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Kevin Spacey will be handed the Award for Excellence in Film and Television by the Better World Fund at a gala in Cannes.

The award will be presented at the Fund’s 10th Anniversary Gala Dinner on May 20, in Cannes. The fund said Spacey will be honored for his “artistic brilliance” and “impact on cinema and the arts.”

“We are truly privileged to welcome Kevin Spacey as our Guest of Honor and Honoree at the Better World Fund Gala,” Manuel Collas De La Roche, The President & Founder of the Better World Fund, said in a statement.

“Kevin’s extraordinary contributions to the art of cinema have left a mark on audiences and filmmakers alike. His talent, depth, and commitment to storytelling exemplify the transformative power of film. It is with great excitement that we celebrate his legacy and presence at this meaningful gathering.”

There’s been a suggestion that Spacey...

Kevin Spacey has secured a role in upcoming action-thriller ‘The Awakening’.As the 64-year-old actor continues to revive his career following his acquittal in a UK criminal trial last year, the two-time Oscar winner joins a cast that includes Peter Stormare, Alice Eve and Julian Glover in the Matt Routledge-directed film, which was shot at Pinewood Studios.‘The Awakening’, first announced in 2023, follows Jason and Rebecca – played by newcomer Justin Tinto and 42-year-old Alice Eve – as they uncover a global conspiracy that plunges them into a race against time. Kevin’s role has not yet been disclosed, Variety reported. The film, currently in post-production, is being produced by Camelot Films in partnership with Cloud9 Studios, who are launching worldwide sales at the Cannes film market this month.Also appearing in the movie are 70-year-old Peter Stormare, known for ‘Fargo’ and ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’; Steve Berkoff, 86, whose credits include...

Controversial actor Kevin Spacey has been trying to revive his career for several years after being acquitted of sexual offense charges. Although he has taken some roles since then, he has yet to make a full comeback.

Per Variety, Spacey's newest new role will be in the conspiracy action-thrillerThe Awakening, which was first announced in June 2024. The movie has Matt Routledge at the helm in his feature directorial debut. The storyfollows Jason Byrd and Rebecca as they uncover a conspiracy to control the world. Their investigation leads them into a maze of secrets, making their quest to expose the truth in a thrilling race against time.

The Awakening also stars Peter Stormare, Alice Eve, Steve Berkoff, Julian Glover, Matt Hookings (Prizefighter), Eddie Hall (Expendables 4) and introduces Justin Tinto, who will play the leading character, Jason. Kevin Spacey's character remains under wraps.

Camelot Films produced and financed the film alongside Tinto,...

Kevin Spacey has joined conspiracy thriller The Awakening.

The move represents another step forward for Spacey, whose career has been blighted by allegations of sexual misconduct. Two years ago, he was found not guilty of sex crimes after a lengthy UK trial.

Spacey rounds out cast of The Awakening, which also stars Peter Stormare and Alice Eve. Cloud9 Studios is launching sales at Cannes.

The pic follows Jason (Justin Tinto) and Rebecca (Eve) as they uncover a conspiracy to control the world. Their investigation leads them into a maze of secrets, making their quest to expose the truth in a thrilling race against time.

Oscar-winner Spacey has been in a small number of projects since his acquittal. A Channel 4 and ID documentary, Spacey Unmasked, aired about him around a year after the acquittal.

Matt Routledge directs the feature...

Kevin Spacey has joined the cast of upcoming conspiracy action-thriller “The Awakening,” marking another role for the two-time Oscar winner as he looks to rebuild his career after being acquitted of sexual offense charges.

First announced last year, “The Awakening” — directed by Matt Routledge — stars Peter Stormare, Alice Eve, Steve Berkoff, Julian Glover, Matt Hookings (Prizefighter), former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall (“Expendables 4”) and introduces Justin Tinto.

Pia Patatian’s Cloud9 Studios is launching worldwide sales in Cannes.

“The Awakening” follows Jason (Tinto) and Rebecca (Eve) as they uncover a conspiracy to control the world. Their investigation leads them into a maze of secrets, making their quest to expose the truth in a thrilling race against time.

The film is being produced by Camelot Films who also financed the movie alongside Tinto. Currently in post-production, the screenplay is co-written by Tinto, Routledge and Matt Hookings. Hookings also produces alongside Tim Kent,...

Kevin Spacey has joined Camelot Film’s conspiracy action thriller The Awakening, which Cloud9 Studios will introduce to Cannes buyers this week.

The cast includes Peter Stormare, Alice Eve newcomer Justin Tinto, Eddie ‘The Beast’ Hall (Expendables 4), and Matt Hookings (Prizefighter). Additional cast are Steve Berkoff and Julian Glover.

