‘Until Dawn’: Drafting the possible movie plotline

Dreams do come true! The ultimate survival horror interactive story, Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn, is being adapted into a full-length feature film by Lights Out and Shazam director David F. Sandberg. Released in 2015, the tale of a group of friends trapped in a snowy lodge as someone (or something) is hunting them down won over gamers with its fun slasher aesthetic and endless narrative choices. The draw of Until Dawn was that players were faced with simple choices that could potentially save or kill a character – these choices would impact the rest of the story. This mechanic offered plenty of replayability and different versions of the “movie” for each gamer.

Now, with the news that the game is being adapted into a feature film, it poses the question of how that plot will turn out. There were many different plot branches and choices that shifted the story in each gaming session. And since Until Dawn doesn’t have a sequel (The Quarry is more of a spiritual successor), every outcome was deemed canon. So, we’ve taken the time to go through every narrative and choice of Until Dawn (the game) to come up with a possible movie plotline. Check it out below!

Note: Spoilers ahead! We go through many plots, so beware if you haven’t finished the game yet. There are slight tweaks to keep it under two hours, including areas and sections in the game that needed to be removed.

ACT 1

PRANK & PREQUEL

The opening of the movie will stay true to the events of the game. The movie opens up on the snowy lodge with many of the teens inside plotting a prank on Hannah, spurred on by BFFs Emily and Jessica. Mike (Emily’s boyfriend) lures Hannah into the bedroom to “seduce” her and she runs away in embarrassment when all the pranksters pop out to laugh. Hannah’s twin sister Beth runs into the snowy woods to find Hannah. They hear a noise, run through the woods, slip off the cliff, and both plummet to their supposed deaths as a shadowy someone appears overhead.

A TENSE REUNION

The movie skips to a year later when Sam (Hannah’s best friend) is on a bus heading back to the lodge for a group reunion. Sam meets up with Chris; they talk about Josh (Hannah and Beth’s brother) and worry about his emotional state since his sisters’ bodies were never discovered. They’re a little cautious of this group reunion, but they bump into Ashley (Chris’s crush) and they head into the lodge.

While settling in the living room/lobby, two couples soon join them: Matt/Emily and Mike/Jessica. An argument breaks out between Emily and Jessica. It’s revealed that Mike and Emily broke up and that Jessica (Emily’s now former best friend) started dating her ex. Insults are thrown at each other, and Mike/Jessica decide to stay in the nearby guest cabin instead.

GHOSTS OF THE PAST

A short montage is shown of the teens settling into the lodge and area: Josh is turning the lights in the building on, Sam is unpacking/setting up a bath, Emily and Matt go for a walk, and Chris and Ashley flirt. Chris discovers an Ouija board and wants the others to join in; he convinces Josh and Ashley to take part but the spookiness starts to become apparent.

Chris and Ashley step away from the game after the creepiness of the answer. They follow an eerie noise before someone knocks them out. A mysterious person in a mask drags Ashley away.

BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Meanwhile, at the guest cabin, Mike and Jessica are getting hot and heavy. They remark about Emily, the group, and wanting to focus on each other. Noises are heard outside and Jessica gets frustrated. In a fit of rage, she opens the door and screams at whoever is outside. When she closes the door, someone grabs her from the window and drags her outside. Mike rushes out of the cabin and down into the woods following Jessica’s screams and snow paths. He ends up at an abandoned mining facility screaming for Jessica. Her mangled body is thrown from above and lands on the elevator platform. Mike has just enough time to see that she’s been brutally attacked before the elevator crashes down below. Jessica is dead.

ACT 2

I WANNA PLAY A GAME

Chris wakes up from the attack and discovers that Ashley is missing. He searches for her and heads into the forest; he can hear something in the distance. Lights turn on in a nearby building to show both Ashley and Josh tied up to a mechanism that is in the path of a moving saw.

A mysterious voice tells Chris that he needs to decide if he’ll either save Ashley or Josh from certain death. He hesitates, but Ashley begs him to save her. He pulls the switch to save her. The saw moves toward Josh and cuts him in half. Josh is “dead.”

Both Chris and Ashley run out into the snowy forest. Chris is breaking down crying; they bump into a nearby Matt and Emily who had been out for a walk. The pair agree that they need to search for help since their service signal is down in the storm.

MISCOMMUNICATION

Emily and Matt head toward the nearby radio tower searching for help. Along the way, they get into fights because Emily is bossing Matt around, and he’s suspicious of how she’s been pushing him away. As they break into the tower’s office room, they get enough time to ask for help on the radio before one of the metallic wires keeping up the tower snaps. The tower turns over and collapses into the mountain, driving deeper into the mines and caverns.

Emily ends up dangling from some metal bars, while Matt hoists himself up higher. She begs him to help her, but Matt uses the time to accuse Emily of cheating on him with Mike. In the heat of the pressure, she admits to the truth. Emily reaches out for help and he grabs her, but he feels the metallic structure shift and he lets her drop.

Matt jumps to a nearby cliff as the structure collapses further into the mines. Matt thinks he’s found safety, but a mysterious figure grabs him from behind. Matt struggles, but the person lifts Matt and impales him on a nearby hook. Matt is dead.

