“I always come back.” Honestly, I’d prefer it if you didn’t.
As a long-standing fan of the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise, I was so excited about this movie. However, I was extremely disappointed by the time the credits began to roll. I went into this movie with low expectations to begin with. The trailers had given a lot away and it was different from what I was expecting.
I was one of those kids who watched the Game Theory videos about Five Nights at Freddy’s as they came out, overanalyzing every little detail I could to try and figure out the twisted narrative Scott Cawthon had created. If I was asked to recite the story of the franchise, I’d be able to whip up a two-hour in-depth explanation without a second thought. I suspected going into the movie that I wasn’t going to like the lore aspects of it. I was correct. The lore that’s followed and developed throughout the movie is more closely related to the lore that Cawthon established in the Five Nights at Freddy’s: Fazbear Frights series, a collection of short stories he published. These stories exist on a separate lore timeline from the games and were considered an all-around flop by those in the fandom. It makes sense as to why I didn’t like the movie by that alone.
Tabling the plot issues, for now, I also have to complain about the characterization. From the trailers alone, I could tell I wasn’t going to be in love with the animatronic personalities. They looked great in all fairness, but alas, could’ve used a little bit more weathering. Regardless of their looks, the personalities of the characters just didn’t sit right with me. These characters are meant to be scary, not building blanket forts and throwing around thumbs-ups. While I do understand this choice (the movie was PG-13 after all), it just ruined the ending of the film. The creators decided to throw in a wholesome animatronic-human bonding moment 20 minutes before the animatronics all try to kill a child and “make her like them.”
I do have to give massive shoutouts to Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard, though. Josh Hutcherson made something convincing out of a previously underdeveloped character from the games. His performance has rightfully earned him a renaissance from a career standpoint. Akin to Hutcherson’s performance, Matthew Lillard knocked his role out of the park. I knew Lillard was going to be amazing, especially with his past iconic roles (I’m looking at you Shaggy, and Stu Macher), but he killed it with this movie. I do wish he was utilized a bit more, especially at the beginning of the movie, but either way, I was completely enthralled with his performance.
None of this is to say that Five Nights at Freddy’s was a bad movie or that I would never watch again, because I absolutely would. There are so many Easter eggs hidden inside this movie that it feels like I’m watching a Taylor Swift music video. The movie is campy; it’s so bad, it’s good. It’s like a trash fire you can’t look away from because it’s too entertaining not to point out and talk about. If you’ve never consumed an ounce of Five Nights at Freddy’s lore in your life, this movie is a wonderful starting point for your journey down the rabbit hole. On the other hand, many non-casual fans have found this movie difficult to watch, so take everything with a grain of salt. There have already been leaks of a second movie and rumors of a trilogy, so who knows? Maybe we’ll get a storyline closer to the games and finally figure out what that thing was behind Chica on the main stage (my guess is The Puppet). But hey, that’s just a theory.