The Awakening follows Jason (Tinto) and Rebecca (Eve) as they uncover a conspiracy to control the world and race to expose the truth.

Matt Routledge directs and Tinto co-wrote the feature with Routledge and Hookings. Camelot Films is financing alongside Tinto. Production took place at Pinewood Studios and the project is in post.

Peter Stormare and Alice Eve will star in Camelot Film’s conspiracy action thriller The Awakening, which Cloud9 Studios will introduce to Cannes buyers this week.

The cast includes newcomer Justin Tinto and Eddie ‘The Beast’ Hall (Expendables 4) with Matt Hookings (Prizefighter) and Kevin Spacey. Additional cast are Steve Berkoff and Julian Glover.

The Awakening follows Jason (Tinto) and Rebecca (Eve) as they uncover a conspiracy to control the world and race to expose the truth.

Matt Routledge directs and Tinto co-wrote the feature with Routledge and Hookings. Camelot Films is financing alongside Tinto. Production took place at Pinewood Studios...

2025 has been a shaky year at the box office, as original projects continue to stumble with nearly every new release. Ryan Coogler's Sinners proved to be a major exception, earning $180 million domestically and thrilling viewers. Most of the prominent movies of the year, including A Minecraft Movie, Ne Zha 2, and Thunderbolts*, relied on name recognition to earn attention from audiences. The trend has held through since the pandemic began, as audiences have been hesitant to attend theaters in the age of streaming.

Horror movies have been able to buck concerning trends recently, as their relatively low budgets and easy marketability have made them more capable of surviving the tumultuous post-pandemic box office. Nope and Smile each earned over $100 million in 2022, while Five Nights at Freddy’s earned $137 million in 2023, despite enjoying a simultaneous streaming release. Each of these movies proved that horror movies are a unique theatrical draw, and...

Roughly 15 minutes into Until Dawn, a creepy petrol station clerk warns a group of teens that “a lot go missing further down the roads”. As they set off towards a familiar forest cabin, it’s hard not to get swept up in the Cabin In The Woods of it all. A well-worn set-up, sure, but there’s hope the horror to come might be just as inventive — maybe even with a similar tongue-in-cheek wink to the camera. That hope sadly fades fast.

The film bears little resemblance to the choice-driven PlayStation horror game it’s based on — and honestly, the retooling makes sense. The game itself is fairly standard horror fare: a bunch of teens in a cabin for a weekend of fun, heads inevitably roll. The joy of the game lies in player agency — you're dropped into a slasher flick and have to see if your choices get everyone (or no-one) out alive.

The word-of-mouth for Until Dawn hasn’t been great, with Sony’s video game adaptation currently “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes with a 53% Tomatometer score. The film’s audience score is a bit higher at 69%, but most fans and critics seem to agree that the film misses the mark and doesn’t satisfyingly translate the video game into a terrifying big screen experience.

That’s probably why Until Dawn didn’t make much of a splash at the box office over the weekend, scaring up just $8 million in 3,055 theaters here in the United States. The film debuted in the #5 spot on the domestic box office charts, with most horror fans choosing Ryan Coogler’s vampire film Sinners in its second weekend over Until Dawn in its opening weekend.

Sinners, for the sake of comparison, made an additional $45 million at the domestic box office in its second weekend, just a few million...

Until Dawndirector David F. Sandberg breaks down exactly why the horror adaptation was harder to make than Shazam! and its sequel.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Sandberg was asked about the complex shifts and constant changes behind the scenes while he was working on both of DC's Shazam! films, and whether returning to the horror genre was what he was looking for after such a tumultuous chapter in his career. "Yes, but Until Dawn was a more complicated movie than any of the Shazam! movies," Sandberg replied.

"It was very hard to make this movie, and it was a very ambitious movie for the time and the money we had," Sandberg added. "But I was so eager to do horror again, and this was a dream come true in that I got to do lots of full-on R-rated kills and gore and special effects and special makeup and monsters. I...

The trends that were observed last year appear to be repeating in 2025 as well. Horror movies are having an unusually difficult time in theaters, with only a handful of titles managing to stick out among the crowd. This year’s biggest horror hit remainsThe Monkey, which grossed around twice as much as the IP-driven Wolf Manin its global run. This week, Sony’s Until Dawn opened with soft numbers at the box office, mere days after Ryan Coogler’s Sinners broke records. Inspired by the video game of the same name, Until Dawn is directed by horror specialist David F. Sandberg, who’d been focused on the now-defunct DC Extended Universe for a few years.

