| “ |
I love you Mel, but I'm getting the fuck out of this hellhole. |
” |
| —Clover | ||
Clover Paul is the lead protagonist in the Until Dawn film. She is the sister of Melanie Paul and the ex-girlfriend of Max. She and four friends attempt to search for Melanie in the place where she disappeared, until they suddenly find themselves trapped in a death loop. She is played by actress Ella Rubin.
Appearance[]
Clover is a Caucasian young woman with long black hair, usually tied in a low ponytail and light brown eyes. She has two streaks of hair as bangs and wears a natural-colored lipstick.
On October 24, 2024—when she and her friends go in search of clues about the disappearance of her sister, Melanie, who has been missing for a year—Clover wears a striped white and gray shirt covered by a dark blue cropped hoodie; light blue, oversized jeans; white socks; and brown sneakers with white details. Her accessories are some silver bracelets and a necklace.
Later on in the film, she gets splattered with blood, develops dark eyes from getting possessed by the Glore Witch, and gets her face infected by a parasite worm.
Personality[]
Throughout the story, Clover proves herself to be brave, loyal, and determined. Her goal of locating her sister pushes through numerous trials. Losing her mother and sister have made her more solitary, and due to her struggles with depression, she tends to emotionally distance herself the living people she cares for, such as Max.
Her need for answers and desire to protect her friends compels her to go after Dr. Hill and find the truth about the death loop.
Until Dawn (Film)[]
A year after Melanie Paul, Clover's sister, went missing, she and her friends Max, Megan, Nina, and Abe, drive through the area where she was last seen. When they arrive at a gas station, Clover pulls up her phone and the group watch a video of Melanie she took a year prior, and it appears to be the same gas station as in the video. Clover goes inside and buys a soda. The attendant claims to have been working at the gas station for a very long time. Clover, initially leaving, but then stopping in her tracks, asks if the attendant saw a girl in his store and shows him a picture of Melanie. Clover is surprised, if not creeped out, when the man correctly assumes that Melanie has gone missing; he states that many have gone missing in Glore Valley which is just up the road. Clover leaves and tells her friends that she knows where Melanie last was.
The five are next seen driving through a torrential downpour. A fight breaks out between Abe, the driver, who wants to press forward, and all the passengers who wish to turn around again. Just when tensions reach their highest, the car bursts through the rain into a completely clear area. Here, there is a visitor's centre and one wooden cross which appears to be a grave marker. The group find the area ominous but Nina, Abe, and Megan begin to explore the visitor's centre. Nina observes an hourglass and a visitor book, Megan checks the bathroom, and Abe examines some fliers on the wall.
Meanwhile, Clover stands at the border between the clear area and the rainstorm, holding up her hand and feeling the rain. She then sees a figure she believes is Melanie, and runs into the rain to find her. Max notices this and pursues her. Inside, Nina sees Melanie’s name repeating and getting more messy in the guest book. She is called by Abe who shows her many missing posters which seem to lack purpose because there is no information written on them. One poster is for Melanie. Max pulls Clover from the rain and the group reconvenes. Nina tells Clover about Melanie’s name and signs her own name into the guest book. Abe then notices that his car is missing. The group sees its headlights out in the rain, and believe someone has taken the car. They go to approach the person, but the car rushes forward, causing Abe to usher them all back inside.
Clover, Max, and Megan go down into the basement where they find a radio, and Max notes that it is strange for a basement to have windows. Nina and Abe remain upstairs, but the group downstairs hear Nina scream and run up only to find her on the floor with a pickaxe in her back. Clover, Max, and Megan rush back downstairs to hide. The Slasher looks for them, and Max emerges from hiding in an attempt to knock the Slasher out with a chair. The attack does no damage, and the Slasher stabs Max through the face, pulling his eye out with a knife. Next, the Slasher locates Megan, throws her out of a closet and kills her by repeatedly bashing her face on the ground. Clover tries to run into the woods, but thinks she sees Melanie again and is impaled by the Slasher.
The hourglass reverses, and all five friends come to in the place they were when the loop started. They all bear marks from how they were killed. Abe calls for them and shows that they each now have a missing poster with the others. The front door begins to slam and the group barricades it. Megan sits and begins to show signs of fatigue. Max checks on her and she says that her psychic connection is giving her trouble. She begins to have seizures then disappears. The others find her, in a trance, hovering before the fliers. She begins pointing her finger and channeling the missing peoples’ voices. She begins screaming, telling the others “not to let them in” before snapping her neck and dying. Max goes to her, but Abe yells at him not to touch her body, saying Max could become possessed next. Angrily, Max says possession cannot be caught that way, and that people have to be open to it.
The group hears Melanie’s voice at the door. Despite Megan's warnings, Clover opens the door and tries to go to her sister; she is then dragged away by an invisible force to a shack that has appeared on the grounds. Max tries to hurry to her aid, but is stopped by Abe who tries to reason with him, saying Clover is beyond help and that they must leave with Nina. Meanwhile, Clover wakes up inside the shack and spots an elderly woman watching television. The woman breathes using a mask and views a news report about a mining accident in Glore Valley. Clover attempts to ask the woman questions then tries to leave. The woman, revealing herself to be a witch, attacks Clover and has her breathe into the mask which possesses her as the woman crumbles away.
