Until Dawn director David F. Sandberg says horror flick was ‘a more complicated movie' to make than Shazam!

Perth Now

25-04-2025

David F. Sandberg thinks 'Until Dawn' was "a more complicated movie" to make than his 'Shazam!' films.
The 44-year-old director helmed the newly-released movie adaptation of the beloved 2015 horror game of the same name, though he has admitted it was harder to make the picture than his DC superhero flicks 'Shazam!' and 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' because "it was a very ambitious movie for the time and the money we had".
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Sandberg said: "'Until Dawn' was a more complicated movie than any of the 'Shazam!' movies.
"It was very hard to make this movie, and it was a very ambitious movie for the time and the money we had.
"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've been wanting to do all of these things since I was a little kid. So that was very welcome, but it was a challenge, for sure."
'Until Dawn' - which stars Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino and Ji-young Yoo - follows Clover and her friends who venture into the remote valley where he sister disappeared a year prior, hoping to uncover the truth.
When they stumble upon an abandoned visitor centre, a masked killer begins hunting them down - but after each brutal night, they inexplicably wake up back at the start, trapped in a deadly time loop with no clear way out.
'Until Dawn' is not a direct adaptation of the 2015 PlayStation video game, and instead serves as a continuation of the horror title, which Sandberg said was what attracted him to the project.
He of the movie's story: "I loved the fact that they didn't try to just do the game again, because the game was already so cinematic.
"It plays pretty much like a movie that you're a part of, so how do you do that in movie form and not have it be compared unfavorably? You're just never going to live up to the game.
"So, I love that they expanded upon the universe that was established in the game rather than trying to do the same thing that everyone has already played and seen."
As 'Until Dawn' hits theatres, Sanberg is already looking to the future and revealed that he is open to making a sequel.
He said: "I'm always open to anything. I just want to focus on one movie, get it done, and then take a break to catch my breath before seeing what happens.
"But, for sure, you could do much more with 'Until Dawn'. You could again have different horror genres involving another group of people. You could do almost anything with this, so it's certainly possible."