Featured Photo by Blumhouse
Story by Larry Rincon
After eight years of waiting, fans of the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” video game franchise can finally see their favorite characters on the big screen and from the comfort of their homes.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s” follows Mike after he mistakenly beats up a man while working as a mall security officer. To increase his chances of keeping custody of his younger sister Abby, he accepts a job as the night security guard at Freddy’s Fazbears Pizzeria.
Throughout the film, Mike is tormented by his past having watched his brother be taken away by a mysterious person. He meets Vanessa, a police officer, who teaches him about the history behind Freddy’s shutdown. In the end, Mike must face the issue of possessed animatronics trying to take his sister from him.
With ten main games and over 20 books, Scott Cawthon has created one of the most memorable and impressive games to date. The FNAF series is far more than the average video game. There is a storyline buried deep within the games, in the cut scenes, in the minigames, and even in the game’s code.
Five Nights at Freddy’s has always been a franchise that was made enjoyable through the collective efforts of the community to figure out the complete story and motive surrounding the pizza plex. After watching the movie, I can confidently say that their dedication to the games will be greatly rewarded when they watch the film.
I must admit that if you are not a fan of the games and are searching for a horror movie this may not be the movie for you.
This film has so many easter eggs from cameos like gaming Youtuber CoryxKenshin to moments taken directly from the games. Playing the games, or at least having knowledge about the games, is what makes your experience watching this movie.
There’s nothing terrifying about this movie. The beginning is extremely slow, choosing to develop the backstory of our protagonist and establishing the characters we would be following. It’s not even worth mentioning the jump scares since I found myself laughing at them, although that’s partially due to my own insight on the game franchise.
What made this movie worthwhile was first and foremost the story. Scott Cawthon is a pretty good storyteller in the way that he can give you bits and pieces of information that all connect. Those pieces, of course, depend on you to string them together and figure out the bigger picture.
Having only seen it once, I already have so many questions about the direction this iteration of Freddy’s is going to take. You have the basic storyline that fans are familiar with, but so many details are completely changed. If you were expecting to benefit from all the theories in the fanbase, you can throw those out the window.
It’s really hard to admit that, if you’re not a fan of the video games, this movie is honestly not that good. While better than its counterparts like “The Banana Splits Movie,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s” doesn’t particularly live up to expectations.
The lore behind the game is dark and sinister, but the movie was a lot more light-hearted, and at times way too endearing. The animatronics were designed by the Jim Henson Company, and as a result, they were spot-on and amazing to see come to life.
I found myself being more impressed by the development instead of feeling the fear that “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is known for. However, the one thing that the movie, thankfully, got right was the one scene every fan was hoping for, the springlock failure.
If you know about “Five Nights at Freddy’s” lore, you’ll remember that Springtrap, or William Afton, dies in a cutscene during the second game due to his suit’s springlock failing. Afton ends up being crushed inside of the suit, and he bleeds out, dying within the Pizzeria.
The 8-bit style of the cutscene in the game masks how horrifying that scene truly is. The movie delivered, and surprisingly actually showed the springlocks stab Afton and crush him inside the suit. That single scene made up for everything else.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s” was not amazing by any means, but from a fan’s perspective, it exceeded all my expectations. It’s fun and enjoyable, and I loved every second of it. This movie was made for fans, so to everyone who ends up watching it or has watched it and thought it was bad, this wasn’t made for you.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on X at @MTSUSidelines.
