When I was younger, I was infatuated with the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” series by Scott Cawthon.
A horror game franchise? About ghosts and robots? What more could a young 10-year-old ask for? But as I got older, I drifted from the series as it left the mainstream of the internet, and I gained new interests.
So, when I heard they were making a movie back in 2019, my interest was piqued, but I didn’t look further into it. But when the trailer dropped and it actually looked good, I was extremely interested. This movie is part of a massive video game franchise with millions of fans, made by the creators of “M3GAN,” Blumhouse Productions.
And to express my opinion a bit, I think it does just fine satisfying the many fans of this series.
The movie was written by Scott Cawthon himself, Chris Lee Hill and Tyler MacIntyre. It stars Josh Hutcherson (who you might know as “The Hunger Games’s” Peeta Mellark), Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio and Matthew Lillard (who you also might know as Shaggy Rogers from the live-action “Scooby-Doo”). It was released in theaters on Oct. 27.
Hutcherson stars as the problematic Micheal Schmidt, a struggling man between jobs who goes to a career counselor named Steve Raglan (Lillard) for a job after mistaking an angry father for a kidnapper. Raglan suggests that Schmidt goes to work as a security guard at the abandoned Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, and despite his reluctance, Schmidt takes the job in order to take care of his young sister Abby Schmidt (Rubio). Upon taking the job, Schmidt is contacted by Vanessa Shelly (Lail) about the animatronics, telling him that they are haunted and more than a little murderous.
A thrilling story featuring real animatronics from Jim Henson Studios, this movie is a real mixed bag of quality. The dialogue and acting are phenomenal – Lillard and Hutcherson, in particular, really sell their characters – and the animatronics are super impressive, but the CGI has some sore spots, and the set design is a little too dark at times to tell where characters are meant to be in the building.
On a positive note, Blumhouse nailed getting cameos for the film. Popular YouTubers Matthew Patrick and Cory DeVante Williams both received significant roles, serving as a waiter and cabbie, respectively, with more minor appearances such as Lewis Dawkins’s photo on an “Employee of the Month” board. Well-known YouTuber Mark Edward Fischbach was also contacted for a role, much to many fans’ delight, although he declined the role due to conflicting time schedules between “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and Fischbach’s own film, “Iron Lung.” Patrick’s role, in particular, was generally applauded by fans, as it not only features a popular member of the community but also features him saying, “That’s just a theory,” a phrase he is well known for online.
Another, more important, positive is the animatronics the series is known and partially named for. Many people – myself included – thought that the movie would stick to CGI models, in order to not blow too much money. But no. They went to Jim Henson Studios – the makers of many well-known puppets, including Elmo and the Muppets – and had them make life-sized, complete animatronics. Aside from just being impressive, it’s also a great touch to preserve the spirits (get it?) of the original game.
But with all those positives, there are more than a few things holding this film back from being truly amazing. For one, there’s the CGI. Because most of the movie looks extremely good and compelling, the moments of mediocre CGI really stick out, such as one scene where a child has post-production pure black eyes that are almost comically bad. These moments can really drive you out of the movie, but it uses CGI sparingly enough that it’s definitely forgivable.
Another flaw is the pacing. The movie treats itself like it’s over two hours long, but it barely hits one hour 50 minutes, resulting in an extremely busy ending, but an extremely drawn-out middle. Since the name of the main antagonist is a large part of the mystery of the film, it feels fair but frustrating when said antagonist doesn’t make his first true appearance until roughly one hour and 35 minutes in. That being said, the ending to this movie, which I won’t spoil, is phenomenal and almost makes up for the oddly cheesy and generic middle.
A much more minor flaw is the lighting on the sets. The set design itself is amazing and perfectly matches the intended feeling, but the lighting is a bit poor, and it can sometimes be hard to tell where the characters are meant to be.
As for the characters, aside from Hutcherson and Lillard, who nail their roles, most of the actors serve their roles just fine. Lail’s Vanessa Shelly is an interesting addition, as she serves as a major catalyst for the plot, but is also the primary reason why the middle drags its feet so hard. Overall, though, the role she plays is vital to the story and is done decently. Rubio’s Abby Schmidt is very compelling, successfully pulling off the “quiet artist kid” archetype, although it comes off a lot more creepy than cute.
With a compelling cast and story, held back by some questionable CGI and pacing choices, I can’t recommend this movie enough to people who like the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” franchise – but with that, I can’t say it’s any more than a 7/10.
As Andy Hill (a voice actor for the franchise who usually plays a not-quite-honest salesman) would say, “Sit back, grab some pizza, and enjoy this thrilling ride full of mystery, drama, a few scares, a little bit of cheese for flavor, and above all – fun!”
