On October 27. 2023, a monumental film hit theaters across America, inciting nostalgia in countless adolescents’ hearts. Five Nights At Freddy’s, a metamorphic video game in the early 2010s, entertained the majority of America’s youth with its fascinating lore, funky music, and terrifying jump scares. With the franchise showcasing its 2023 film several years later, there was a feeling of sentimentality and excitement for teens and young adults alike. Innumerable social media posts publicized the film and psyched up the release date for the movie. Featuring Matthew Lillard as William Afton, Josh Hutcherson as Michael Schmidt, and Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa Monroe, the FNaF film sufficiently recreates the plot of the original video game. Michael Schmidt is newly hired as a security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria when he finds that the animatronics there have an unnatural amount of life. Schmidt must fight not only for his life but for the life of his young sister, Abby. I went into the film with a mindset of “this is going to be incredible”, simply due to the excitement perpetuated by social media and all of my friends, on top of my familiarity with FNaF. As a result, I definitely had a glorified perception of the movie. I understood and appreciated the references, felt nostalgic when hearing the Living Tombstone- an electronic rock band that created several of the FNaF songs-, and enjoyed how similar though unique the film was to the video game. Acquiring some background on the FNaF franchise before watching the movie will make it a much more enjoyable experience.
The main critique for this movie is the lack of jumpscares and horror-aspect in general. I, along with many others, expected to be on the edge of our seats during the movie. The original video game was terrifying due to the unexpected jumpscares from the animatronics when you were caught. However, to my disappointment, there was not one jumpscare that made me vault out of my seat or flinch in fear while viewing the flick. Even one half-decent jumpscare would have brought this movie up a notch. Nevertheless, the storyline was intriguing and I liked the amount of information we as an audience gathered on Michael’s heartbreaking history of losing his brother. I have few complaints about the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, but it was not as thrilling as I had hoped. It felt like something was missing while watching it, and I truly believe the horror was the missing key.
The target audience for the film was most certainly those who have some understanding of the FNaF lore. If you know nothing about the lore, you may struggle to appreciate the movie. You will be anticipating scares and fear, which this film does not prioritize. Though the genre claims to be a horror, it misses the mark and feels it should instead be categorized as an adaptation— specifically of the plot. It does a great job of remaking the original video game but is mediocre (at best) with scaring the audience. All in all, I liked the movie for its nostalgic feel and on-the-mark references to the original FNaF video game, but it could have done better if it embraced the jumpscares and fear the game provoked.
I confidently rate the 2023 Five Nights at Freddy’s movie 4/5 stars.
