Five Nights at Freddy’s Review: Stumbles on Commitment!

As someone who never played the videogame series Five Nights at Freddy’s, created by Scott Cawthon, but knew its general premise being around young people who played it religiously when it was at its most popular, it was exciting to be able to step into a film without preconceived notions or emotional attachment. Although it is always enjoyable to see a loved piece of media come to life, it can be easier to separate it from its adaptation with little knowledge going in.

Five Nights at Freddy’s follows security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson) who is given a job at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a once popular children’s “Chuck E. Cheese” type establishment that closed down in the 80s because of disappearances that happened at the location. Mike is ready to take any job he can to support his little sister Abby (Piper Rubio) and prevent his aunt from taking custody of her, even if the job opens up Freddy’s dark past as it blends into the present. This movie struggles blending its known scares and story cohesively, however it has elements that are worth some praise.

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The film possesses an 80s-90s nostalgic yet unsettling feel to it in the same realm as Gordy the chimp’s storyline in Jordan Peele’s Nope and recently Damien Leon’s Terrifier 2 in its Clown Cafe scenes. There is something so bone chilling about seemingly innocent child entertainment turned sadistic that makes one’s skin crawl. Five Nights at Freddy’s story lore utilizes this feeling through the animatronic characters in the abandoned establishment, including Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. The set design and color scheme is visually pleasing to the eye and creates a world that feels all its own.

Creator of the video game franchise Scott Cawthon also wrote and produced the film, which makes sense because of its stronger focus on the lore of the story rather than too many robot massacre scenes. Although it was a better cinematic decision, as slasher films is becoming a congested genre at the moment, the film felt unbalanced because of its desire to sway one way while feeling it had to appease audiences who came for the kills and gore.

Josh Hutcherson is so enjoyable to watch as always, being able to dive into the character of Mike whose main priority is solving a mystery from his past while having to be present for his reserved little sister Abby. Mike’s backstory and the 80s child disappearances prompt an intriguing tale even if it’s surface level. The film withholds enough as it progresses to develop the story in a timely manner but there are elements and characters that are not strong enough to fulfill the expectations of what the film sets up in the beginning.

One of the characters specifically, Vanessa, a police officer who visits Mike periodically during his sessions, is written in a way that makes it hard for her presence to feel important to the story outside of on paper. Her character is used to serve the purpose of the story unfolding rather than serving her own purpose as a character in the script.

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Five Nights at Freddy’s is a tricky movie in the sense that it may disappoint fans wanting a fast-paced horror as well as audiences looking for a story to get lost in. It moves in the right direction but has trouble committing to its path. However, this film will most likely be a rewatchable entry even if it didn’t stand out.

‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Rating – 3/5

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