Five Nights at Freddy's
Year: 2023
Director: Emma Tammi
Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail & Piper Rubio
Runtime: 109 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 30/10/23
Director: Emma Tammi
Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail & Piper Rubio
Runtime: 109 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 30/10/23
Five Nights at Freddy’s became a viral phenomenon in the early 2010’s thanks to YouTuber Markiplier and his hilarious reactions to the original jump scare fuelled strategy game. The franchise grew in popularity over the following years as developer Scott Cawthorne provided a steady drip feed of new games. However, come the late 2010’s interest in the franchise had dipped and whilst there are still new games releasing yearly, it’s no longer a franchise discussed as fervently in the current pop-culture landscape.
But that doesn’t mean a thing to Hollywood who has been trying to bring the property to the big screen since 2017, and after a revolving door of writers, directors, and cast, Five Nights at Freddy’s has finally released to a less than warm reception.
Is it just poor timing, or is there a bigger problem with this entry level horror flick?
Mike (Josh Hutcherson) spends his nights inducing himself into a near comatose level of sleep to search his dreams for clues to the kidnapping of his brother which occurred when he was younger. During the day he struggles to hold down a job whilst caring for his troubled younger sister, Abby (Piper Rubio).
When Mike is put into the position of needing to take a nighttime security gig at Freddy Fazbears Pizza, a former family themed restaurant that prided itself on its animatronic entertainment, he struggles to balance his duties to Abby, and his need to fix the past. But when the animatronics at Freddy’s turn violent, Mike and Abby must solve the mystery behind the pizzeria’s closure or become the latest victims of Freddy and his furry friends.
But that doesn’t mean a thing to Hollywood who has been trying to bring the property to the big screen since 2017, and after a revolving door of writers, directors, and cast, Five Nights at Freddy’s has finally released to a less than warm reception.
Is it just poor timing, or is there a bigger problem with this entry level horror flick?
Mike (Josh Hutcherson) spends his nights inducing himself into a near comatose level of sleep to search his dreams for clues to the kidnapping of his brother which occurred when he was younger. During the day he struggles to hold down a job whilst caring for his troubled younger sister, Abby (Piper Rubio).
When Mike is put into the position of needing to take a nighttime security gig at Freddy Fazbears Pizza, a former family themed restaurant that prided itself on its animatronic entertainment, he struggles to balance his duties to Abby, and his need to fix the past. But when the animatronics at Freddy’s turn violent, Mike and Abby must solve the mystery behind the pizzeria’s closure or become the latest victims of Freddy and his furry friends.
There’s two very different, but very interesting films at the core of Five Nights at Freddy’s, and they’re forced to battle for screen time, failing to mesh together particularly well.
I’ve never played a FNAF game, so I’m not aware of the property beyond its pop-culture significance in the mid 2010’s, and I didn’t know the first thing about the story.
So, I can’t say how faithful the film is to the game’s story, but I can say that the story we get is a bloated and unfocused mess that squanders the mass appeal of the property by underutilising the horror that made it popular.
The whole film is constructed around Mike’s fear that he caused his brothers kidnapping, and his failure as a caregiver to Abby because of his fixation on a past that he can’t change.
This could have worked really well in a Stephen King style coming of age supernatural horror, where Mike confronts his past demons to become a better person for Abby. But it’s all surface level because there isn’t enough time afforded to really flesh out these character arcs.
Then the other story concerns Mike taking on a job as a night watchman at a haunted restaurant and fighting possessed animatronics. This should be cheesy fun, with a big focus on jump scares as featured in the games; but instead, these sequences are so few and far between that they feel like an afterthought, and there’s also a tonal problem where director Emma Tammi can’t decide who her target audience is.
The biggest problem FNAF has is shared with another PG-13 horror film from earlier in the year, M3GAN. The horror is inconsistent and unsure as to whether it’s going for gore and an older audience, or cheesy jump scares that work well for a younger audience or those new to the horror genre.
In the US, FNAF is rated PG-13 meaning that children under 13 can watch it when accompanied by an adult. but in the UK FNAF is rated 15, meaning only those of 15 or older can see it, and it all comes down to a couple of moments of gore that honestly probably shouldn’t be there.
Had this film gone for a 12 rating in the UK and been subsequently less gory, it could have leaned harder into the jump scares and creepy vibe so much more for a real family friendly horror movie. But as it stands it’s too violent for kids but underutilises the 15 rating because the US rating system is broken. Honestly, this film in its current state shouldn’t be seen by a young teen.