With $8 million domestically in its first three days of release and another $10 million from overseas markets, Until Dawn’s global box office debut stands at $18 million. Fortunately, the movie didn’t cost all that much to produce.

"Stand Your Ground”, is a new ‘revenge thriller’, directed by Fansu Njie, starring Daniel Stisen, Peter Stormare, Eric Roberts, Adam Basil, Patrick Regis, Akie Kotabe, Roxi Kravitz, Isobel Laidler, and Michael Billington, releasing May 9, 2025 in theaters:

“…’Jack’, a former US ‘Special Forces’ operative returns home with his pregnant wife, only to face tragedy when a racist attack, spearheaded by local crime lord ‘Bastion’ leads to her death.

“Jack kills one of the assailants in rage, just outside their home imprisoned for six years. Upon release, he discovers the culprits were the sons of Bastion. Seeking vengeance, Jack targets Bastion’s eldest son, ‘Leon’, who masterminded the attack.

“Using the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law, Jack lures Leon into a trap. Bastion retaliates, sending assassins, but Jack, fortified in his home, fights them off…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

The opening of David F. Sandberg’s Until Dawn will feel eerily familiar even to those who haven’t played the 2015 vivdeo game of the same name that it’s based on. The camera floats upward, giving us a god’s eye view of a car traveling along a straight road, surrounded by a thick forest. It carries a group of young friends who, after receiving cryptic directions from the unsettling attendant of a remote gas station, wind up at a mysterious house in the middle of the woods where a night of unimaginable horror awaits them.

Until Dawn’s story, as written by Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler, is far from original and its attempts to graft deeper meanings about grief and trauma on to it—the group is led by Clover (Ella Rubin), who’s on a mission to track down her missing sister—are hackneyed. Clover’s...

Talk about following a tough act. Sony's Until Dawn opened this week, days after Ryan Coogler's Sinners defied horror movie expectations both critically and commercially. Until Dawn will struggle to hold its ground in its debut weekend, while Sinners is expected to blaze past box office projections, like it did in its debut frame. Inspired by the video game of the same name, the movie opened to mediocre reviews and not-so-promising audience reception, which certainly doesn't bode well for its future. These missteps will ultimately work in Sinners' favor, as more casual audiences give it a chance thanks to the excellent word-of-mouth that it has been attracting.

Until Dawn currently holds a "rotten" 51% rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. But the film's audience score on the platform stands at a significantly superior 71%. A more accurate reflection of audience sentiment can be observed in the C+ CinemaScore that...

David F. Sandberg’s Until Dawn arrives as a philosophical riff on time’s circular cruelty, adapted from the 2015 PlayStation classic. It follows five friends—Clover, Max, Nina, Megan and Abe—who journey into the remote Glore Valley in search of Clover’s missing sister. Rain-soaked roads lead them to an abandoned lodge where each night ends with an antique hourglass flipping its sands, thrusting them back to that same first moment (what I call a “loopscape”).

A supernatural undercurrent hums beneath the slasher shocks. Masked killers and wendigo-like apparitions breach every shadowed hallway, while moments of dark humor—grotesque one-liners, self-aware banter—cut through the tension like a scalpel.

At stake is more than mere survival. Clover carries a weight of unspoken guilt; her attempt at atonement mirrors society’s struggle to reckon with buried traumas (think communal cycles of forgetting and remembering). The group’s hunt for clues—mysterious guest-book entries,...

“Until Dawn” may not have the cultural ubiquity of “Minecraft,” but the horror survival video game has a cult fanbase. Director David F. Sandberg and co-screenwriter Gary Dauberman are not only devotees of the game but a logical team to tackle the adaptation. Sandberg has helmed the horror favorite “Lights Out” and the well-received “Annabelle: Creation,” which was also scripted by Dauberman, while Dauberman is no stranger to adapting beloved horror properties, having co-written both “It” films.

Playing in the sandbox of the beloved game, “Until Dawn” is a new story in the larger universe — not a remake or reboot of the story. Ahead of its release, Sandberg and Dauberman broke down the film’s place in the franchise, some of its easter eggs and potential sequels.

How did you figure out how you wanted to adapt “Until Dawn” into a film?

Dauberman: It was a discussion with Blair Butler,...

This article contains spoilers for "Until Dawn."

This month's "Until Dawn" is the latest in an increasingly lengthy line of cinematic adaptations of popular video games, so one might initially think there's nothing too novel to say about it. On the contrary, the film features a fair amount of originality and innovation, presenting a unique storyline, characters, and environments distinct from the 2015 game of the same name. Don't worry, gamers; this isn't a film wherein the source material has been changed and mutated beyond recognition. Yet it also isn't a glorified remake, either, in contrast to the too-close-to-the-games "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" and Max's "The Last of Us" series. It's also not the same thing as "A Minecraft Movie," which is a film that's biggest connection to its source material is almost exclusively in the form of Easter eggs.

