Film: "Five Nights at Freddy's"

After waiting almost a decade, fans of the beloved game, "Five Nights at Freddy's," finally get to see the game come to the big screen.

One of the things I most vividly remember about my middle school experience is spending study hall doing anything but my actual homework. I would play Madden Mobile on my school iPad, listen to music, or embark on a number of random Google rabbit trails. But more so than these, I remember dedicating a vast amount of time to the most popular game at my school: “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” is a simple yet cleverly-constructed survival horror game. It puts you in the shoes of a security guard on the night shift at a derelict pizza establishment, where animatronic animal characters entertain customers. Once you discover that these animatronics move around during the night – and will attack you if they discover you – your job becomes one of pure self-preservation. You must use the limited power at your disposal to operate camera systems, close doors, and turn on lights in order to stave off your assailants until 6:00 am. 

For almost a decade, a “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie has been in the works. Now, after eight years and an insane amount of script drafts, the game has been adapted to the big screen. The film tells the story of Mike Schmidt, a down-on-his-luck security guard who signs on to work the night shift at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. However, once he begins the job, he quickly discovers that this seemingly family-friendly establishment harbors some dark secrets that could endanger him and his family. 

In spite of the film’s critical flaws – and there are quite a few, I’m afraid – I am a massive fan of the original games, which allowed me to have an incredible time watching this movie. The sets and animatronics feel as though they were transported straight from the games. A few eerie sequences early in this film capture the surreal sense of being alone at night in a place that’s familiar but somehow off. The film is even able to deliver on some mildly effective jump scares, which characterized the games.

That said, when placed under a critical lens, “Five Nights At Freddy’s” suffers from a number of foundational inadequacies. 

The script comes with a number of strange choices that make the film feel distracted. For example, a significant portion of the runtime is dedicated to an aimless subplot surrounding a custody battle for Mike Schmidt’s little sister. The film fails to tie this into the main narrative in any way whatsoever, so every scene dedicated to it feels more wasteful than constructive.

Another inadequacy with the movie is how it chooses to handle its horror – or rather, lack thereof. Outside of a few early sequences, I think it would be a stretch to say that “Five Nights At Freddy’s” is a “scary movie.” The animatronics in the walls of the pizzeria – the protagonists’ primary threat – are characterized in a way that completely neutralizes anything scary about them. This is largely thanks to some bizarre plot decisions in the second act. The film’s third act attempts to make up for this, and while I do believe it delivers in terms of story resolution (especially for fans of the games), it doesn’t inspire any sense of true fear. Horror fans, or any audience members expecting “Five Nights at Freddy’s” to live up to the terror of its video game predecessor, might walk away disappointed. 

Those unfamiliar with the story and gameplay of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” may find this movie more arbitrary than anything else. But fans of the property will likely have a blast watching it, like I ultimately did. If for nothing else, after eight years of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” being trapped in development limbo, I’m just glad this movie was able to see the light of day, once and for all.