The heavily loved survival horror video game franchise Five Nights at Freddy’s was recently brought to the big screens for millions to watch. Nearly eight years ago, the creator of Five Nights at Freddy’s, Scott Cawthon, announced the making of a film and kept the fans waiting in anticipation. This game franchise is well-known and heavily loved, with nine main games, five spin-offs, two game DLCs, and even three different book series; close to 33.5 million units sold as of 2023, just for the main games. The official release date for this film was October 27, but released in most places, including on the streaming platform Peacock, on October 27. Within the first two weeks of its release, it made an incredible $217 million.
Five Nights at Freddy’s movie was given 30% for the Tomatometer by Rotten Tomato but 87% for audience scores. This film had mixed reviews from critics but received great feedback from everyone else. Upon watching the film, it is clear to see the reason for such a wide range of reviews.
As someone who is a fan of the Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) franchise, I had mixed feelings about what to expect from this film. Seeing that the story in the games was confusing and complex, I didn’t know how Cawthon would work things into a film. On a different note, I hoped the film would be scarier than the games were, as the game was just jumpscares. It was sorely disappointing to hear the film would be considered PG-13.
Nonetheless, on the night of October 26, a group of friends and I went to a local theater and watched it on the big screen. There was a lot of excitement from everyone around us, even a few people cosplaying in the theater. The story was clear, even though it was different from the game. Some parts stood out, while others didn’t. There was minuscule use of jumpscares despite the game being a jumpscare-heavy game. This also caused the movie to not be all that gory or scary, unfortunately.
Alternatively, Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt and Matthew Lillard as William Afton was perfect. Hutcherson had a lot of emotions, and the struggles the character went through felt so real. Similarly, Lillard always had that slight edge to him, and to have an actor like him, who once played Shaggy in Scooby-Doo, become William Afton was just ironic and iconic. Micheal Sullivan as Doug, the lawyer, was also a great addition. It made the movie funnier and added a bit more spice to the entire thing. His character was overall perfect and played well. Sullivan had a fear and uncertainty always lingering in his eyes, and the character always seemed so out of it and overall fitting to the vibe of the film.
Lastly, some nice touches for the fan were added. There was a cameo of a well-known FNAF YouTuber, Matthew Patrick (MatPat), also known as The Game Theorist. People in the theater were yelling when they saw him on screen, and the inclusion of his catchphrase, “That’s just a theory.” Another touch that was added for long-time fans was one that many didn’t even realize at first. In some of the scenes, when we see the backrooms, you can see the exoskeleton of one of the animatronics, which is a dog. Back when the first FNAF game came out, there was a myth that there was another animatronic named Sparky the Dog. The last touch for the fans was the inclusion of the popular song “Five Nights at Freddy’s” by The LivingTombStone. This is the most popular FNAF fan song out there, with just over 155 million plays on Spotify.
Overall, depending on your expectations going into watching the film and prior knowledge of the games, your opinion of the film as a whole will change entirely. For me, the movie was OKAY in all senses. It wasn’t the best out there, but it also wasn’t the worst. It definitely fulfilled a dream I’ve had since I was eight years old. Why not give the film a watch for yourself and see how you like it? Don’t let Balloon Boy scare you 😉