Instead, "Until Dawn" adapts the same underlying subtext of the video game,...

Three of this year’s recent theatrical horror releases were made available at home this week, while Cronenberg’s latest expands wide and a popular video game comes to the big screen.

Here’s all the new horror that released April 21– April 25, 2025!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

A mind-bending sci-fi horror movie directed by Grammy winning artist Flying Lotus (V/H/S/99, Kuso), Ash was released in theaters on March 21 from Rlje Films and Shudder, and it’s now available at home. Rent it now for $19.99 or purchase it for $24.99.

Eiza González (Baby Driver) and Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”) star in the sci-fi horror film alongside Iko Uwais (The Raid), Beulah Koale (Shadow in the Cloud), Kate Elliott (“Xena: Warrior Princess”), and Flying Lotus. Jonni Remmler wrote the film.

On the mysterious planet of Ash, Riya (González) awakens to find her crew slaughtered.

This article contains spoilers for "Until Dawn."

Most cinematic adaptations have a blatantly obvious and fairly mundane relation to the material they're adapting: Put simply, they're just another version of the source material. The best adaptations eschew that mundanity, putting a special spin on the story, world, or characters to make the adaptation unique, but even in those instances, the relation between adaptation and source is still fairly rote. For example, even though Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" films are distinctly his, they're still a version of Frank Herbert's novel. For another example, despite the many films and TV shows that make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe, those works do not typically connect to or cross over with the comic books they're inspired by.

Yet there have been experiments with multimedia franchises over the years, in which the works of disparate mediums are actually meant to tie-in together rather than remain separate.

As “A Minecraft Movie” continues to rake in money at the box office and “The Last of Us” continues to earn critical acclaim every week for its second season, “Until Dawn” arrives with the hope of maintaining Hollywood’s recent string of successful video game adaptations. Co-produced by PlayStation Productions and distributed by Sony Pictures, the new film is a survival horror thriller based on the immensely popular 2015 video game of the same name.

“Until Dawn” also marks “Lights Out” and “Annabelle: Creation” director David F. Sandberg’s return to the horror genre, following his eight-year detour into the world of superhero filmmaking with 2019’s “Shazam!” and 2023’s “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” Here is where you can watch “Until Dawn” yourself.

When does “Until Dawn” come out?

“Until Dawn” is set to be released on Friday, April 25.

Is “Until Dawn” streaming or in theaters?

“Until Dawn” is only playing in movie theaters.

"I have the right to protect myself - and my property." Sure, I guess that's true? Epic Pictures has unveiled an official trailer for Stand Your Ground, a revenge thriller from Swedish filmmaker Fansu Njie. This is his second action movie made in collaboration with actor Daniel Stisen, following the Netflix action film Last Man Down a few years ago. Former Special Forces op, Jack Johnson, seeks vengeance after his wife's murder, igniting a brutal war against a local crime lord's family. Director Fansu Njie brings a love of action & horror, and unique perspective as a celebrated Swedish director, to this American story of revenge. When Jack kills one of the assailants in rage, just outside their home, he is imprisoned for six years. Upon release, he discovers the culprits were sons of Bastion. Seeking vengeance, Jack targets Bastion's eldest son, Leon, who masterminded the attack. Along with Stisen, this also stars Peter Stormare,...

Plot: A group of friends trapped in a time loop, where mysterious foes are chasing and killing them in gruesome ways, must survive until dawn to escape it.

Review: It’s always going to be a controversial decision when you adapt a video game and then decide to not follow its story. But if any adaptation was going to do it, the game where you make different decisions to try and survive a slasher, with varying outcomes, seems like the place to start. After all, everyone has a unique game experience so you’re going to piss off some sect of fans by following a certain throughline. Until Dawn gets rid of that issue by introducing an entirely new story, yet still carries plenty of connections with the game. The real question is… does it work?

Until Dawn follows Clover (what a name) and her friends as they’re out looking for her missing sister.

This post contains spoilers for the "Until Dawn" movie.

"Until Dawn," the return to the horror genre for "Lights Out" and "Annabelle: Creation" director David F. Sandberg (whose talents have been wasted in the superhero space for the past few years), doesn't play coy about wanting a sequel. 

In the movie's climax, the story's mysterious villain, Dr. Hill (played by Peter Stormare), violently explodes into guts and viscera after drinking a cup of coffee that was poisoned by our protagonist, Clover (Ella Rubin). The day has been saved, trauma has been confronted, closure has been achieved, and our heroes drive off into the metaphorical sunset. But the film ends with someone whistling the same tune Dr. Hill had whistled several times throughout, implying that he somehow survived his explosive death.

