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In case you didn’t know, the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie is doing ridiculously well. The film punched above it’s weight with the biggest opening weekend for a video game adaptation, raking in $130 million despite its $20 million budget. But films, like life, are not all about money. In spite of its financial success, the film has torn fans in two and left critics scratching their heads.
To understand why, some background is needed. Five Nights at Freddy’s is a horror institution at this point. Several beloved games exist under its umbrella with a massive fanbase of young fright fanatics clamouring for everything FNAF. Crucially, all of this is built on a foundation on truly scary games. Jump scares sure, but really good ones.
This is where the first tear in reception comes from. The Five Nights at Freddy’s movie is a PG-13, and despite being sold in trailers as a film just as shocking as the games, it didn’t lean into the horror too much. This is especially true for the animatronics themselves, whose characterisation missed the mark for many.
“Their story in both games and books was about how they have completely lost their humanity,” writes MichalTygrys on Reddit. ” ‘The loss of innocence’ is an actual quote about them by Henry. According to Charlie they are like animals. That’s the selling point of them. They are eerie monsters. Scared children on the inside, sure, but they aren’t capable of acting like actual children.”
It’s a combination of this lack of real horror plus a lack of standalone merit that shines as the source of critics’ ire. Kevin Mayer from The Times believes the film is “Like Teletubbies with chainsaws, or knife-wielding Fimbles, it’s absurd. But not in a good way”, while legendary online critic Doug Walker adds that “when a film about animatronics killing has very little animatronics killing, many won’t get their money’s worth.”
But there are those who love the film too, largely belonging to the camp of those longtime FNAF fans who are chuffed to see the IP on the silver screen. Online community hubs are flooded with fans sharing their favourite scenes from the movie, discussing the similarities between the film and games. Then there’s the also a guest appearance from a certain YouTuber who is tied by the hip to the FNAF franchise, which seemingly went down a hit.
It’s a tricky one. You’ve got to wonder why they’d not go all in on the horror considering the first game came out all the way back in 2014… But then again, the IP has evolved too. Recent games have focused more on the people rather than the animatronics, something reflected in the film. It does open the door for a new wave of fans though, curious about Freddy and the gang. They’ll have a lot of catching up to do!
Let us know what you think of the film below. Did you like it? Let us know!