Posted by The Five Nights at Freddy’s movie really surprised me. I was expecting a movie somewhat similar to Willy’s Wonderland about a security guard trying to survive his night shift while hiding from the animatronics. While FNAF does feature some of what I expected, there’s a whole lot in it that I didn’t expect.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
The story follows Mike Schmidt, who is the legal guardian of his younger sister Abby. Mike is haunted by the unsolved mystery of his brother Garrett’s abduction, and Mike has never given up hope of finding the man who took his brother, so he experiences the same dream every night in an attempt to find more details. As a result, Mike struggles to find and maintain a job until his career counselor Steve Raglan tells him about the security guard job at Freddy’s. Meanwhile, Mike and Abby’s Aunt Jane is trying to seize custody of Abby, which includes paying Abby’s babysitter to spy on Mike for her and then sending the babysitter, her brother, and some others into the pizzeria to mess it up and make Mike look bad. The animatronics kill all of the intruders in scenes reminiscent of Willy’s Wonderland, but the carnage is largely limited to these few scenes. I was genuinely surprised that that was the extent of the animatronics killing spree, but I don’t mind the subversion of expectations. Now that Abby no longer has a babysitter, Mike takes her to work where she befriends the animatronics. During his second night at Freddy’s, Mike also met the police officer Vanessa, who knows a lot about the pizzeria. Vanessa continues to visit the pizzeria during Mike’s shifts, getting to know him and his aspirations of catching the man who abducted his brother. Vanessa eventually tells Mike he needs to let the past go and that she’ll shoot him if he brings Abby back to Freddy’s. Mike complies and has Aunt Jane babysit Abby, until Golden Freddy appears and kills her. While at work, Mike falls asleep and has a dream. In his dream, the ghost children that haunt and possess the animatronics tell him that he can have the life he wants with Garrett if he gives them Abby. Mike initially accepts, then refuses, but the damage is done. The animatronics attack Mike while Golden Freddy visits Abby and brings her back to the pizzeria. Vanessa rescues Mike and tells him about her father William Afton, who killed five kids at Freddy’s and stuffed their bodies inside the animatronics. Afton still has some control over the animatronics, and he may be at the pizzeria since Mike has been looking for him. Mike uses a taser and electric stick to rescue Abby from the animatronics, until Afton appears and attacks Mike. Afton is wearing the yellow bunny (or Golden Bonnie) suit, and he reveals himself to be Steve Raglan, and the man who abducted and killed Garrett. Vanessa tries to help Mike, but Afton stabs her. Abby is able to create a drawing of Afton with the dead children, and she puts it on the wall with all of the other drawings, which are assumed to give Afton his control over the animatronics. This changes causes the animatronics to attack Afton, which triggers the springs in his suit, crushing and killing him (eventually; it’s a very long and painful death). Mike saves Vanessa and takes her to the hospital, and Abby’s relationship with her brother is vastly improved.
I enjoyed the story. It oscillated between suspenseful horror, an oddly wholesome story of growth, and a depressing tale of abducted and murdered children. While the tone wasn’t the most consistent, I didn’t really mind it. The movie felt divided up enough that the tonal shifts made logical sense. I also really appreciated that the movie stayed pretty faithful to the source material, though my knowledge of the source material is a little lacking. I watched it with friends who were able to fill me in on details and references here and there.
My favorite part about the movie was definitely the foreshadowing and little clues here and there. For example, when Mike meets with Steve, Steve is wearing a purple tie, which already begins to hint at the twist that he’s really William Afton. Afton’s death via the spring locking mechanisms inside the animatronic suit is also foreshadowed when Mike stumbles onto an old suit with spring locks, and Vanessa shows him how dangerous it it. Finally, Vanessa’s behavior and knowledge of the pizzeria made me suspect that she was Afton’s daughter, and I ended up being correct. Overall, the movie really respects the audience and provides ample clues as to where the movie is going without revealing everything until it’s necessary.
Another really cool part of the movie was the cameos by MatPat from Game Theory and CoryxKenshin (another FNAF YouTuber who I’m personally not super familiar with). Unfortunately, there was no Markiplier cameo, though apparently there was supposed to be one but he just couldn’t make it. I also really appreciated that the ending credits song is “Five Nights at Freddy’s” by The Living Tombstones, which makes me hopeful for the sequels.
SPOILERS END
The movie also looked really good. The fact that the animatronics were real puppets and not just CGI was incredibly impressive. The set itself was a great recreation of the pizzeria and security office in the first game. The amount of detail and effort that went into the props and set really conveyed the love and care present in the movie. Five Nights at Freddy’s isn’t a cash grab made to capitalize on a popular franchise. It’s a retelling of the series’ story in a new medium. I for one really enjoyed the movie, and I would definitely recommend it to others. However, I will say that it isn’t fully a horror movie. While it has some moments, it doesn’t fall into the typical horror genres that I was thinking it was going to be.
Broad Scope Entertainment 