‘Until Dawn’ brings iconic Dr. Hill from video game

In “Until Dawn”, a group of friends take a road trip to the last known location of Melanie (Maia Mitchell), Clover’s (Ella Rubin) sister, and investigate the secrets surrounding the disappearance. At the start of their adventure, a mysterious figure manning a gas station points them in the right direction, and that figure is portrayed by acclaimed Swedish actor Peter Stormare.

Stormare is no stranger to the franchise, as he played the enigmatic Dr. Hill in the original Until Dawn video game. For this run, however, he wants to keep fans guessing.

“Initially, we really don’t know who or what he is,” Stormare elaborates. “But it is really rewarding to embody a character that you can’t nail down 100 percent. He’s both legendary and non-traditional. I was super excited to embody the character because it’s one of the coolest I’ve ever done.”

Director-producer David F. Sandberg wanted to build upon the original character and expand it to enrich the film. “We’ll learn more about who he really is. It’s great to have that connection to the game, and it was a joy to work with Peter, as well,” he says.

A little tidbit that writer-producer Gary Dauberman is willing to share is that Stormare’s character is a kind of “master of ceremonies who escorts us through the story. He’s also the man behind the curtain, who knows everything that’s happening, or going to happen.”

Producer Lotta Losten adds to this interpretation, calling the character the “puppet master” of the world of “Until Dawn.” Losten also praises the work that Stormare has done for the film, recalling how effectively terrifying the actor is at work.

“Stormare has this way of playing creepy that is just delightful. When, as Hill, he smiles, his cheeks make a little clicky sound. Normally, in post-production, you remove those kinds of sounds because they’re a distraction, but we tuned that up because it makes the character even better.”

One year after her sister Melanie 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 night 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, and the only way to escape is to survive until dawn.

“Until Dawn”, based on the Playstation Studios video game, stars Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, Belmont Cameli, and Maia Mitchell, and Peter Stormare. It will open in cinemas this Friday, April 25.