The horror of the game attracted people: animatronics came to life and could kill the player, missing children and in-depth lore. That was the appeal of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF), which first appeared in the gaming industry in 2014: the year of Tumblr, mustaches, and fun Instagram posts. Since then, the video game franchise has expanded into books, graphic novels, toys, plushies, and now a movie.
The film’s production was shrouded in intrigue. From being pushed back due to casting and script changes, no one knew what to expect with the material they could scrape up from the internet.
The punching thought of bites and mystery had people excited for an R-rated version of this game turned motion picture. When the movie was announced to be produced by Blumhouse, hopes were dropped by some. After their productions such as “Meghan,” people commented that it was not going to be serious or horrific – some simply said, “Oh.”
According to IMDb, the movie was announced to be in the making in 2015 and only now, eight years later, the movie is in theaters. With so much time spent in anticipation, fans were anxious to see if FNAF was worth the wait.
Excitement grew online when screenings finally began, with a video going viral of a fight breaking out during the ending credits of the film. Expectations snowballed.
Fans were seated for its opening on Friday, Oct. 27. Going into the movie, most people knew about the lore and theories of the Afton family, and Vanessa and our favorite animatronics.
The movie is set in the 2000s, with Josh Hutcherson playing Michael Schmidt (Mike) who is a poor young adult trying to make ends meet and sustain the life he and his sister have. After complications at work, he has to find a new job. A man named Steve Raglan, played by Matthew Lillard, suggests that Mike works as a night-shift security guard. With no other choice, Mike takes the job and is hired at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.
With each passing night, Mike uncovers the secrets of the place he assumed was dead and abandoned. With no possibility of going back to the life he used to have, he seeks answers to the questions he has regarding the recurring dreams about his younger brother’s abduction that haunt him and the robots that appear to come to life.
After watching the movie more than once, this film was certainly a Blumhouse production. It is nothing extraordinary. It had its unique moments of cupcake murder and high-looking chickens but, at the end of the day, it is a movie based on a horror game directed towards younger audiences.
The PG-13 rating forced the film to pull its punches. There was very little gore and jumpscares, and the movie used sounds and shadows to show the deaths of victims. Keeping this movie family-friendly required sacrifices of certain elements that made people love the original games.
This choice of “family-friendly movie” gives this film another spark, though. Not many horror movies are made in today’s age that can be shared with the family, so it is a nice change in media.
As a long-time fan, the real story of the FNAF franchise is something that is not simply shown just by playing the game once. You have to be involved and seek out clues. The movie does a great job of introducing the plot, ideas and personalities of the characters.
Allowing yourself to not take it seriously while watching is a great hack at enjoying this film. Overall, the movie does a good job of being fun, especially with the silly scenes of the children building forts and tickling, and also wanting revenge on a certain bunny.
