The Five Nights at Freddy’s game franchise launched over nine years ago and is somehow just now getting movie adaptations. These jump scare games immediately became gaming phenomenons that started with a very simple gameplay structure of checking cameras and locking doors to avoid killer animatronics at an abandoned pizza place. Since then, the creator has built a world of deep lore that fans can’t seem to get enough of.
In this film version, a down-on-his-luck security guard begins working this very odd job of taking care of a pizzeria that’s been abandoned since the 80s. The job has a history of high turnover, but he needs the job to keep guardianship of his little sister. Each night at the job, he starts having strange dreams that tie to a tragedy in his past. Meanwhile, the animatronics mess with him more each progressive night.
If that sounds like there’s already too much story for a Five Nights project, you might be right. The nearly two-hour movie shows Josh Hutcherson’s Mike as a very sullen, yet motivated character. He wants to solve a childhood mystery using his dreams, while currently working the graveyard shift so he doesn’t lose everything he loves. This very well could have been a movie built on complete tension as a security guard strategizes and fights for survival night after night.
On the other hand, that first game (while jump scary) would make for a terrible movie. We essentially saw that before with Nicolas Cage’s copycat project, Willy’s Wonderland. Adding character depth and motivation for Mike in FNAF adds an actual plot and a reason for an odd setup to exist. Though, a good 20 minutes could be cut and benefit the movie greatly.
This is an experience that caters to two kinds of audiences – Younger audiences with little exposure to scary movies & super fans of the existing franchise.
Unless you grew up loving deranged slasher flicks (like me), there needs to be gateway horror experiences that thrill you just enough to enjoy the ride, but also feel safe in the end. This movie breaks up the “scary” scenes with plenty of story in between. And while there is darkness in the exposition, the pizzeria/animatronic aspects keep it feeling lighthearted.
I saw this movie in a crowd of fans and I recommend you do the same. I haven’t heard that level of buzz and applause since the days when Marvel movies were well received. This is a movie jam-packed with Easter eggs that will blow right past general audiences, but FNAF fans will devour. The game series is rife with very complicated lore and this movie does plenty to set up for future movie installments. Time will tell if it ever pays off.
I watched this with my daughters (who are fans of the games) in mind. It’s a PG-13 movie, but that can be dicey. For the most part, this is simple and mildly tense enough to be for any movie-goer. However, there is one kill shown that made me and the entire audience gasp. I get why they couldn’t have more kills in this movie for kids, but deep down I would like to see a rated R version.
Five Nights at Freddy’s won’t be scary for any experienced horror buff, but tailor-made for inexperienced scary movie watchers and for fans of the gaming franchise. The animatronics look identical to the games, so credit to the studio for properly adapting the iconography of the games. To justify being a feature film, they’ve added plenty of filler. Yet, in the end they’ve created a love letter to the games and fans. I can’t help but appreciate the juvenile fun I had watching it. B-
Comments are closed.