Background:
Five Nights at Freddy’s is an indie horror franchise, created by game developer Scott Cawthon. Known for its gripping and convoluted lore, the franchise’s games focused on a string of child murders at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and the events that both followed and preceded these first couple of killings. In most games, you play as a security guard trying to survive five nights at one of the trademarked pizzerias, while various possessed animatronics try and kill you. This franchise has enthralled both general audiences and hardcore theorists alike, causing the once
small franchise to branch off into other forms of media, like books, novels, and yes, films. The Five Nights at Freddy’s film has been in production purgatory for almost a decade, with it’s pre-production starting in 2015, but now, with known horror director Emma Tammi and with Scott Cawthon and Seth Cuddeback helming the script, the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie has seen the light of day at last.
Synopsis:
This film follows Mike Schmidt as he struggles to make ends meet and retain the custody of his younger sister, Abby. Desperate, Mike later accepts a job as a night guard at the abandoned Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. While on duty, Mike meets Vanessa, a local police officer who knows more than she lets on, and learns about the atrocities that plagued the Pizzeria in its past and the true nature of the sentient animatronics. While sleeping during his shifts, Mike tries to relive the moment of his brother Garrett’s abduction over and over again in his dreams, attempting to find the identity of his brother’s abductor. One night, in one of
his dreams, the animatronic’s entangled spirits force Mike to decide if he wants to live a peaceful life in a never-ending dream with his deceased family, in exchange his sister. Initially choosing this false life over Abby, Mike now has to save his sister from the clutches of the possessed animatronics and face his brother’s abductor once and for all.
Review:
The acting in the film was a particular stand out for me, with none of the actor’s performances feeling cheap or stilted. The plot, while clear and solid in most aspects, gets pretty messy when tackling many of the events and running plot lines from the games. If you’re a fan of the franchise, it’s a blast to see all the elements and characters that you’ve seen throughout the years on the big screen and the creator’s attention to detail and devotion to making the animatronics accurate to the games. The few, yet memorable, cameos and nods present are very rewarding and never take away from the experience. For casual audience members, however, the plot and story may be a bit hard to follow, with many
concepts and plot points, one’s which are common place in the FNAF (Five Nights at Freddy’s) community, being major confusion points for non-fans of the franchise. If you come to this film expecting a bloody horror film, then you’re at the wrong movie. Don’t get me wrong, the film is filled with a few good scares, but with its PG-13 rating, the film shifts between scary and goofy throughout. In the middle of the film, there was a moment that was so silly and out of pocket, that many people in my theater said out loud: “What am I watching?!” Overall, whether you’re a casual movie-goer or a long time fan of the franchise, Five Nights at Freddy’s will be an enjoyable and entertaining experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants a good time. In my personal, and all but factual opinion, as both a casual fan of the franchise and an avid film enjoyer, I would rate this film as a solid 8/10.
