By Caroline Mora
Disclaimer: This review includes spoilers from the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF) is a movie written by Scott Cawthon. Cawthon is a popular video game developer best known for his horror game franchise, “FNAF.” The first “FNAF” game debuted in the summer of 2014, and since then has become a worldwide sensation, with 20 video games (including main games, spin-offs, and troll games), 48 books, and now a movie.
The “FNAF” main games are similar to the “Star Wars” franchise, in that the release order is not necessarily chronologically accurate according to the lore (backstory/history of either a character or a game world). The true lore of the story has never been confirmed by Cawthon, leading fans of this game to come to their own conclusions about what the story is.
The “FNAF” movie is the alleged first installment in a movie franchise. The “FNAF” franchise will allegedly include at least three films, and it is clear to fans of this franchise that they won’t follow the video game lore.
The movie follows the main character Mike Schmidt, played by Josh Hutcherson, as he struggles to support his family and deal with his unresolved trauma surrounding the disappearance of his little brother. Mike is the sole guardian of his little sister Abbey Schmidt, played by Piper Rubio Abbey is an introverted ten-year-old whose only friends are imaginary ones she talks to. After losing his security job at the mall, Mike takes a job working the night shift at an abandoned pizza plex called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.
Every night in his dreams, Mike travels back to the moment when his brother was taken and looks for clues in his memory that might help him to find out who kidnapped him. However, on his first night on the job, he falls asleep and his dream is altered. He is met with five children in masks, who quickly run away when he tries to talk to them.
On his second night of working, a local police officer introduced herself as Vanessa. She revealed that Freddy Fazbear’s was her favorite place to visit as a child, so she’s come to check on the place ever since the shutdown. Mike attempts to revisit his memory and confront the children about what they know about his brother’s kidnapping, but they get violent and attack him. He wakes up from his dream with open wounds and is given medical assistance by an unbothered Vanessa.
Later, after a break-in at the pizzeria, Mike is unable to find a babysitter for Abbey so he is forced to bring her along. That night, Mike and Abbey learn that the animatronics, on the main stage in the building, are possessed by the spirits of dead children. Abbey connects with these spirits and we learn that Vanessa might know a lot more than she’s letting on. Mike thinks that the spirits might be able to help him uncover the mystery of what happened to his brother.
This movie undoubtedly had a target audience. Catering to “FNAF’s” cult-like following, the movie included tons of hidden messages, jokes, quotes, and even popular “FNAF” gamers. Realistically, this movie was made with the fanbase in mind. There are nine years’ worth of game theory and lore (backstory/history of either a character or a game world) to unpack if you want to truly understand the story.
So as a fan watching this movie, you might not have been as lost as a person who walked into the theater thinking they were just hoping to watch a mindless horror movie. The movie was less of a traditional horror movie and featured more elements of a horror-comedy. It featured inside jokes, and the few intense scenes were lightened by the comical absurdity of the situation.
Fans of this popular franchise have been in a frenzy about the movie ever since the first movie posters were released. Fans are nitpicking every detail, even arguing. A popular debate has been whether the color of the animatronics eyes should’ve been white, like the video game, or red, as seen on the poster.
The opening credits and end credits were a huge hit with fans, the end credits being a song by a popular rock band called The Living Tombstone. They have written and performed tons of songs, many of which are inspired by “FNAF” lore or other video games.
Following the movie’s debut, there is more online discourse about Cawthon’s true intentions with this film. Were the events from the movie intended to be canon (true to the original timeline of a video game or fictional world) like the video games? Or was it meant to be an alternate universe standing apart from the video game, similar to the graphic novels and books? Whatever the answer, this movie was well received by FNAF fans across the globe, despite confusion surrounding the timeline and Cawthon’s intentions.
However, for people who aren’t interested in the video game, this movie was subpar. Disappointed with the lack of true horror, and jokes that might’ve flown over their heads, it was like attending a chemistry convention, but you dressed as a mitochondria.
Overall, I have to give this movie two different ratings, because of my bias as a fan. My fan service rating is 7/10. The movie was fun and featured a couple of inside jokes, making it entertaining, but by no means an Oscar winner.
My rating as an average moviegoer is 5/10. The plot could have been clearer, and cinematically, it felt choppy and rushed. The franchise is expected to have three film installments, so I feel like they should’ve taken their time to lay the groundwork and do a thorough job of explaining the plot so that future movies could be more complicated.
However, I encourage you to watch “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and come to your conclusions. The movie is available on Peacock with a subscription and is in theaters until Dec. 11, 2023.
