10 Movies Like Until Dawn You Must See

Set in the universe of the PlayStation Studios video game of the same name, ‘Until Dawn’ by David F. Sandberg expands on the lore with an original standalone narrative. It follows a young girl, Clover (Ella Rubin), searching for her sister Melanie (Maia Mitchell) after her mysterious disappearance. Following her trail for a year leads Clover and her group of friends to an abandoned visitor center in a remote valley. Things turn south as the youngsters find themselves being stalked and murdered by a masked killer, and waking up at the beginning of the same evening, becoming part of a time loop. With every revival, the threat they face becomes more terrifying, and the group soon realizes that they have to survive till dawn to escape.

The survival horror film stays true to the theme of the games, becoming a thrilling watch for both fans and ordinary viewers. If the story has you hungry for more, the following curated list of movies similar to ‘Until Dawn’ is sure to satiate your cravings.

10. Dead End (2004)

Directed by Jean-Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa, ‘Dead End’ centers around a dysfunctional family traveling along an empty road through the woods on Christmas Eve. The eeriness of the setting is intensified as they see flashes of a ghostly figure dressed in white by the side of the road, and are pursued by a mysterious hearse. The father of the family, Frank Harrington (Ray Wise), picks up a hitchhiker (Amber Smith) and her infant child midway, and chaos soon follows. The frights in the film are punctuated with dark humor similar to ‘Until Dawn,’ making the film a thrilling ride.

9. The Descent (2006)

Helmed by Neil Marshall, ‘The Descent’ tells the story of a group of young girls who go on a trip to North Carolina to explore some of the local caves. Led by Juno (Natalie Mendoza), they rappel down a mountain cave with only one exit that leads them further underground. Soon, they find themselves trapped as a narrow tunnel collapses ahead of them. More worryingly, the girls find strange paintings on the wall, and soon realize that they are not alone. Underground predators inhabit the underground cave network beneath the mountain and hunt the group as prey. Being trapped without any probable chance of escape makes the situation of the girls similar to that of the group of friends in ‘Until Dawn.’

8. Wrong Turn (2003)

‘Wrong Turn’ by Rob Schmidt is about friends Jessie (Eliza Dushku), Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui), Scott (Jeremy Sisto), Evan (Kevin Zegers), and Francine (Lindy Booth) travelling through a forest in West Virginia when their car runs into trouble. Stuck in the middle of the road, a second car crashed into it, carrying Chris (Desmond Harrington). With all of them stranded with no help in sight, they wander around to come across a desolate house in the middle of nowhere and approach it to ask for help. Instead, they find themselves stalked by backwood cannibals who intend to hunt them down. Much like ‘Until Dawn,’ the group attempts to outwit the mortal danger that chases after them.

7. House of Wax (2005)

Marking the feature directorial debut of Jaume Collet-Serra, ‘House of Wax’ follows a group of college friends on their way to a school football game. After spending a night camping out in a field, they find their car has broken down and end up in a ghost town to seek assistance. The only place they find open is a wax museum, which is surprisingly made entirely of wax. Touring inside, they discover that the hyper-realistic figures are not what they seem, and that a psychotic killer is on the hunt for them. The unexpected trap into which the group walks in the film, based on Charles S. Belden’s story ‘The Wax Works,’ brings to mind the similar situation that arises in ‘Until Dawn.’

6. ARQ (2016)

Tony Elliott’s ‘ARQ’ revolves around a couple, Renton (Robbie Amell) and Hannah (Rachael Taylor), who wake up to find themselves trapped in their home by a group of masked intruders. When they torture and kill Renton, he wakes up next to Hannah on the same morning, as a result of being caught in a time loop. After the events of the morning repeat themselves a number of times, Hannah gets caught in the loop as well. As they try to escape, Renton figures out that the invaders are behind the “arc” that he has created. Similar to ‘Until Dawn,’ escape seems to be easier said than done.

5. Blood Punch (2013)

Madellaine Paxson makes her directorial debut with ‘Blood Punch,’ where a young chemistry prodigy is lured into a secluded cabin by a dangerously charming girl to cook up a batch of crack. Along with them is the girl’s boyfriend, whom she describes as a psychopath. As the girl and the prodigy engage in a tryst, the love triangle quickly descends into an inexplicable supernatural cycle of carnage and mayhem, which begins all over again with no escape in sight. Like the group of friends in ‘Until Dawn,’ death seems an impermanent state for all three, as everyone repeatedly attempts to put others in the ground.

4. The Final Girls (2015)

‘The Final Girls’ by Todd Strauss-Schulson follows Max (Taissa Farmiga) and her friends attending an anniversary screening of ‘Camp Bloodbath,’ a B-horror film of the 1980s, which Max’s mother (Malin Akerman) starred in before her untimely death. When a fire breaks out in the theatre, the friends rip apart the screen in an attempt to escape, and find themselves mysteriously transported into the movie instead. As the narrative of the film unfolds, where the characters are pursued and killed by a machete-wielding slasher, the newly arrived group tries to change the outcome with their prior knowledge of the scenes. The murder spree is punctuated with campy fun in the film, much like ‘Until Dawn.’

3. The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

‘The Cabin in the Woods,’ which marks the directorial debut of Drew Goddard, depicts a group of five friends who decide to go on holiday to a seemingly dilapidated cabin in the woods, far removed from human civilization. The area does not have any satellite connection as well, completely cutting the group off from the outside world. As night falls, all hell breaks loose as the friends find the cabin booby-trapped, and themselves hunted by savage killers. Unbeknownst to them, anonymous individuals are witnessing the events unfold through hidden cameras in the cabin and controlling their fate. Much like the group in ‘Until Dawn,’ escape seems far-fetched for the group.

2. Triangle (2009)

Helmed by Christopher Smith, ‘Triangle’ centers around a young woman, Jess (Melissa George), who goes sailing on a yacht with her friends, all the while feeling uneasy about something being off. Soon, their vessel floats into a storm at sea and gets overturned. As it dies down, they find themselves staring at an ocean liner in front of them. Thinking they are rescues, the friends climb aboard to find the entire ship inexplicably deserted. However, Jess is unable to shake off the feeling that she has been here before. Soon, they sense they are being hunted by a hidden figure, and Jess is the key to solving the mystery. The film shifts the setting from a deserted cabin in the woods to a deserted ship on the seas, but manages to keep the heart of the narrative of ‘Until Dawn.’

1. Happy Death Day (2017)

Directed by Christopher Landon, ‘Happy Death Day’ stars Jessica Rothe as Tree Gelbman, a popular college student who wakes up in the dorm of a classmate on the morning of her birthday. Rushing back to her home, she gets along with her day and attends her party in the evening, where she is brutally murdered by a masked killer. However, instead of her life coming to an end, it is rewound back to the morning of her birthday, with Tree waking up in the classmate’s room once again. As she gets killed over and over again, she realizes she is stuck in a time loop, and the way out is to solve her own murder. The narrative of the film overlaps much with ‘Until Dawn,’ with the protagonists getting trapped in time loops that restart with their death. While the initial deaths leave them scarred, they toughen up and prepare to survive the night even in the face of increasing danger, as they believe it to be the only way to end the loop.