it’s like, “Oh, this was really fun, and it turned out really well.” I think I have to do more of that.
Make a slasher movie next! You’re speaking to my heart right now.
SANDBERG: Yeah! It was really fun.
DAUBERMAN: It really is that love of all the genres of horror that we wanted to celebrate. Also, as a fan, being able to write some stuff that I haven’t been able to write before with the other horror movies I’ve made. I haven’t done a body horror necessarily, so it was great to be able to do that sequence. The Descent is one of my favorite horror movies, so I was able to play around with that. As a fan, I was selfishly thinking more about what things I wanted to play with.

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[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Until Dawn’]
‘Until Dawn’ Pulls No Punches When It Comes to Visual Horror

“We destroyed the set with all the blood and explosions.”

At this point, I’m going to lift the spoiler warning so you can answer this next question freely. Of all the outrageous kill scenes in this movie, which did you think was going to be the toughest to pull off, and ultimately was it, or did a different one catch you by surprise?
DAUBERMAN: I think we have the same answer.
SANDBERG: Are you thinking the explosions?
DAUBERMAN: Of course!
SANDBERG: It was such a big question mark if that was going to work, but I was so happy when it did. Because it’s such a simple thing to do. You just have the actor there, cut, bring in the dummy full of explosions, and blow them up. It just works so well.
DAUBERMAN: It was the end, right?
SANDBERG: It was at the very end, because we destroyed the set with all the blood and explosions.
DAUBERMAN: There was a lot of texting with the studio saying, “We might need another day. If this doesn’t work, what are we going to do?” It was a big gamble.
SANDBERG: To be safe, we shot empty plates in case it didn’t work and we would have to go to visual effects or CGI, but thankfully it did work. Our VFX supervisor was there, and looking at it, he said, “Yeah, you can’t get that with CGI.” With all the interaction with everything in the room and blood hitting it and all the little chunks of flesh.
DAUBERMAN: I don’t know how much even changed from dailies. You did a quick edit on set, and it just looks so great. Like when Abe is in the bathtub there, and he’s just leaning forward, even on the day, it was like, “Oh, you’re not going to need to touch this. It’s so great.”
Until Dawn premieres in theaters on April 25, 2025.

Until Dawn

Release Date

April 25, 2025

Runtime

103 Minutes

Director

David F. Sandberg

Writers

Gary Dauberman, Blair Butler

Producers

Carter Swan, Roy Lee, Gary Dauberman, Charles Miller, Lotta Losten, Asad Qizilbash