By Kevin Tran
DISCLAIMER: This review includes minor spoilers from the “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” movie.
On Dec. 5, 2025, Blumhouse Productions released the second Five Nights at Freddy’s film, distributed by Universal Pictures. Following the events of the first film, this installment dives deeper into the franchise, borrowing elements from the second game of the same name, such as the withered animatronics.
I watched this film the day after its release, and with its low reviews, such as a 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I wasn’t expecting much from the movie. More importantly, I wanted a reason to spend time with my friends. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed it.
Despite the harsh reviews from movie critics, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (FNAF 2) managed to improve upon the first movie, particularly in the horror department. The new, withered animations looked intimidating.
Although it was easy to predict when jump scares would happen, their buildup felt effective. The atmosphere was also more intense and eerie compared to the first film. Although the jump scares were predictable, they were timed well enough to keep me on edge.
THE PLOT
The film begins approximately a year after the events of the first movie. The central characters, Mike and Vanessa, still have trauma from the events that happened at Freddy’s pizzeria, a place where deadly animatronic robots terrorized people. Despite the restaurant being closed down, they try to move on from those dark events.
Even through the horrors that happened at the pizzeria, Abby, Mike’s young sister, is still attached to the animatronics; she misses them, having grown up around the presence of the machines, even though she doesn’t understand the dark history tied to them, unaware of the dark history tied to them. What she doesn’t know is that the animatronics are haunted by the souls of dead children, victims of the pizzeria’s gruesome past.
Abby, missing her “friends,” convinces herself to go back to the pizzeria, drawing her into the same horror that Mike and Vanessa thought was far behind them. What Abby doesn’t know is that her wholesome desire to reconnect with her “Friends” has triggered an unfortunate chain of events, reawakening the forces that once were at Freddy’s.
While the plot of FNAF 2 is pretty straightforward and follows a familiar structure, it does an excellent job of building upon the first film. The central theme of the sequel is the trauma and unresolved past. Abby’s desire to return to the pizzeria is a great plot device to bring back the horror, especially because she’s just a little kid and doesn’t fully understand the danger she’s putting herself in, which sets up a lot of tension.
That said, the whole “return to the haunted place” trope has been explored in many stories, and although it works here, it doesn’t bring anything particularly groundbreaking. While I was watching the movie, I could somewhat predict what would happen next from what I had seen throughout many different stories. Having a unique plot is so important for films, and FNAF 2 sometimes leans too heavily on familiar tropes instead of taking bigger risks with its direction.
THE NEW ANIMATRONICS
One of the best parts of the first film was the animatronic designs, and the second movie takes it up a notch. Unlike the original cast of Freddy, Foxy, Chica and Foxy, the new animatronics feature more withered and damaged designs, making them far more unsettling. Seeing their exposed wires, broken parts and even when they were disabled, their presence was still frightening.
Additionally, this film introduces the toy animatronics. While they appear cleaner and more polished, that almost makes them more unsettling. Their awful smile and plastic-like appearances make them feel uncanny, like lifeless stares. The genius of these designs is that they demonstrate that something that appears more “kid-friendly” can still evoke a disturbing feeling.
The newly introduced Marionette, a puppet-like figure, was easily the most unpredictable animatronic in the film. Unlike the others, it doesn’t move in stiff or mechanical ways; it feels less robotic and more alive. Because it’s a puppet, it can appear or spring out at any moment, often without warning. The film utilizes its unpredictability effectively, making every scene with Marionette tense, as you never know when it will spring out and give you a jump scare.
CONCLUSION
Overall, FNAF 2 may not have been a perfect movie, but it is a clear improvement over the first film in several key areas. While the plot relies on familiar tropes from other horror movies and can feel predictable at times, the movie still succeeds in delivering more potent scares, a darker atmosphere and outstanding animatronic designs.
For these reasons, I would give FNAF 2 a 7/10, a decent sequel that improves on what came before, while still leaving room for growth in a third movie.
