Since the first announcement in April 2015, fans have patiently awaited the movie adaptation of the infamous horror game series, “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” By October, 8 years later, the movie was officially airing in theaters around the globe, finally fulfilling our biggest dream. But can one movie really encapsulate 9 years of lore and 8 games with different character designs and sets?
I had low hopes when I stepped into the theater; with the hashtag “together we are FNAF,” and critics giving the movie 28% on rotten tomatoes, the movie’s reputation was immediately diminished. My biggest fear since I watched the trailer, was that the movie wouldn’t be lore-based or even accurate. As of now, I can confidently say… my fears were brought to life.
The main character, Mike Schmidt (John Hutcherson), has been taking care of his younger sister Abby after his parents left and his younger brother was taken during a camping trip in Nebraska. Every night, Mike would take his sleep medication and stare at a poster of Nebraska on his ceiling to go back to the day his younger brother was kidnapped, in hopes of remembering the perpetrator’s face. With their aunt trying her hardest to get custody of Abby, Mike takes his first step in convincing the court he is a responsible guardian by getting a job, a security gig. I could 100% get behind this plot even though it doesn’t follow the one from the games, but they added small references and gave the characters names from the game that didn’t even fit their role.
On day two when Michael arrives at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place, a cop knocks on the door introducing herself as Vanessa. I was so confused; by paying attention to the animatronic’s models, you could tell it was set in the first game, yet they added Vanessa, A girl with the same name and aesthetics as the security guard from the newest addition to the series, “Security Breach.” But that isn’t the only role that confused me. Michael Afton is the security guard in the first game, using the alias Mike Schmidt, the same name as the protagonist in the movie. I was ecstatic when I first made the connection but my excitement didn’t last long, as Abby was introduced as his younger sister. Now if this went by the original storyline, Michael Afton’s sister Elizabeth would be dead by the time he applied for the job. This didn’t bother me until Mike’s dream was shown. In 1983 Michael and his friends lifted his younger brother to Fredbear, the first anamatronic’s mouth. He cried out of fear, remembering the nightmares he experienced over and over again. His tears soaked the suit and triggered a spring lock failure. To this day, this is one of the most significant events in the franchise, as Evan’s skull is completely crushed as the spring locks fail and snap back into resting position. Many fans were excited to see “The Bite of 83” in the film since the altercation was so horrific. Netizens joked about using this scene to show their parents the trauma they experienced by having access to the internet too early on. While they did include a death similar to Evan’s, it wasn’t as thrilling to watch as the classic mini-game animation. To watch one of the most iconic scenes in FNAF history be watered down to a kidnapping incident was very disappointing.
Even though it wasn’t accurate, the plot was fairly easy to comprehend. If they used different names, I probably wouldn’t have many complaints, but there were quite a few plot holes that needed to be explained more to make the movie flow better. The bodies of the victims who died just magically disappeared and were cleaned up. I first guessed Vanessa cleaned it up because she adores the pizza place but that doesn’t explain the other bodies such as the death at Mike’s house. I doubt Mike got home and was perfectly fine with cleaning up a body, especially considering it was a family member’s.
Putting those things aside, I loved the acting and overall quality of the movie. It had beautiful visuals, smart marketing and very skilled actors (especially MatPat). Nothing looked green screened or edited in, even the deaths looked realistic. The amount of little details and easter eggs were fascinating. The color switch of the animatronics eyes determining who is controlling them, and the portrayal of the missing kids in the animatronics was eye opening.
Overall this movie was so beautiful and well made it’s jaw-dropping. Even though it didn’t reach my expectations, it was no doubt a great movie that I recommend to anyone who’s looking for a tame, visually appealing horror movie to add to their watchlist. For the diehard fans who wanted it to be more lore and game based, I would recommend watching the musical by Random Encounters on YouTube, starring Markiplier, MatPat and NateWantsToBattle.
