This movie was definitely one of the most awaited movies of the year, especially for us original Five Nights At Freddy’s fans! I’ve been a fan since the summer of 2015, and even now as a sophomore in college, I never left the fandom. It’s been awesome growing up with the games as they were released throughout the years and learning all about the lore (thank you MatPat). Ever since it was officially confirmed earlier this year that filming had started, my friends and I were so excited, even my nephew who was born around the time I first got into the fandom was pumped! The filming kept getting pushed back, so having official confirmation that the movie I have wanted to see for years actually happened was a dream come true. Seriously, it was on my bucket list. I bought tickets as soon as they were out, and my best friend and I got seats for the second day of release. As the movie day kept getting closer and closer, all I could think about was what I was going to wear (I ended up going as Bonnie, and my best friend went as Freddy), what to expect, and if it’ll do the game justice. As always, spoilers ahead!
It’s originally agame!
Here’s a brief history lesson of how the movie came to be! Released on Aug. 1, 2014, the first Five Nights At Freddy’s game, created by Scott Cawthon, came into existence. It’s a first-person horror game where you, the player, can only move the screen. You start with 100% power, but using the cameras to track the animatronics locations and shutting the doors increases the usage of power, meaning the more you do, the more power you’ll lose. The objective is to simply survive the night, from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., for five consecutive nights. But be warned, you’re not alone! There are four animatronics that come to life during this six-hour time frame, and their goal is to kill you. As the nights progress, it gets harder to survive, which is what makes it a great game.
It was a huge success and it gained extreme popularity thanks to YouTubers uploading their playthroughs, such as Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, CoryxKenshin, and many more. Over the years since the first game’s release, more and more games have come out with each contributing to the game’s overall lore. It’s similar to how Marvel movies are made, meaning that the game releases are not in chronological order in lore terms. These games came out with extra content as well, like the famous “20/20/20/20” and “50/20” modes to name a few. This meant that every animatronic was on the highest difficulty level. When I was younger, I was so impressed by the people able to beat these modes. I was even there when my favorite YouTuber at the time, Dawko, beat “50/20” mode on FNAF: Ultimate Custom Night live, and I remember celebrating in my room. For anyone who has never played the games, I highly recommend it!
Movie Summary
Michael “Mike” Schmidt, played by Josh Hutcherson, is in need of a job after repeatedly getting fired from his previous ones. He’s presented with a new job from William Afton, played by Matthew Lillard, as the night shift security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. He lives with his little sister Abby Schmidt, played by Piper Rubio, who is a reserved young girl, always drawing and not socializing in school, which concerns Mike and the teachers. During his job, he starts having his usual nightmares about his older brother who was kidnapped when they were kids. Except now, the nightmares include five random children, which turn out to be the murdered children who were killed years ago. The animatronics, possessed by the souls of the dead children, are hellbent on killing anyone while they’re active. It’s not until Abby gains their trust and friendship and things seem to be going smoothly. This is far from the truth. The animatronics hidden motive was to kill Abby and make her one of them. With the help of police officer Vanessa Afton, played by Elizabeth Lail, Mike saves his sister who then reveals to the animatronics who their killer was: William Afton.
So… is it worth the watch?
100%! The movie made several connections to the game so if you know about the game before watching it, you’ll get a better sense of the movie and understand the references. But even so, you can also watch the movie without knowing anything about the game! It has a different storyline from the games, so everything was new to all audiences.
As embarrassing as this is to admit… the jump scares got to me a lot. I am someone who jumps at loud, sudden noises, so every time the Balloon Boy (a character from the second game of the series) figurine came on screen, I jumped or covered my mouth to stop myself from screaming. There was even an intense scene of Foxy creeping towards Mike, and it immediately runs at Mike. That probably scared me the most. If you’re a fan of jump scares, watch the movie at night for a scarier experience!
As someone who listened to ALL of the fan-made FNAF songs, I expected a certain song to play during the movie, and I’m sure my fellow audience members wanted it to play too. The ending credits rolled with music from the most popular fan-made song of the game, created by The Living Tombstone, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 Song.” Everyone started to cheer, and my first reaction was to sing along. Give it a listen!
Watching this movie was one of the highlights of my year. I felt like I was a 10-year-old kid again as this movie was something that I wished would happen for years. I grew up watching playthroughs, commentaries, music, and so much more of the game series whenever I could. I was that obsessed. Hopefully, I have convinced you to give this movie a watch! Now, I’ll listen to my FNAF playlist (that I made the moment I got Spotify) to reminisce about my childhood.