With lots of anticipation and excitement, Five Nights at Freddy’s finally hit theaters on October 27, 2023. This adaptation of the popular video game series Five Nights at Freddy’s follows the main character Mike Schmidt, played by Josh Hutcherson as a struggling man trying to make ends meet, who reluctantly takes a job as a security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza to support his young sister Emma, a strange girl that draws a lot. The movie does an excellent job expanding and adding more backstory and sympathy to Mike’s character and does well exploring his relationships throughout. The acting throughout this movie is very realistic and emotional.
A conflict occurs when Mike’s aunt is trying to take his sister away from him in a custody battle. After learning about Mike’s new job at a pizzeria that shut down in the 80s, Mike’s aunt hires people to sabotage his job to have more of a case in a custody battle. However, after the plan fails the point of these characters seems pointless and only appears in a few scenes after.
The movie then goes deeper into Mike’s backstory, where it is revealed that he had a brother who was taken away and he was there to witness it. This backstory motivates Mike throughout the movie to find the person who took his brother away from him. At this point, Mike meets Vanessa, a police officer who seems to know her way around the pizzeria and helps Mike multiple times throughout the rest of the movie. Scenes exploring Mike’s backstory with his missing brother expand with these well-done dream sequences that grow throughout the movie.
The part that people were most excited about was the iconic animatronics from the video games. While not in too many scenes, the iconic animatronics do not disappoint in character, creepiness, and references to the games. Devotees of the video game series will be satisfied with the animatronics.
The movie is more of a thriller than a horror movie, emphasizing more on the story than the scare, a rather polarizing approach. On one hand, the more story-focused structure leaves audiences invested in the lives and relationships of the characters. However, fans of the video game series are left disappointed with the lack of horror and scares, due to the horror-filled nature of the game. The film being a thriller has split the fans apart about whether or not it was a good choice. While I’ll admit the movie should have been darker and scarier I think it was an overall superior decision to make it a thriller since it made for a better viewing experience.
Many key plot points in this film have been commonly used and seen in different horror/thriller movies. Also, Mike’s mood and attitude throughout the movie seem to take out some of the life and eeriness in some scenes. Some scenes may seem confusing and make some viewers seem lost due to the references to the games that some people may be unfamiliar with. A lot of the movie seems to take place outside of what was supposed to be the main setting. The final “battle” was somewhat underwhelming. It was too short, too dull, and didn’t allow for some of the main characters to get the closure they very much deserved.
Overall, the movie’s eerie tone and story-driven narrative make it a faithful adaptation of the popular video game series. While the movie has its flaws, it is most definitely a fun and interesting flick if you’re a big fan of the source material, and even as a standalone thriller/horror movie to watch independent of one’s experiences with the video game origins.