PREY ON THE HUNT

Back at the lodge, Sam is enjoying her warm bath and listening to music. She hears a strange noise and calls out to her friends, but no one answers her call. She gets out and explores the home, noticing it empty. As she makes her way, a masked figure appears and chases her into the basement. Sam successfully evades the masked man and locks a door behind her.

DEADLY GAME REMATCH

Chris and Ashley head inside the lodge for safety. They hear noises coming from the basement and they cautiously go to explore. Some strange instances occur, like a shadowy figure moving in the distance or some spooky sounds. Ashley begins to worry that the spirits of Beth and Hannah are haunting them, but she’s then pulled into a room. Chris rushes to save her and he’s knocked out.

Chris and Ashley wake up tied to chairs. A mysterious voice tells Chris that he’ll either need to shoot himself or kill Ashley with a gun; if not, blades will descend from the ceiling to kill them both. The pair panic, and fight, and then Chris (while crying) tells Ashley that he needs to live. He shoots Ashley, but the gun is a blank.

The blades stop and the masked figure appears in front of them. Both Sam and Mike burst into the room after hearing the noises from outside. The figure removes their mask and it’s revealed to be Josh. The group confronts Josh, and Mike blames him for Jessica’s death. Josh denies killing Jessica, but the group ties him up. Josh swears he didn’t kill anyone.

MINING THE MYSTERY

The scene transitions to deep in the mines where Emily awakens from falling down the cavern. The area has been destroyed by the fallen radio tower. Emily explores the cavern and sees flames erupting in the distance. She tries to hide, but a person in a worker’s uniform hands her a weapon and tells her to go.

Emily makes a run for it and a chase scene occurs as something is coming to her in the distance. A creature emerges from the shadows and it’s revealed to be the Wendigo. Emily runs through the mines and evades the Wendigo; she is scratched by the creature in the process. Emily uses what the worker has given her to attack the Wendigo. She makes it away from the creature and out of the mines; she runs toward the lodge.

ACT 3

LEARNING THE TRUTH

Emily runs into the lodge and frantically tells the others what happened. The mysterious man joins them and reveals that the Wendigos have been plaguing the mountain; he’s been fighting them for years. Ashley is still traumatized over what happened with the game and refuses to look at Chris. The group agrees that they’ll need to fight their way out and grab supplies. The man and Chris plan to grab Josh and some supplies before leaving.

While at the barn where Josh is supposedly tied up, the pair fight a Wendigo. A Wendigo slices off the old man’s head. Chris frantically runs back to the lodge, but the door is locked. Ashley sees Chris calling for help, but she refuses to open the door as she’s still hurt from before. The Wendigo rips Chris’s head off.

PANIC IN THE ROOM

Ashley rallies the remaining teens inside and they run deep into the house into the panic room. Tensions rise as they theorize more about the creature and what has caused the terror. They read a little from the old man’s book, but the group notices the scratch on Emily’s arm. Mike and Ashley are positive that Emily is going to turn into a Wendigo. Sam begs them to calm down, but Mike pulls out a gun. Emily tries to calm him down, but Mike shoots her in the eye. Emily is dead.

THE HORRIFYING TRUTH

Sam reads more of the old man’s book and discovers that Emily wouldn’t have turned into a Wendigo. The group decides that they need to make their way through the emergency tunnels of the mines to get to the bottom of the mountain. They leave the panic room and head to the tunnels. The remaining trio explores deeper into the tunnels and uncovers a huge cavern filled with water.

At the shore of the water, they find Beth’s skeleton broken apart and partly eaten. Sam reads a book among the supplies and learns the truth about Hannah. They realize that Hannah survived, was too injured from the fall, ate Beth due to hunger, and turned into the Wendigo.

Beth and Sam notice a door to get out, but it’s in the distance. The two bump into Josh in the cavern and he explains that the Wendigo dragged him down there. Before the group can escape, the Wendigo appears in the water, Josh freaks out, and the Wendigo drags him away deeper into the tunnels.

A FINAL BATTLE

Sam, Ashley, and Mike run through the tunnel door, revealing the severed body parts of their fallen friends. They make it back into the lodge and plot their escape, but a Wendigo appears and attacks Ashley, digging its fingers into Ashley’s skull. Ashley is dead. Several more Wendigos make their way inside. Sam and Mike stop, trying not to make a move. The Hannah Wendigo fights with the others, causing damage within the building – a crash breaks the gas line within the fireplace.

Sam and Mike eye each other, trying to make a plan of how to survive. Mike slowly and successfully breaks the lightbulb near him. As a Wendigo slowly corners Sam and nearly attacks, Mike purposely makes noise to draw the Wendigo to him. Mike’s head is ripped off; Mike is dead.

As Hannah Wendigo fights another creature, Sam makes a run for it and is nearly attacked. Sam turns on the light switch and the gas ignites; the lodge explodes killing all the Wendigos inside. The rescue team arrives as the lodge erupts into smoke and flames.

THE FINALE

Sam is interviewed by the authorities. She warns them about what happened and tells them they need to go into the mines; that more horrors await in the mines.

A post-credit scene shows a crew venturing into the mines to investigate. A hunched figure is shrouded in the darkness and feasting on something. The light shines on them to reveal Josh, who is feeding on a severed body part and transforming into a Wendigo. Screams are heard, and it cuts back to credits.

What did you think of our possible Until Dawn movie plot? Were there any changes you would make that were missing from the game? Share in the comments below!