Where M3GAN probably should have gone harder with its blood and gore and really grabbed that M rating in the states, FNAF should just cut it entirely and rely on shocks over gnarly visuals.
The result is a film that doesn’t know its audience. The games aren’t gory so why make the film gory, and because the jump scares fall flat then fans of the games are disappointed. But newcomers might feel that it should go harder with the gore because these animatronic dolls are genuinely menacing and a gory slasher starring killer animatronics could be a lot of fun.
I’ve never played a FNAF game, so I’m not aware of the property beyond its pop-culture significance in the mid 2010’s, and I didn’t know the first thing about the story.
So, I can’t say how faithful the film is to the game’s story, but I can say that the story we get is a bloated and unfocused mess that squanders the mass appeal of the property by underutilising the horror that made it popular.
The whole film is constructed around Mike’s fear that he caused his brothers kidnapping, and his failure as a caregiver to Abby because of his fixation on a past that he can’t change.
This could have worked really well in a Stephen King style coming of age supernatural horror, where Mike confronts his past demons to become a better person for Abby. But it’s all surface level because there isn’t enough time afforded to really flesh out these character arcs.
Then the other story concerns Mike taking on a job as a night watchman at a haunted restaurant and fighting possessed animatronics. This should be cheesy fun, with a big focus on jump scares as featured in the games; but instead, these sequences are so few and far between that they feel like an afterthought, and there’s also a tonal problem where director Emma Tammi can’t decide who her target audience is.
The biggest problem FNAF has is shared with another PG-13 horror film from earlier in the year, M3GAN. The horror is inconsistent and unsure as to whether it’s going for gore and an older audience, or cheesy jump scares that work well for a younger audience or those new to the horror genre.
In the US, FNAF is rated PG-13 meaning that children under 13 can watch it when accompanied by an adult. but in the UK FNAF is rated 15, meaning only those of 15 or older can see it, and it all comes down to a couple of moments of gore that honestly probably shouldn’t be there.
Had this film gone for a 12 rating in the UK and been subsequently less gory, it could have leaned harder into the jump scares and creepy vibe so much more for a real family friendly horror movie. But as it stands it’s too violent for kids but underutilises the 15 rating because the US rating system is broken. Honestly, this film in its current state shouldn’t be seen by a young teen.
Where M3GAN probably should have gone harder with its blood and gore and really grabbed that M rating in the states, FNAF should just cut it entirely and rely on shocks over gnarly visuals.
The result is a film that doesn’t know its audience. The games aren’t gory so why make the film gory, and because the jump scares fall flat then fans of the games are disappointed. But newcomers might feel that it should go harder with the gore because these animatronic dolls are genuinely menacing and a gory slasher starring killer animatronics could be a lot of fun.
The film isn’t all bad though, particularly with its performances. The animatronics are the stars of the show, and I think this is because very few digital effects were used to make them. It’s people in costumes and actual animatronics, and in combination with atmospheric lighting they are genuinely creepy.
Matthew Lillard steals the show as Mike’s recruitment officer, and it shows just how underrated an actor Lillard is, and how much personality he brings to any given role.
Hutcherson does a decent job as the leading man, and he’s even better when paired up with Elizabeth Lail’s Vanessa, a police officer who was a regular patron at Freddy’s in her childhood.
The biggest problem Five Nights at Freddy’s suffers from is that it isn’t scary, and the story is too complex for its own good.
There’s a great story in there, but it belongs in a different film, and this one should have redirected its focus onto delivering decent scares for young adults and newcomers to the horror genre.
There’s definitely fun to be had with FNAF, but it’s tough to know who this is really made for and that’ll be what stops it ever truly finding an audience.
Matthew Lillard steals the show as Mike’s recruitment officer, and it shows just how underrated an actor Lillard is, and how much personality he brings to any given role.
Hutcherson does a decent job as the leading man, and he’s even better when paired up with Elizabeth Lail’s Vanessa, a police officer who was a regular patron at Freddy’s in her childhood.
The biggest problem Five Nights at Freddy’s suffers from is that it isn’t scary, and the story is too complex for its own good.
There’s a great story in there, but it belongs in a different film, and this one should have redirected its focus onto delivering decent scares for young adults and newcomers to the horror genre.
There’s definitely fun to be had with FNAF, but it’s tough to know who this is really made for and that’ll be what stops it ever truly finding an audience.