I only have a passing familiarity with the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise. When the game was initially released in August 2014, my then-wife was in the final stages of her pregnancy with our daughter, and the same week I stumbled upon the game on Steam happened to be the week she went into labor. It wasn’t until several years later that I finally decided to download it and give the game a try. To be completely honest, it didn’t quite resonate with me. By that time, I had become deeply engrossed in Dead by Daylight, and my gaming preferences had shifted away from what Five Nights at Freddy’s had to offer.
Nevertheless, it’s intriguing that the video game series has garnered such widespread popularity, which makes it somewhat perplexing that it took this long for a movie studio to venture into producing a full-length adaptation. We got a glimpse of what could potentially unfold with the 2021 movie, Willy’s Wonderland. In this film, Nicolas Cage portrays a silent wanderer who is forced to spend a night in a dilapidated family restaurant inhabited by demonic robotic killers to cover the cost of repairing his car. While the concept bears similarities to Five Nights at Freddy’s, Willy’s Wonderland was evidently designed as a more action-packed, no-holds-barred experience, with Cage going head-to-head against the forces of darkness (reminiscent of his role in Mandy, as well).
In the cinematic adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy’s, we are introduced to Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), a man grappling with profound psychological issues stemming from his brother’s abduction in the 1980s. Mike shares his home with his younger sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), but his inconsistent employment situation places him on the brink of entrusting Abby to their less-than-liked Aunt Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson).
In dire need of a job, Mike seizes an opportunity presented by his career advisor, Steve Raglan (Matthew Lillard), to work as a night security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. This family amusement center, long abandoned, still houses four animatronic characters: Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy.
During the initial nights of Mike’s watch, he encounters Officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), who provides him with guidance and companionship during the lengthy, eerie shifts. However, with each passing night, increasingly bizarre occurrences unfold, leading Mike to suspect that the animatronics might be possessed by the spirits of deceased children.
These ghost kids may hold the key to uncovering the truth about his brother’s abduction years ago. All this forces Mike to confront a fundamentally dark question: to what lengths is he willing to go in pursuit of the answers he so desperately seeks?
Having only limited familiarity with the Freddy’s franchise, I must say that director Emma Tammi did an admirable job with this film. My formative years were in the 1980s, and I fondly recall numerous birthday parties at venues like Showbiz Pizza or Chuck E. Cheese Pizza, which bear resemblance to the restaurant featured in the movie. Five Nights at Freddy’s evokes a sense of nostalgia for me, and I’m confident it will strike a similar chord with anyone who’s ever visited one of these entertainment establishments.
It might also rekindle those peculiar thoughts of, “What if Chuck E. Cheese or that colossal gorilla robot decided to step off the stage and come after me?” Emma manages to capture those sentiments in the narrative, leaving me with warm, fuzzy memories of a cherished childhood experience brought to life on the big screen, albeit tinged with some hair-raising moments.
As for Freddy’s characters, they mostly feel relatable. Josh Hutcherson’s portrayal of Mike is particularly enjoyable. When we first encounter him, he appears somewhat exaggerated, leading me to have reservations about his character’s development. However, as the story unfolds, Mike’s is fleshed out, and we begin to comprehend the reasons behind his initial behavior. I found myself thinking, “Yeah, I might have reacted the same way, had I been in his shoes.”
The synergy of strong writing and great acting make Mike a genuinely authentic and relatable character.
On the other hand, the same cannot be said for Elizabeth Lail’s portrayal of Vanessa. Everything about her character feels contrived. Upon her first appearance, she seems to possess an uncanny knowledge of the pizzeria, including the location of all supplies, the building’s history and virtually every detail about the former security guards. Despite her role as a police officer, she spends nearly every night with Mike on the premises. This left me wondering why she wasn’t out patrolling and tending to police duties.
In some scenes, her line deliveries feel so forced that they sound as though Lail was reading from cue cards just off-screen. The character’s excessive knowledge, with no red herring element, inadvertently spoiled one of the film’s major reveals upon her introduction. Both the character and the acting could have been executed more effectively.
The special effects in Five Nights at Freddy’s can be described as adequate. The robotic characters exhibit a deliberate, sluggish movement when they appear on screen. If the situation demands a quicker response from them, the lights tend to flicker, allowing them to increase their pace. Consequently, we never witness them sprint or move at a velocity greater than a leisurely shamble.
The film doesn’t feature a substantial amount of graphic violence, as it primarily relies on off-screen depictions of fatal incidents. Nonetheless, there are instances of on-screen violence, perhaps slightly more than what one might typically expect from a PG-13 rated movie, but they still fall well below the threshold set for higher-age ratings.
Five Nights at Freddy’s, while a commendable film that will likely please both game enthusiasts and the general audience, comes across as a mild thrill ride. I’d rate it three out of five stars. Josh Hutcherson’s performance shines brightly in the lead role, adding a significant highlight to the movie. Director Emma Tammi deserves credit for infusing the film with a warm and nostalgic ambiance, while maintaining its underlying horror theme. However, beyond these strengths, the storyline feels notably predictable, even for those unacquainted with the game series.
Five Nights at Freddy’s isn’t a subpar film, but it doesn’t attain greatness either; it firmly rests in the middle ground.