Movies
Sony’s ‘Until Dawn’ Film Adaptation to Feature New Characters and Story
Sony wasn’t done with their film announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show 2025. Along with revealing that a Helldivers film adaptation was in the works, Sony also dropped news regarding the film adaptation of Until Dawn. Per IGN, Ashley Brucks, president of Sony’s film division Screen Gems, stated that director David F. Sandberg‘s Until Dawn will respect the source material, but will feature a new story and cast of characters separate from the original game.
“The key to successful adapting these games comes down to one thing: respecting the source material,” Brucks said. “Our close collaboration with PlayStation Productions gives us and our filmmakers the advantage of working directly with the creators of the game.
It’s a careful balance of trying to identify and incorporate what the fans love about the game and the experience as well as offering something fresh and exciting to entice newcomers.” Brucks went on to say that Sandberg, who is a big fan of the game, “took the essence of what makes the game great and selected elements we think are the most important to the fans and paid homage to it in the right way.”
Actor Peter Stormare, who played Doctor Hill in the original game, and will play an unknown character in the film, said this approach works for dedicated fans and newcomers.
“I have been lucky to be part of Until Dawn since the original, incredible, super terrifying game, and what’s why I’m so excited to be part of this film, because the whole thing is a love letter to horror, and it completely honors the spirit of the game,” Stormare said.
“The movie is going to be full of fresh characters and victims in a brand new story loaded with twists, so whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering it for the first time, get ready for Until Dawn like you’ve never seen it before.”
Until Dawn will arrive in theaters on April 25. Alongside Stormare, Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Michael Cimino (“Never Have I Ever”), Ji-young Yoo (“Expats”) and Odessa A’zion (Hulu’s Hellraiser) will star in the upcoming film, along with Maia Mitchell and Belmont Cameli.
Until Dawn centers around a group of eight teenagers who decide to vacation for a night in a cabin on the fictional Blackwood Mountain, exactly one year after the disappearance of two girls, the twin sisters of a member of their group. Shortly after arriving, the gang find themselves under attack by a psychopath, and must attempt to survive until sunrise.
And in case you missed it, check out Brandon’s review of the recent remaster of Until Dawn.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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