Max refuses to go with Abe and heads to the shack to find Clover. Abe and Nina run to the car, and Abe locks the car door to keep Nina inside. He tries to drive away, but a giant blocks their path. The Slasher appears and kills Abe. Nina, unable to flee the locked car, is also killed. Inside the shack, Max goes upstairs and sees a clown doll in a rocking chair. He comments on it and throws it, before turning and seeing Clover who is still possessed by the Witch and now wearing a mask. She uses a knife to slash him to death and then walks out of the shack. The Slasher appears in Abe’s car and hits Clover, killing her.
The hourglass reverses again, bringing them to the third night. The group lock themselves in the bathroom in an attempt to wait things out. Abe fills a glass with tap water which surprises Megan who’d previously tried the tap and found that it didn’t work. He takes a drink and asks who else wants water. Everyone accepts his offer. As they talk, Abe begins to cough more and more. Looking into his palm, he sees that he has thrown up blood and bits of his insides. He tries to hide it but the group notices how much he’s hacking. Nina attempts to ask him if he’s okay, and he explodes over everyone. Having gotten blood and gore into her mouth, Nina panics and rushes to the sink where she also explodes. Clover, Max, and Megan become hysterical and run into the hall. Megan’s leg explodes off her and she falls, her stomach expanding. It bursts, killing her. Clover begs Max to kill her and puts his hands on her throat. However, he cannot do it and explodes. Clover falls to the ground. She listens to some whistle. When the person arrives before her, she sees that it is the gas station attendant, Hill. She explodes, covering him in blood.
The group begins to notice their bodies beginning to change; Megan stands in front of the mirror and pulls out a clump of hair. She notices that she is growing teeth. Everyone decides to go into the basement to find clues. They discover some old VHS tapes and ID cards from Dr. Hill whom Clover recognizes as the gas station attendant. The tapes show that Hill has been experimenting with the death loop and that, if a person is stuck in it for thirteen nights, they will become a Wendigo. The group realizes that the basement has windows because it used to be the first floor but has fallen into the mines along with the rest of Glore Valley.
Hill then talks to the group through a speaker and tells them that the loop must claim someone, but four may be able to leave. Abe jumps on the idea, and the group is horrified that he is even considering it. When Hill says that he is willing to speak to Clover alone in the woods, Abe presses more, saying that one dying is better than five. He is then forced to admit that he is not willing to be the one who dies. Clover runs out into the woods and gets caught in a bear trap, while the others begin to argue. Abe insinuates that Max is trying so hard to protect Clover because he wants to be her boyfriend again. Then, Abe argues that Clover has attempted suicide before, so she is the one who would be the best choice to die. Enraged, Nina tells him off then stabs him in the back so that he will be unable to attempt to survive the night without the others. Max and Megan run after Clover while Nina stays with Abe.
Clover is attacked by Melanie who is now a Wendigo. Inside the house, Nina holds Abe and talks to him. She looks up and sees the Slasher. She says that she wants to go first, and Abe asks what she means before looking up to see the Slasher attack them.
Max and Megan are finding Clover, but then a Wendigo chases them. Max loses Megan when she falls through the ground and into the basement where a Wendigo drags her away, presumably killing her. He eventually finds Clover and snaps the trap over Melanie’s head and they flee. The two hide, sharing a tender moment in which Max says that life is worth more when there's only one to live. Clover, again, asks him to kill her. This time he does, using a shard of glass to slit her neck. He then drinks some nearby water and blows up in front of Melanie when she spots him.
Clover has a dream which is a memory of herself and Melanie. Melanie says that she cannot stay in the house anymore and needs to go out into the world. She begs Clover to come with her, but Clover refuses. Melanie then appears as a Wendigo, scaring Clover who wakes up to Max, Abe, and Nina around her. They are confused by which night they are on, then Nina says that the book shows that she has signed thirteen times, meaning they are on their last night. Abe recalls that he has been recording the whole time and opens his phone gallery to find found footage of the missing nights. They notice that Megan is missing. Now armed with weapons, they decide to go into the mines to look for Megan, but they eventually get separated by the Slasher, leaving Nina, Abe, and Max to fight him - as well as Wendigos - off, while Clover continues on her own.
Clover is able to kill Wendigo Melanie, telling her that she loves her before leaving. After an encounter with another Wendigo, she finds a way out of the mines into the Sanatorium. Here, She finds Megan trapped in a chamber with a shackled Wendigo, but cannot enter the room without a key. Leaving Megan, she finds Hill’s office where he stands drinking coffee. He places his mug on the desk and the two chat. He explains that Glore valley has been using her fears like a “battery” to make things run, and that the monsters that have been hunting the friends each night are a manifestation of Clover's own fears. For example, the explosion deaths caused by bad water originate from her ''self-destructive tendencies.'' Clover views some patient files, including one for Josh Washington, before secretly moving Hill’s mug so that it catches water from the ceiling. Hill drinks the coffee and explodes.
