Five Nights at Freddy’s. Who would have thought that this beloved franchise would finally see light in the theatres! I saw a LetterBoxd Review saying "thanking this movie and Super Mario Bros. for making the videogame kids come out of their rooms this year" and I think that I couldn't have said it better myself. I know that many people were excited about this movie coming out, and a lot of us had high expectations for the movie. I never played the games myself, but I watched hours on end of youtubers play through all the games, and I have watched countless of lore videos over the years as well, so I too had expectations walking into the movie. This movie had a killer opening weekend, earning over $130 Million in the last 3 days. I have heard many things about this movie, some good, some bad, but these are just my thoughts and what I liked and not liked about it!
What I liked about it:
I think the overall movie was well done. The animatronics blew my mind holy cow the costume designers were on their A game designing and creating these costumes. I think the casting was also very well fitting (Am I saying that because I love Josh Hutcherson, maybe). I think the story line was also solid, I know some people were saying that it was hard to follow but personally I didn’t see any issues with it. The other thing that I loved about this movie was the amount of lore and little tidbits they put in it. I loved that they included Vanessa and characters like Circus Baby and Golden Freddy. Also, I have to say this, but the MatPat cameo blew my mind!! Did not expect him, and ESPECIALLY cheesed over him saying “It’s just a theory.” Overall, seeing the characters come to life on screen made my 12-year-old heart so happy.
What I didn’t Like about it:
Lack of Markiplier. I’m joking, I know he had scheduling conflict, and he would have been in it but it’s understandable. In all seriousness I think the biggest critique for me was the lack of horror. As fun as the movie was to watch, I was disappointed to see the lack of true terror that you would feel as if you were playing the game. Yes, there was gore and moments, but as someone who is not a horror movie watcher, I didn’t feel scared watching this. I think one element that this movie could have incorporated was a true jumps care moment. (Yes, there was that one scene where Foxy technically jumps scared, but it felt anticipated and honestly predictable). I felt that the director held back on the gore, even though he claimed he wouldn’t (I think everyone saw that coming). Also, no hate, but why did they have the fort building scene with Abby and the Animatronics??? I still can’t get over that they put that in there. Made me laugh so hard.
Overall, I very much enjoyed the movie. I know I will rewatch it over and over and continue to enjoy the videogame plays and lore videos. I know that movies can’t please everyone, and everyone has their own opinion. I was very pleased with the cinematography of this film and happy that they even made FNAF into a movie in the first place.
What are your thoughts? Let me know!
I’ll always come back…