Five Nights at Freddy's Movie Review: It's Showtime!

The Five Nights at Freddy's franchise popped up out of seemingly nowhere almost a decade ago, when Scott Cawthon released the first game in the franchise only to find he'd gained a major cult following. Fast forward to 2023, and now the game's unsettling animatronics - Freddy, Foxy, Chica, and Bonnie - have made their way to theaters and streaming services around the world. With such a huge and dedicated fanbase full of children and adults alike, many had high expectations for Blumhouse's adaptation of the iconic animatronic horror franchise.

In many ways, the film lives up to the hype surrounding it; it's a well-directed story with innovative cinematography and references to the games that will make fans more than glad to have a little prior knowledge. However, it isn't without its faults, and some may leave the theater disappointed if they don't know what they're in for.

Five Nights at Freddy's Movie Review

Five Nights at Freddy's Movie Plot

At the beginning of the FNAF movie, we meet Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), a young guy just doing his best to take care of his younger sister, Abby. He's struggling to find a job when his career advisor offers him a position as the night guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. Mike turns down the job on the basis that he can't work nights, but when he finds an eviction notice on his door, he changes his mind and accepts the position.

This, of course, is where the fun begins, as Mike quickly finds out that the animatronics behind the pizzeria's doors aren't nearly as friendly at night as they seem to be during the day. During a shift, he meets a cop named Vanessa Monroe (Elizabeth Lail), who seems to know a strange amount about this place but doesn't prove to be a whole lot of help. The animatronics' horrifying antics become even more intense as Mike is forced to bring Abby to work with him after his babysitter doesn't call back - but he finds that she and the animatronics form a strange bond.

Note: The rest of this review contains spoilers for the Five Nights at Freddy's movie and games!

Long-standing Lore

Fans will already notice some differences from the game in the movie's plot; in the film adaptation, Michael Schmidt isn't William Afton's (Matthew Lillard) son, Vanessa (originally from FNAF: Security Breach) is a cop and decidedly a good guy, and Mike now has a younger sister who's never been mentioned in the games. It seems like Scott Cawthon - who worked on the movie - and the film's other producers likely made these changes to help fit the games' plot into just 2 hours, saving them from explaining some of the many complexities of the franchise's lore in such a limited time slot.

While the movie veers from the games' plot throughout, it doesn't do so to an extent that will confuse or frustrate long-time fans who will certainly notice the differences. Where the film could've spent time reiterating convoluted plot points from the games, it delved deeper into the nature of the animatronics, presenting them both as horrific killing machines and lost, sad children in drastically contrasting scenes. Such variations in tone could easily go sour and prove for an awkward viewing experience, but producers manage to make all four animatronics decidedly complex characters that are fun to get to know, especially with the dreamlike sequences depicting them as real-life children.

Time spent developing the animatronics' characters and backstories - as well as Schmidt and Abby's - though, leaves less time for a rather critical aspect of any movie in the horror genre: ....horror. Yes, despite decidedly being a horror movie, the FNAF movie is a lot less scary than the games on which it's based. It relies on jumpscares to keep viewers on edge (though it's like the games in that aspect), and even the movie's most "intense" scenes - such as one where a character dies violently in an animatronic suit - don't seem to take themselves 100% seriously.

Those watching the movie purely for its scare factor will likely be disappointed, as the film chooses to leave the horror largely to its unsettling atmosphere and character designs. Whether or not the lack of scares is a downside depends on what you're looking for in the movie, and what you're expecting.

Freddy, Foxy, Bonnie, & Chica Steal The Show

Viewers might have mixed opinions on the plot, but one decisive highlight of the Five Nights at Freddy's movie is the animatronics themselves, made tangible in all their creepy (and definitely somewhat cute!) glory by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. They're perfect renditions of the characters in the game, and as a long-time fan, it's pretty amazing to see them moving and interacting in real life on the screen.

There's no CGI in the movie whatsoever - just the magic of excellent costuming, puppetry, and animatronics - making it all the more amazing. Producers spent a large portion of the film's budget on these animatronic creatures, and it seems it's paid off, considering Blumhouse made back their budget before they even released the movie.

Five Nights at Freddy's might not be in your nightmares, as it's far from a terrifying film unless your fear of animatronics runs deep, but it'll definitely stick around in your memory. It's fun scenes in the movie are just that - pure fun - and the characters are unforgettable.

Five Nights at Freddy's Review Verdict

Five Nights at Freddy's on the big screen is everything fans wanted it to be: a relatively faithful, fun, and atmospheric horror putting everyone's favorite animatronics and characters front and center. The Five Nights at Freddy's movie draws on aspects from multiple games in the franchise but puts its own spin on them in the best way possible to condense the games' complex lore for a nearly 2-hour runtime on the big screen.

While it'll no doubt go down as a favorite among those who love the series, those looking to leave the cinema trembling in fear will certainly be disappointed - the movie prioritizes fun, and pleasing long-time fans, over its true "horror' roots.

Rating: 8/10