/Film's Bill Bria recently spoke with Sandberg about his work on the movie and he asked if the filmmaker thinks a sequel is possible,...

Condensing a roughly 8-hour immersive video game experience into a passive, under two-hour horror viewing experience is a daunting puzzle to crack, especially for a video game as beloved among horror fans as Until Dawn. It’s a game where your choices as the player and the ability to nail a quick time event directly affect who survives the onslaught of horror threats, both metaphysical and psychological, further complicating adaptation endeavors.

Director David F. Sandberg and screenwriters Gary Dauberman & Blair Butler realize what a fool’s errand it would be to try, at least as a straightforward adaptation, and instead take a kitchen sink approach with the Until Dawn movie

The core narrative thrust of Until Dawn calls the inciting event of the game to mind, in which one sister ventures into the dark wood to console her distraught sister, only for unspeakable horror to befall them both. In this case,...

Helming consecutive $100-million–plus-budgeted DC movies seems like two of the most arduous jobs a director can have, but David F. Sandberg insists that his latest film, Until Dawn, was more challenging than either of his Shazam! movies.

When The Hollywood Reporter last caught up with Sandberg during the release of Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), he couldn’t wait to return to his home base in the horror genre. After all, he’d just been through a whirlwind experience that included a last-minute rewrite of Shazam 2’s mid-credit scene due to studio politics, as well as Visa issues that forced him to direct a Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) cameo remotely. If that wasn’t enough, the Swedish filmmaker was caught off guard when that very cameo was revealed by the studio’s late-stage marketing efforts. He also had to face all sorts of unanswerable questions at the time...

While reactions to an early Until Dawn preview last week hailed it as the best horror film of the year, its Rotten Tomatoes score says otherwise, as the video game horror movie has debuted with a "rotten" score of 58% from critics on the aggregator site. Directed by David F. Sandberg from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler, Until Dawn is a live-action take on the 2015 video game that features an original story set apart from the mythology built by Supermassive Games.

Hitting theaters tomorrow, April 25, Evan Valentine from Comicbook.com calls Until Dawn "a missed opportunity" that's "unable to carve out its own identity or work within the original game universe." Austen Goslin from Polygon says that the horror movie doesn't fail because it's unfaithful to the source material, but because "it's boring in a way the game never was." MovieWeb's own Julian Roman also didn't think too much of Until Dawn,...

The premise of Until Dawn, David F. Sandberg’s horror flick inspired by the video game of the same name, is promising despite its familiarity: A group of friends happen upon an abandoned residence in the middle of the woods and find themselves hunted by fatal forces of both the physical and supernatural variety. The stakes of this feature are also expectedly high: To avoid death, this crew of recognizable archetypes must outmaneuver their adversaries. And there’s even a twist that fans of the PlayStation game will immediately clock. This should be a recipe for success, if a minor one, but Until Dawn doesn’t really capitalize on these elements and, as a result, is erratically frightening and vaguely dissatisfying.

Written by Blair Butler and Gary Dauberman (Annabelle, Salem’s Lot), Until Dawn is the latest offering in a cinematic landscape littered with game-inspired movies. Just earlier this month...

An Until Dawn video game adaptation seemed… misguided upon announcement. Supermassive Games’ choose your own spooky adventure was, itself, a 10-hour cinematic experience. Simply replicating the events on Blackwood Mountain would be more of a remake versus an adaptation, which David F. Sandberg’s Until Dawn film is not. Writers Gary Dauberman and ex-G4 talent Blair Butler abandon the snowy lodge and butterfly effects for something completely different, begging the question, why is it even titled Until Dawn (*cough* IP familiarity *cough*)? It’s a strange experiment in video game adaptations that feels like it bizarrely leaves the source material behind.

The idea of missing siblings is still a motivating factor. Clover (Ella Rubin) is searching for her sister Melanie (Maia Mitchell), accompanied by a handful of tagalong friends. They’re on a morbid road trip tracking Melanie’s last known whereabouts, ending in an off-the-beaten-path old mining town.

This weekend, the new video game adaptation Until Dawn makes its debut in theaters. Just ahead of the movie's official premiere on April 25, its debut Rotten Tomatoes score has been revealed through early reviews from critics.

As it stands, Until Dawn is holding a Rotten Tomatoes score of 54%. Proving to be divisive with critics, Until Dawn has endured some criticism with some reviewers claiming it doesn't hold up to the source material. However, other critics are finding the horror flick to be a lot of fun, praised for its practical FX and "visually captivating horror sequences," as Manuel São Bento of FandomWire said.

