The Until Dawn movie initially has an uplifting ending, with our time-looped victims finally surviving the night. However, its post-credits scene may contain a jaw-dropping reveal about what the film actually is. Bar its inclusion of Dr Hill (more on him later), the horror film has almost no connection to the original PlayStation game.
It takes place in Glore Valley, where Clover and her friends search for clues about her missing sister. It leads them to an empty house, and when that first night falls, they become trapped in a loop of increasingly horrific murders, whether it’s at the hands of a sledgehammer-wielding masked man, wendigoes (again, more on them later), or a simple glass of water. Let’s just say, Dr Hill has a much bigger involvement in what happens in Until Dawn than it appears from the outset – and it may have a huge link to the game.
How does the Until Dawn movie end? After killing Dr Hill, Clover and her friends escape the house and survive until dawn . As the sun rises, they get back into the car and drive home. No matter what they do throughout the movie, they can’t seem to make it to the next morning.
Everything in the house appears to be capable of killing them, and no matter where they hide, something finds them – and hurts them, badly. For example, they all try to hide in the bathroom and stay huddled together through the night. They have a glass of water, which causes them to spontaneously combust.
On another night, they hear bashing at the door, but nobody’s there – until an unseen force drags Clover out of the house and locks the rest of them inside. As they make it to the 13th night, they’re worried they’ll “become part of it”, as they were warned. Clover demands to see Dr Hill, who appears to be the architect of the entire experience.
Related Severance Season 2 Episode 9 hides terrifying clue with ‘The After Hours’ title He is, in a way. He wants to create the “perfect horror”, whether that’s reducing a patient to their most primal and monstrous instincts – thereby turning him into a wendigo, which basically happened to Clover’s sister, Melanie. When she confronts him, he explains that all of the monsters represent parts of her psyche; for example, the combustions represent her self-destructive nature.
“You are the engine that makes it run,” he says, of the house. So, is everything that happens real? Yes, but somehow, its power comes from within. Dr Hill explains that in order for them to survive, there needs to be at least one death.
So, she slides his mug under a drip from the roof, and when he drinks it, his entire body explodes. Clover regroups with her friends on the surface, and they’re able to leave. What happens in Until Dawn’s post-credits scene? Until Dawn has one post-credits scene, and it connects the film to the game in a massive way.
Back in Dr Hill’s office, his screens turn back on and he can also be heard whistling, so he isn’t dead. That isn’t the biggest reveal..
. it’s what’s on the screens. It’s not the house we’ve just seen: it’s the Washington Lodge on Blackwood Mountain from the Until Dawn game.
Nobody else appears, and the scene ends almost immediately after the lodge lights up the screens. Is Until Dawn a prequel to the game? This is the big question: is Until Dawn a prequel – or perhaps even a sequel – to the game? Considering Dr Hill is definitely alive, it could lead into the events of the game. Here’s the problem: in the game, Dr Hill isn’t a villain.
He’s Josh’s psychiatrist, as well as a manifestation of Josh’s grief. He doesn’t kill people, nor does he appear to have any sort of role in what happens to the teens that stay at the lodge. So, even if he is the “connective tissue” between the film and the game, it is a big change.
Speaking to Dexerto before the movie’s release, director David F. Sandberg admitted it was “tricky” to explain exactly when it takes place. “It’s an interesting question.
I mean, it’s an Easter egg, sort of...
it’s a little tricky because while we were shooting it, we actually sort of said it takes place after the game, but what we’re doing at the end implies that it could take place before the game,” he said. Here’s the truth: there isn’t a firm answer. “To be honest, it’s it’s not something I’ve sort of said completely.
.. I think it can be left open, at least until they want to do a sequel and we have to figure out exactly what that is,” Sandberg continued.
“To me, whenever I make a movie, I just focus on making the best that movie. I would say the same with Shazam, where we had a post-credits scene with Mr. Mind and set up a thing, and then the sequel didn’t really do anything with that.
But we could have...
you have that option.” After Until Dawn, check out our list of the best video game movies and the best horror films , and see what else is dropping this year with our 2025 movies calendar ..
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Is the Until Dawn movie secretly a prequel? Director addresses post-credits scene

The Until Dawn movie’s post-credits scene has a massive connection to the original game, and this is what the director said about it.