By Comet Ziemer
Warning! This article contains spoilers for the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie.
The ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’ movie released on October 27 after being in production for over 8 years. Fans of the popular horror game franchise flocked into movie theaters all over the world during opening weekend to watch. I was one of these many people, and here is my honest opinion about a movie that I have waited to watch for 8 years.
I will start off by stating that this movie was in no way the cinematic masterpiece that many wanted it to be. Like every movie, it had its flaws. But it also had a lot of positives! The first thing I want to start off with is the amazing puppetry with the animatronics.
The animatronics were made by all the talented people at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. The name may sound familiar, as Jim Henson is the creator of The Muppets. And the talent shows, as everything about the animatronics, is absolutely breathtaking. From the simple design to the actual technology behind it, it is all incredible.
I also really enjoyed how much of the horror elements from the original Five Nights at Freddy’s game bled into the movie. The thing that made the franchise so successful was the fact that it messed with every sense the player had. You could see things that weren’t there in the static of the cameras, and every noise made you jump.
I think that the movie was able to do an excellent job of keeping that element in the movie. The way the camera angles would change and cut left me on the edge of my seat and terrified me throughout the whole film. I felt that it was really captured in the robbery scene. The constant anxiety of where the robots were and who was getting picked off next left me in shock, and my jaw was on the floor when the scene finally ended.
Now for the plot of the movie, I actually take the side of really enjoying it. A bit of it was a little confusing, and it didn’t align with the original games, but I was okay with that. In fact, I think I preferred it. If the plot was exactly the same as the games, then I would know what to expect. I wouldn’t be as connected to the story because I would know what would happen next. Putting a new light on the iconic lore of this franchise allowed me to really stay hooked, and made me feel like I was looking through the whole series from a new angle. And honestly, would it really be Five Nights at Freddy’s if the story made perfect sense?
Considering that there are plans to make a sequel to the movie, it makes sense that many questions went unanswered. I much rather attend a movie sequel to have questions be answered than go because it’s a sequel.
I also want to say that the acting in the movie was very well done. I can definitely say that Matthew Lillard really shined in the role of William Afton, and Josh Hutcherson did a very good job carrying the audience with him throughout the film. And the two guest appearances from YouTubers CoryXKenshin and MatPat (Game Theory) were amazing to see, as it felt like such a cool little nod to the amazing community that has been built from these games.
So what is my final take? I say that it was a good movie. I enjoyed most of it and honestly had a really fun time watching it and geeking out with my friends in the theater. Furthermore, Ido think that there is much room for improvement that should be explored in the upcoming sequels. But as someone who has been waiting patiently for this movie for the past 8 years, I wasn’t disappointed.
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