"[David F.] Sandberg, [Gary] Dauberman, and their fellow cast and crew clearly wish to do nothing more than put on a good horror show, and the creatures, effects, and gags they've come up with do exactly that," Bill Bria of Slashfilm also said.

"Until Dawn is a classy throwback to simpler times,...

Before “Until Dawn” was a movie, it was a video game that was also basically a movie. Developed by Supermassive Games and co-written by indie horror luminary Larry Fessenden (“Wendigo”), “Until Dawn” starred notable actors like Peter Stormare, Hayden Panettiere and future Oscar-winner Rami Malek. Players were guided through a mixed-bag monster movie in which early decisions reaped unexpected consequences as the game continued. It was essentially a 10-hour “cabin in the woods” b-movie you could rewatch/replay over and over, so characters died differently or stayed alive depending on your idle whims.

But the main story of “Until Dawn” was always the same: a group of teenagers goes to a secluded mountain lodge and are attacked by a deranged killer, and eventually supernatural monsters. That story has been almost entirely ignored — for better or worse — by David F. Sandberg’s extremely loose adaptation. There are still teens, there’s...

In 1943, Universal Pictures had the inspired idea to throw two of their monster characters into the same film, "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man," thus making it appear twice as alluring and scary as their prior entries. In the 1950s and '60s, a steady wave of repertory showings of the Universal Monster movies and other horror films were advertised with lurid names like "Horror Show," and were typically shown on double, triple, or marathon billings. In 1962, Bobby "Boris" Pickett released the song "Monster Mash," a novelty pop rock record whose lyrics told the story of a party attended by every famous movie monster to date, and the song became so popular that it's still a kitschy Halloween staple to this day.

As all of this proves, there is a long tradition of quantity-as-quality in horror cinema, a trope which leans into the more experiential and carnival aspects of the genre.

David F. Sandberg burst onto the horror scene in 2016 with Lights Out. This original film surprised everyone with its storytelling but truly impressed on a technical level, thanks to the filmmaker’s outstanding creativity in crafting suspenseful sequences marked by immersive lighting design and incredibly effective jump scares. Sandberg proved that his debut wasn’t a one-off feat of excellent cinema, following it up with Annabelle: Creation, and after a less consistent detour into the world of superheroes, the director now returns to the genre where he has always shone with Until Dawn.

Based on the 2015 video game by Supermassive Games – note that it isn’t a full adaptation, but instead an expansion of its universe with an original standalone story – the movie hits the big screen with a screenplay penned by Gary Dauberman (It) and Blair Butler (The Invitation), starring Ella Rubin (Anora) in the lead role as Clover.

A decade past its namesake video game, Sony’s “Until Dawn” adaptation isn’t the “best” possible outcome. To get that ending, the studio would’ve had to move faster, turning its popular PlayStation title from 2015 into a movie — preferably, back when it had a prayer of casting Hayden Panettiere and Rami Malek as the mo-cap teens they played then.

The original “Until Dawn” follows a group of grieving friends terrorized by a mysterious presence at a snowy cabin. It’s got multiple endings, famously determined by player choice, but the game also has a memorable narrative with the potential to win nostalgia points among gamers at the box office. Theoretically. What director David F. Sandberg does with his take on “Until Dawn” is something altogether stranger, with an approach more bizarre than almost any film 10 years ago would have tried.

Written by Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler, this “standalone...

“I’m an old school horror guy, and for Until Dawn I wanted to take practical as far as we could,” director/producer David F. Sandberg previews in a featurette we’re debuting today.

Take a peek at Until Dawn’s practical effects by watching the featurette video below!

“It pays off on screen, because it feels real, it feels tactile,” producer/writer Gary Dauberman says. “And it feels scary.” Sandberg adds, “I have no idea how much blood we went through.”

It should come as no surprise that Until Dawn has received a “R” rating from the MPA for “bloody horror violence, gore and language throughout.”

Until Dawn opens in theaters April 25 via Sony Pictures.

“One year after her sister mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a...

Video game enthusiasts and horror buffs alike are eagerly anticipating Sony's upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular video game Until Dawn, which is set to hit theaters this Friday, April 25. However, the company also has something special in store that is sure to thrill hardcore horror fans. It's a competition that will test your stamina. Are you up for the challenge?

So, how does this competition work? Well, it's an Until Dawn screening competition that's designed to celebrate the release of the movie and get fans hyped. Essentially, the challenge is that participants must watch Until Dawn over and over again all night long, literally until the sun comes up. Doesn't seem that hard to you? Well, there's a catch. If you fall asleep, take a bathroom break, or even use your phone, you will be disqualified. The last horror fan standing, aka the one who makes it through the night without tapping out,...

