Melanie Paul is a character in the Until Dawn film. She is the sister of Clover. Melanie mysteriously disappeared in October of 2023 in Pennsylvania. She is played by actress Maia Mitchell.
Appearance[]
Melanie is a Caucasian young adult girl with medium-length dark brown hair and brown eyes. She wears a natural-colored lipstick and has smokey eyeshadow.
On October 24, 2023—when she ends up stopping by the Glore Valley Visitor Center and disappearing mysteriously there—Melanie wears a rose-printed, light yellow dress with short sleeves, white socks and white sneakers. Her accessories consist of a small golden necklace.
In the film, she gets attacked by The Slasher and some Wendigos, resulting in her having several bruises and getting completely dirty.
Personality[]
Before her mysterious disappearance in October 2023 in the remote Glore Valley, Melanie was an independent and ambitious young woman, planning to move to New York City to start a new life. This aspiration suggests a dreamy and determined nature. Her close bond with her sister, Clover, and the emotional impact of her disappearance on her, indicate a deeply empathetic personality.
Until Dawn (Film)[]
Melanie is the older sister of Clover Paul, the film's main protagonist. Before the events of the film, Melanie and Clover lost their mother, leading to Melanie leaving Clover and their home behind to explore the world on her own.
During the film’s opening scene, a year before the main events, Melanie is seen being hunted by a masked man. She pleads with him and tells him she can’t die again, but he kills her.
Melanie’s disappearance prompts Clover and her friends to embark on a journey to understand what happened to her. Clover and her friends drive to the last location Melanie was seen, a gas station she recorded herself in front of. After Clover enters the gas station and meets the mysterious gas attendant, later revealed to be Dr. Hill, she shows him a picture of Melanie and asks if he’s seen her, prompting him to answer that she has gone missing, which spooks Clover. He mentions a lot of people go missing in Glore Valley, and says that’s where she most likely went. Upon arriving in Glore Valley, they explore an abandoned visitor’s center, where they encounter supernatural events during a gruesome death loop.
Melanie as a Wendigo.
During the group’s fourth night, Clover runs into the woods and is shocked to find Melanie, who now has been transformed into a Wendigo. It is revealed Melanie fell victim to the same death loop - an experiment conducted by psychologist Dr. Hill - a year prior, and this transformation is the result of her being consumed by the death loop after 13 nights. Melanie, now in this monstrous form, becomes a threat to the group.
Later, a flashback is shown of Clover 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.
When traversing through the mines to find a captured Megan, Clover once again faces Wendigo Melanie, but this time kills her with a knife to the gut, saying she loves her, but is “going to get the fuck out of this hellhole.”
Relationships[]
Clover[]
Melanie 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, leaving Clover shocked and devastated. Ultimately, Clover fights and kills Melanie, telling her that she loves her but needs to escape.
Trivia[]
- Melanie strongly parallels Hannah and Beth Washington from the Until Dawn game, given her disappearance a year before the main events of the story, her sisterly relationship with one of the film's protagonists, and her ultimate fate.
- Melanie is the only Wendigo to have visible hair, most likely to differentiate her from the others.
- This is different from the game, where a person loses all hair upon transforming into a Wendigo.