Attention to detail: the only redeeming factor of director Emma Tammi’s cinematic take on the decades-old video game franchise, “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”
It’s no secret that this movie was highly anticipated. Created in 2014, the game has had some time to build its fame. Since the movie adaptation was announced, however, the fandom has grown immensely.
The film debuted last Friday, Oct. 27, in theaters and streaming on Peacock.
According to Variety, “FNaF” was projected to be one of the highest-grossing horror films of the year. In its opening week, the movie earned $132.6 million internationally.
While the film did alright in the box office, the reviews aren’t great.
The basic premise of the video game revolves around the five animatronics at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, possessed by children who went missing in the restaurant. After Freddy’s is abandoned sometime in the early 90s, the once entertaining animatronics serve the purpose of attempting to kill whoever is working the night shift as security guard.
In the movie, this position is filled by Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson). Schmidt gets the job at Freddy’s to continue supporting himself along with his younger sister, Abby.
As the title might tell you, Schmidt spends five nights at the abandoned pizzeria.
The film is arguably one of the most popular movies Hutcherson has acted in since his role as Peeta Mellark in “The Hunger Games.“
“My process with Mike was about finding a way to make him and his story very grounded, as the world of ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ is larger than life,” Hutcherson told Esquire. “… because the game has such fantastical and terrific elements, blending those two worlds together is tonally a challenge…”
Hutcherson’s right – the film couldn’t have been easy to make. Between immense pressure from eager and all-knowing fans and a not-so-great script, the movie was set up for failure.
The issue with making a movie like this is that the video games carry such an intricate story, it’s almost impossible to tell it all in a two-hour film.
Part of the fun about the video game is exploring different storylines, connecting the different games to one another and making theories about why or how certain things happened.
“FNaF” is only about the story of the first game, which is relatively surface level.
For what it’s worth, though, the filmmakers’ attention to detail is almost impossible to miss – especially for someone who’s played the game.
Between the security camera angles and costumes, the film had a few allusions to the video game.
As for the horror aspect, “FNaF” was a massive let down.
The most disappointing part about the movie was that it just wasn’t scary. The filmmakers clearly catered to the younger audience, leaving everyone else bored.
“FNaF” is a horror game, known for its jump scares and gore. Apparently, it was overly ambitious to assume the film would reflect this feature of the game.
For now, the topic of a second movie is up in the air as fans continue to harshly critique this one.
