Warning: spoilers!
I realise I'm a little late to the party, but better late than never. 'Five Nights at Freddy's' has been on my mind quite a lot since I watched it. I was over in Queenstown, New Zealand at the time- a few weeks ago to be exact, and the local cinema was showing regular screenings of FNAF, and admittedly, I was intrigued. My association with FNAF before seeing the movie mainly came from my cousin's involvement with the game. There was a period in which she'd play it constantly, and shortly after, its heavy influence was unavoidable; it became a staple of modern pop culture. When the trailer came out, I did more research, briefing myself on the franchise's LORE, as well as looking into the franchise's background. I found it incredibly admirable how the franchise's creator Scott Cawthon had formed the concept of FNAF based on the negative reception resulting from his previous videogame Chipper & Sons Lumber Co. According to research, the young beaver- the main character, was described as a 'scary animatronic animal'. But he took failure and ran with it, using it as an influence for his terrifying animatronic nightmares in FNAF. So I was aware of it, but didn't quite know it inside and out. And from what I'd read from the LORE, it sounded like a pretty scary story, so I was actually a tad nervous going in. I wasn't in the least bit scared watching it, but honestly that's not such a bad thing.
'Five Nights at Freddy's' essentially tells the story of a troubled night guard, Mike Schmidt (portrayed by Josh Hutcherson) who takes on a security role at the now long-abandoned pizzeria called Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Mike already faces a few monsters: most notably the unwarranted custody battle with his aunt (Mary Stuart Masterson) over his younger sister Abby (Piper Rubio), as well as the trauma of witnessing the kidnapping of his younger brother as a child. The monsters only increase when his new place of employment reveals itself to have a rather disturbing history, with the site's animatronics coming to life and exhibiting murderous tendencies.
Reviews for FNAF remain incredibly mixed; the general consensus is that critics hated it whilst the audience loved it. Video games are a complicated medium to adapt. Much like a book series, condensing a whole video game franchise's narrative into a two-hour movie is never an easy task. It's certainly not impossible though, and what the movie did very well was adapt and construct a narrative that put the fans at the heart of it.
It was very unfortunate that my screening was not that busy- you've got to bear in mind that it was 3:00 pm on a weekday, so it wasn't really prime time for movie-watching. As a result, I turned to FNAF movie reaction videos. I am incredibly envious of people who got to experience FNAF showings full of dedicated, hardcore fans, where everyone lost the plot due to their excitement. Even so, my second-hand viewings were kind of special; it was an absolute joy seeing and hearing the fans have such a blast watching it. The movie makers took the FNAF's LORE very seriously. They incorporated many easter eggs- including notable characters and narrative segments from the original video game, into the movie purely to make the fans happy. The fans, after all, were in large part what made the franchise such a phenomenon, and they were rewarded. Popular YouTubers like MatPat- widely recognised for his deep devotion to the original franchise, even got to make a cameo, something which others went mental for. In that regard, I wasn't too bothered that I wasn't completely clued into the FNAF world. The magic lay in the FNAF community who brought it to life for me.
In terms of performance, I wasn't left disappointed. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, giving it their all. It was great to see Hutcherson back on the big screen, along with Matthew Lillard (who portrayed William Afton), both of whom remain, in my humble opinion, incredibly underrated. I was convinced of the trauma that lingered in Hutcherson's character's mind, of the dismay that was his unkind realities attempting to suffocate him. His unconditional love and urge to protect his younger sister at all costs was endearing. I particularly appreciated his reaction to discovering that the animatronics were in fact alive. There was a perfect blend of terror and confusion in his expression; his general unsettledness rightly had me anticipating the worst happening later. Lillard too, was awesome as usual. He played creepy and menacing very well, revealing yet again how versatile he is as an actor. The final climax of the film was demonstrative of how much he cared to embed himself in that sinister world. It was fun to see him as a villain again, not taking himself too seriously. Afton's infamous line 'I always come back' had me hoping Lillard would indeed return for a sequel.
When it comes to plot, I get that some weren't too blown away by it- it was an ode to FNAF fans first and foremost. Even so, I didn't dislike it. It was an interesting concept, and most definitely a terrifying thought if ever real. Sure, the cop's (Vanessa Monroe) involvement with the whole thing could've been explored better- I wasn't too invested there, despite how important she supposedly was to the whole story. However, her relationship to Hutcherson's Schmidt and her attempts to help him heal from the past were pleasant enough that it didn't bother me. A couple of the plot twists were a genuine surprise too, the one with the babysitter in particular; it made me appreciate her comeuppance all the more later.
I'd be curious to see Cawthon flesh the story out more into a series so that those like me who came into it blind can explore the original narrative further. Sure, trying to implement the whole FNAF LORE into a two-hour movie would've been too complicated, however, as it stands, the FNAF movie is only a snapshot of Cawthon's crazy but intriguing world. Overall though, I had a great time with this movie. It is a reminder that the film medium is one that is powered by community. I hope to see more work in the future, featuring both Hutcherson and Lillard, as well as Cawthon's input. If you're looking for just a bit of fun, turn to FNAF; sometimes that's all you need when sitting in front of the big screen.
Note: I do not own the rights to the photos used in this review.
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