Five Nights at Freddy’s is a horror game that came out in 2014, and has become something of a cultural phenomena since. Twenty video games, forty-eight books, countless let’s plays on YouTube, numerous fan-made songs, animations, memes, and an expansive lore have made the series an integral part of internet culture.

   This popularity made studios eager to adapt. The film was greenlit in 2015, but was stuck in development hell from creator Cawthon’s difficulty creating a story he was happy with. It took eight years, but at last, the long-awaited FNAF film has hit the silver screen.

   Full disclosure, I have not played the FNAF games. They were a tad too spooky for eight-year-old Kaitlin with all the jumpscares. But I have seen enough of MatPat’s content and Markiplier let’s plays to write this article. With that, on with the review!

   This review will contain spoilers.

   The Five Nights At Freddy’s film follows Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), a man troubled by the loss of his brother Garrett at a young age and struggling to take care of his sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), due to some legal trouble. He is offered a job by William Afton (Matthew Lilard) to be a night security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria—an abandoned 80’s restaurant reminiscent of Chuck E. Cheese, but with more advanced animatronics. These animatronics—Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, and Foxy—become active at night, looking for victims to maim and stuff into animatronic suits.

   The film follows the FNAF lore to the best of its ability with the constraints of a two-hour film. It takes place in a different continuity than the additional FNAF timeline, allowing more focus on the characters of the story. There is more time to delve into Mike and Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail)’s trauma, the tragic Afton family dynamic, and the fact that the animatronics aren’t the antagonists. They are simply victims, the ghost children Afton murdered and trapped in animatronic bodies. Abby’s perspective gives a sense of childlike wonder to the characters, with the added sympathy that, despite it all, these “killer” animatronics are still kids. Some were annoyed by this addition, but I felt that it added a nice tragic flare to the story.

   I was also very impressed that the animatronics were done practically, with the help of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. They had character and personality to them, with facial expressions, robotic movements, and all. They were so realistic and very nice to see in a world plagued by CGI and VFX.

   The film caters to fans of the FNAF franchise. My friends and I were thrilled to see MatPat’s cameo as Ness in the diner scene, and his signature catchphrase “but that’s just a theory”. CoryxKenshin’s role as the taxi driver was also very funny, and I loved his end credit scene. Markiplier, unfortunately, did not have a cameo due to scheduling conflicts with his film “Iron Lung”, which was quite dissapointing. I was also very happy that The Living Tombstone’s first and most iconic FNAF song was featured in the end credits. 

   My favorite part of the film, though, was the infamous bite of ‘87  (or the bite of ‘23 in this timeline). The suspense as Max (Kat Connor Sterling) peered into the mouth of the animatronic, and the loud noise as her body split in half was such a horrifyingly well done moment. 

   Matthew Lillard steals the show with his performance as William Afton. His reveal as Springtrap at the end of the film, with glowing white eyes and his menacing “I always come back” line gave me chills. He was the perfect casting for this role and I cannot wait to see him in the sequel.

   I enjoyed Five Nights At Freddy’s. The jumpscares got me, but weren’t as terrifying as I imagined, which may bother some but made me happy as a horror rookie. I loved the fanservice, the soundtrack, the actor performances, the animatronics, the set, and the heart put into the story. However, mymain criticism would be that not enough time was spent at Fazbear’s. The scenes that took place there were the most memorable parts of the film, and I felt there could have been more scenes there. 

   Despite this, Five Nights At Freddy’s is an enjoyable and campy film for fans and newcomers alike. If you are looking for a horror movie that isn’t super scary or gory, and is more fun than anything, I would highly recommend giving Five Nights At Freddy’s a watch.

   Five Nights At Freddy’s is now in theaters. It is also available on Peacock.