Until Dawnwriter-producer Gary Dauberman confirms that one fan-favorite video game character is still just as important as ever.

Per Reddit, Dauberman recently discussed the role that Dr. Hill, portrayed by Peter Stormare in both the original video game and its big screen adaptation, will be playing in the upcoming film. "It's the same Dr. Hill from the game," Dauberman stated. "I'm not quite sure how to answer your other questions [about his intentions] without getting into spoilers… But broadly speaking, his role in the movie is just as crucial as it was in the game. I know that's not as satisfactory of an answer as you'd like. If you want to get more specific with your question, maybe I can get more specific with my answer."

Developed by Supermassive Games, 2015's Until Dawn was an interactive survival horror experience that put players in control of eight young adults whose weekend getaway to the...

Jeff Bridges has had an illustrious career. He's worked with some of Hollywood's greatest directors and has been nominated for seven Academy Awards. However, for many people, he'll always be associated with the 1998 comedy classic, The Big Lebowski, which, if the legendary actor had his way, would be receiving a sequel.

Per Deadline, Bridges attended a screening for The Big Lebowski in Los Angeles and was asked whether he'd be interested in reprising his iconic role of The Dude in a potential sequel. The acclaimed actor would confirm that not only would he be more than willing to return, but that his The Big Lebowski co-star Julianne Moore would as well. "Of course," Bridges said. "Julianne and I would fantasize about that. We did another movie together, Seventh Son, she played a witch in that movie. And we would often say, ‘Gee it’s all set up for a sequel.

Jeff Bridges has shared that he’d be up for making a sequel to The Big Lebowski – which brought him one of the most beloved roles of his career.

Bridges, who played “The Dude” in the 1998 Cohen Brothers thriller, spoke to the audience after a screening of the original film at the Orpheum Theatre in LA.

The Daily Mail newspaper reports that Bridges was asked about the prospect of returning to the role that helped make him a star, and replied that he and original co-star Julianne Moore were of the same mind:

“Of course. Julianne and I would fantasize about that. We did another movie together, Seventh Son, she played a witch in that movie. And we would often say, ‘Gee it’s all set up for a sequel.’”

He added, though, he thought the prospect of the Coens wanting to return to the subject matter was unlikely:

“I...

The first social media reactions for Until Dawn have just hit (via GameFragger.com), and they're overwhelmingly positive. By now, most are wary of early verdicts like these, particularly as they often don't match the reviews and the inevitable Tomatometer score reveal.

There hasn't been a huge amount of positive buzz surrounding Until Dawn due to what appear to be some huge changes from the game it's based on.

Rather than adapting that Choose Your Own Adventure-style story, this movie's premise is inspired by Groundhog Day. However, the leads are forced to relive their day over and over, facing different horror threats each time.

That seems to have paid off, though, resulting in a scary and clever horror movie that, according to some who watched it early, does tie into the 2015 video game (even if it plays "fast and loose with the lore").

Full reviews for Until Dawn should drop soon,...

Last year, we learned that Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg would be re-teaming with Annabelle: Creation screenwriter Gary Dauberman for a movie based on the horror video game Until Dawn. Production began in August, wrapping in October, and the film is aiming for an April 25, 2025 theatrical release. With that date swiftly approaching, Sandberg has released an 8 minute and 29 second video that digs into his approach to practical special FX – and you can watch it at the bottom of this article!

As The Hollywood Reporter previously noted, first released in 2015, Until Dawn is an interactive horror video game that follows eight friends and frenemies who are brought together a remote mountain retreat. With live or die scenarios featuring a mysterious killer, cannibalistic wendigos, a cable car, and a long-ago mining cave-in that reverberates into the present day, the members of the group must fight through their...

Always a valuable resource for behind-the-scenes insight, director David F. Sandberg made a video detailing his approach to practical effects in Until Dawn.

A must-watch for aspiring filmmakers, the video plays like an eight-minute film class on special effects that includes test foots he shot with his wife and producing partner Lotta Losten.

It also teases a few of the movie’s in-camera gore gags, including a worm burrowing into a face, a pickax stab through the chest, a head repeatedly smashed on the ground, and a leg amputation.

Applied Arts FX Studio handled the practical effects in the film, with visual effects by Upp.

Watch the big screen get bloody when Until Dawn opens on April 25 from Sony Pictures.

Based on Supermassive Games’ survival horror video game, Blair Butler and Gary Dauberman penned the script.

One year after her sister mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the...