The last minutes until dawn are spent in a mad race to escape. Max, Abe, and Nina work together to finally kill the Slasher before escaping from the house. Clover finds a key and goes back to Megan, barely saving her before the Wendigo breaks loose. Together, Megan and Clover hurry to escape the mines. They dig their way above ground, similarly to Melanie had done at the beginning. But, this time, it is their friends who are waiting for them. Abe, Nina, and Max pull Clover and Megan from the ground (where the cross seen previously is). The girls are freed just as the hourglass marks the end of the night. Having successfully beaten the curse, the group piles into Abe’s car and drives from the visitor center.
Relationships[]
Melanie[]
Melanie Paul is Clover's older sister. The two of them were very close, but clashed when it came to their values and ideas of the future. After their mother became very ill, Melanie felt she needed to leave the stifling situation while Clover insisted that she stay. Ultimately, Melanie left home without Clover.
After their mother's death, Clover sets out to search for Melanie who'd been missing for one year. The women eventually reunite in Glore Valley, however, by this point, Melanie has already failed to beat the death loop and has become a permanent part of it, as a Wendigo. Ultimately, Clover fights and kills Melanie, telling her that she loves her but needs to escape.
Hill[]
Clover first meets Dr. Hill at the Hartley’s gas station, where he ominously hints at her sister Melanie’s disappearance and warns of others vanishing in the area of Glore Valley. Here, Hill adopts the guise of a helpful attendant, but unaware to Clover, this exterior masks a calculating psychiatrist who is behind the horrors that eventually befalls the group, in which he has chosen Clover as his new main subject.
As the story unfolds, Clover discovers Hill’s role in the death loop, learning that he purposefully experimented with the death loop to study fear, causing Wendigo transformations following a mining disaster at Glore Valley,
Clover’s determination to uncover the truth leads her directly to him. In the film’s climax, their dynamic shifts from cautious observation to outright confrontation, as she poisons his coffee with bad water and watches him explode.
Max[]
Though Clover and Max broke up, they are still on good terms. They are shown to still have an emotional connection, despite Clover’s history and depression complicating their relationship. On two occasions, Clover entrusts Max with the task of killing her in order to restart the loop. This request deeply pains him; he is unable to do it in one loop, but mournfully ends her life in another.
Abe[]
Abe is new to the group, and thus is not as close with Clover as her friends who have known her a long time. Abe still accompanies the group to help search for her sister Melanie, though his detachment from Clover is shown when he is willing to sacrifice her when told by Dr. Hill that one person must die for the others to escape, citing her previously expressed suicidal tendencies. This infuriates Clover's friends, particularly Nina. Still, Abe is willing to work together with Clover to try and survive until dawn.
Nina[]
Clover and Nina are friends, and Nina counts her as one of the people who has been there consistently for her. While Nina feels for Clover after the death of her mother and sister's disappearance, Clover's strong insistence to find her sister can lead to her ignoring her friends' advice, frustrating Nina, such as when Clover ignores Nina recalling Megan's warning to not open the door after hearing a voice which appears to be Melanie's. Still, she feels a need to stand up for Clover; when Abe argues for Clover to sacrifice herself, and points out her already suicidal nature, Nina becomes furious at Abe's insensitiveness and willingness to throw her under the bus, and proceeds to stab him in the back.
Megan[]
Megan, being the half-sister of Clover’s ex Max, has a decent familiarity and friendship with Clover. Much like Max, Megan is ready to put herself at risk to save Clover, such as when Clover is attacked by Wendigos in the fourth night and Max and Megan instantly come to her aid. Likewise, Clover is the one who comes to Megan’s aid when she is captured during the last night.
Deaths[]
- Impaled by the Slasher
- Hit by Abe’s car (after being possessed by the Glore Witch)
- Exploded by drinking the bad water
- Slashed in the neck by Max
- Face eaten by parasite
Trivia[]
- According Ella Rubin, Clover is coping with depression and fear of death after losing her mother and her sister. She has distanced herself from everyone and ruined her relationship with Max.
- Before a searching begins, she tried to ended her life twice, concerning everyone.
- Clover getting stuck in a bear trap pays homage to a scene from the original game in which Mike loses fingers to a bear trap.
- The manifestation of Clover's fears as monsters in the film likely references Dr. Hill’s fear-assessment sessions in the game, where the player’s chosen fears (such as zombies) are later reflected in the gameplay through tailored apparitions.
- The only antagonists in the film that are not Clover's manifestations are the Wendigos, who are real people who have been consumed by the death loop through fear, and the Giant Nina and Abe encounter, as a deleted scene shows these 'Slumbering Giants' cursed Glore Valley as punishment for being awakened by the mining that caused the city to collapse, creating the time loop that turn the people into creatures of the night.
- Clover’s plot-line parallels Josh’s from the original game. Both characters are driven by the traumatic disappearance of one or more sisters (and eventually learn that their sister has become a Wendigo). Both characters have attempted suicide and have connections to Dr. Hill.