You have to know your audience.

That sounds obvious, but it's often overlooked. Both by viewers as well as filmmakers. You have to know who's going to be watching, and whether or not you're that target audience to begin with.

Director David F. Sandberg understands his audience. He got his start with no-budget shorts, which grew into an effective feature debut, after which he effortlessly moved into two underrated DC adaptations of Shazam. Each of his films know who they're made for. Until Dawn follows in their footsteps. It's a lovingly crafted fun house of horrors that does exactly what it promises to do.

The setup is so traditional and simple it borders on parody. A group of impossibly good looking twenty-somethings arrive in a backwater tracing the steps of their missing friend. A shady gas station attendant (the delightful Peter Stormare) warns them of a local haunt where people go missing. Naturally, they head straight there. A storm forces them to seek shelter, and everything goes belly up.

Then, without warning, everyone dies, only to awaken at the moment of their arrival as the night creeps in. It doesn't take long to realize something supernatural is afoot. In classic horror film tradition, the question becomes who survives and what will be left of them by the time dawn finally arrives.

I wasn't scared or surprised at any turn, but I had fun nonetheless. That's the nature of haunted house rides: once you know where the jumps come from, they don't startle you anymore. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy the artistry behind them. I've been on enough of these to know when the director is gearing up for another scare, and that's alright. For others, this will be their first ride. You've got to know your audience.

Until Dawn works because I care about these characters. They're paper thin, but it's better stationary than most others. They're also not helpless nor dumb. They've seen a horror movie or two in their past, which makes for a more fun experience. It adds to the carnival spirit of things, where you just want the heroes to win a rigged game.

I was also fascinated by how much Sandberg and his producing partner Lotta Losten make from a meager budget. Until Dawn reportedly only cost 15 million to make, yet looks and feels ten times that. It reminds me of their early YouTube shorts, where the infinite darkness holds far greater fascination than any busy set.

Will Until Dawn reinvent the horror genre? No. Is it among the best game adaptations out there? Again, probably not. But it knows when to start and where to pump the brakes, and that's more than most films of its type can say. It's a classy throwback to simpler times. It knows who it plays for and how. That deserves praise.