Last year, we learned that Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg would be re-teaming with Annabelle: Creation screenwriter Gary Dauberman for a movie based on the horror video game Until Dawn. Production began in August, wrapping in October, and the film is aiming for an April 25, 2025 theatrical release. With that date just a couple of weeks away, a clip from the film has dropped online to give viewers a ghoulish jump scare – and you can check it out at the bottom of this article!

As The Hollywood Reporter previously noted, first released in 2015, Until Dawn is an interactive horror video game that follows eight friends and frenemies who are brought together a remote mountain retreat. With live or die scenarios featuring a mysterious killer, cannibalistic wendigos, a cable car, and a long-ago mining cave-in that reverberates into the present day, the members of the group must...

Hold your breath as you watch the first clip from Until Dawn, because there’s a jump scare waiting at the end.

Based on Supermassive Games’ survival horror video game, the film opens in theaters on April 25 from Sony Pictures.

David F. Sandberg directs from a script by Blair Butler and Gary Dauberman.

One year after her sister mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one…only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening.

Trapped in the valley, they’re forced to relive the nightmare again and again — only each time the killer threat is different, each more terrifying than the last. Hope dwindling, the group soon realizes they have a limited number of deaths left,...

Directors know what’s best for their films and will do anything to have their vision perfectly translated onto the screen. However, sometimes, they might need a little nudge in the right direction. Take the gritty, supernatural rollercoaster of 2005, for example. Constantine will forever be remembered as that bold, mind-bending film that didn’t quite play by the rulebook. Keanu Reeves was, no doubt, brilliant in the film with his cigarette, trench coat, and devil-may-care attitude.

However, there is another actor who stole the spotlight when he came on screen – Peter Stormare. Playing the barefoot, slimy Satan who oozed tar from his feet, the actor played the role of the devil to perfection, and the costume choice really elevated the scene, if you ask us, and we only have the Peter Stormane to thank for that.

Keanu Reeves in Constantine (2005) | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures Constantine almost took a different route...

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This April, Prime Video is bringing you a lot of entertainment, from the release of the highly anticipated action horror series The Bondsman to the much-anticipated streaming release of Conclave. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Prime Video this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 10 best films that are coming to Prime Video in April 2025 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Annie Hall (April 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97% Credit – United Artists

Annie Hall is a satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Marshall Brickman. The 1977 film follows Alvy Singer, a comedian who ponders why his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Annie Hall ended so abruptly. Annie Hall stars Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts,...

Until Dawn has received a “R” rating from the MPA for “bloody horror violence, gore and language throughout.”

This comes as little surprise, as the film has been described as “an R-rated love letter to the horror genre,” and the survival horror video game on which its based was rated “M” for mature.

Directed by David F. Sandberg, Until Dawn opens in theaters April 25 via Sony Pictures.

One year after her sister mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one…only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening.

Trapped in the valley, they’re forced to relive the nightmare again and again — only each time the killer threat is different, each more terrifying than the last.

Sony Pictures kicked off the studio presentations at CinemaCon 2025 on Monday with a lively filmmaker-led session, revealing Spider-Man: Brand New Day as the title of the 2026 tentpole starring Tom Holland, and dating Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse for June 4, 2027.

Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, bookended the session, kicking off with his annual theatrical-first message to attendees in Las Vegas in which he promised “the future will be great” if studios and exhibitors work together.

“Cost and windows can work for us or against us,” he said. “Theatrical needs to be smart about both […] and Sony...

Last year, we learned that Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg would be re-teaming with Annabelle: Creation screenwriter Gary Dauberman for a movie based on the horror video game Until Dawn. Production began in August, wrapping in October, and the film is aiming for an April 25, 2025 theatrical release. With that date just weeks away, Sandberg has taken to social media to share a video about some of the cool practical effects that were created for the film, and you can check that out in the embed below.

As The Hollywood Reporter previously noted, first released in 2015, Until Dawn is an interactive horror video game that follows eight friends and frenemies who are brought together a remote mountain retreat. With live or die scenarios featuring a mysterious killer, cannibalistic wendigos, a cable car, and a long-ago mining cave-in that reverberates into the present day, the members of...

Until Dawn director David F. Sandberg posted a behind-the-scenes look at “one of the many great practical makeup effects” created for the film by Applied Arts FX Studio.

The Instagram video below features the filmmaker’s original storyboards and behind-the-scenes footage of a sequence in which a worm is burrowed in a character’s face, as seen in the trailer.

“Our approach was to take practical FX as far as possible and then use VFX to hide seams, make fixes or comping of practical elements if needed,” Sandberg commented.

Based on Supermassive Games’ survival horror video game, Until Dawn will be released on April 25 from Sony Pictures.

One year after her sister mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one…only...