CASE STUDY Until Dawn
From Game to Film: How SF Studios Used Creator Strategy to Reframe Until Dawn
Release
June 2025
Estimated read time
5 min.
THE CHALLENGE
How Do You Promote a game-Based Horror Movie to Non-Gamers?
When SF Studios acquired Until Dawn - a film adaptation of a beloved horror game - they didn’t just face the usual film marketing challenge. They needed to speak directly to horror fans while downplaying the gaming origin.
The goal:
Make Until Dawn feel like a cinematic horror homage — not just another game adaptation.
To do this, they appointed Vievo to lead a content strategy focusing on one primary goal:
Tone down the gaming connection for film audiences
The Insight
Horror Recognition Drives Clicks
The trailer for Until Dawn wasn’t just a teaser — it was a playground of horror references. From Evil Dead to Cabin in the Woods, the film mixed horror subgenres into something fresh yet familiar.
This gave us a clever engagement opportunity:
- Leverage fans’ love for other horror films to build curiosity.
THE creator
Marius is widely recognized as the top film influencer in Denmark.
"Marius engages young film fans through in-depth reactions and analyses of both blockbusters and arthouse films."
With a deeply authentic voice and a reputation for dissecting both arthouse gems and Hollywood blockbusters, Marius was the perfect bridge between horror superfans and everyday moviegoers.
He created TikTok-first breakdowns of the trailer, highlighting:
Horror references
Easter eggs
The film’s unique blend of genres
His storytelling made Until Dawn feel like a love letter to horror cinema — not just a game adaptation.
creator Content
vievovision
THE Performance
avg. watch time
21 sec
completed views
4.1%
eng. rate
10.91%
What film marketers can learn
By positioning Until Dawn as a mash-up of horror’s greatest hits, the campaign attracted fans of Evil Dead, Happy Death Day, Alien, and more.
Genre-layering drives multi-niche interest
Gamer creators can speak to the source material. Film creators can shape perception. Both are necessary for adaptation marketing.
Split content = double relevance
Marius’ trailer analysis showed that serious film critique and viral formats can coexist - and perform.
TikTok-first doesn’t mean shallow
Want to do this yorself?
Build separate narratives for gamers and genre film fans
Choose creators with genre literacy, not just reach
Use metrics like hook rate + saves to optimize your media budget
Here’s what to prioritize:
Final thought
Until Dawn is proof that even a game adaptation can win over horror fans — when the storytelling honors the genre and the creators are chosen with care.
Sometimes, the scariest thing isn’t the monster — it’s losing your audience in the first 3 seconds.
This campaign made sure that didn’t happen.