Episode Guide
The Abandoned Monastery The White Lady The Derelict Hospital The Haunted Crypt The Damned Lovers The Poisoners Of The Fort The Cursed Castle The Doomed Treasure Split across 8 episodes, Until Dawn is another Netflix comedy prank show that does a pretty good job making a parody out of the haunted house tropes inherent with other spook shows. With French comedians trying to scare one another and a series of missions taking place in some truly creepy locations, Until Dawn is a pretty good show that mixes some planned frights with plenty of laughs along the way. Each episode works as a stand-alone segment, taking place in different settings with different comedians taking it in turns to complete missions. From the depths of a haunted crypt through to everyone’s favourite haunt spot – an abandoned hospital – Until Dawn mixes these locations nicely with a variety of pranks and spooks. With narration tying everything together and expository text informing how long’s left until dawn arrives, there’s a constant feeling of progression here. The first episode essentially works as an introduction and a taster to what’s to come, before some of the later episodes take this idea and really run with it. As the series progresses, the creepier locations bring with it far more variety with the pranks and the constant cuts to the backstage area is quite reminisce of something like Impractical Jokers, where they revel and giggle in the face of what’s happening. Aesthetically, a lot of the show takes place at night so inevitably night-vision cameras and black and white scenes are pretty prevalent throughout the season. There are of course some colour segments, as well as the usual array of cut-away shots that work to establish the locations and trio of comedians. I would assume that native French watchers will get a lot more out of this one, especially given the different comedians fronting this one, but there’s enough enjoyment to be had here nonetheless. There are the usual pranks and ideas that feel a little over-exagerrated but to be honest, there’s enough comedy injected into this one to make it easy to overlook. Unlike Prank Encounters last year, there’s a much more simplistic approach to the jokes and this works to keep things moving along at a consistent pace. If you’re in the mood for some comedy and fancy a couple of haunted frights along the way, Until Dawn is worth checking out, even if its idea isn’t wholly original.