“Five Nights at Freddy’s” (F.NA.F.), directed by Emma Tammi, written by Scott Cowthan, Emma Tammi and Seth Cuddeback is a tonally confused film that is unsure of what it wants to be. Throughout its hour and 50-minute runtime I was left confused as to what particular feeling it was going for. Is F.NA.F. a horror movie? A tongue-in-cheek riff on the genre itself? A comedy? A family drama? Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell you the answer to that question, because the filmmakers themselves couldn’t answer it. I would give F.NA.F. a thumbs down overall.
Back of the DVD Summary: Mike Schmidt played by Josh Hutcherson is a traumatized, security guard. When we catch him in the story he is down on his luck, and is trying to find stable work in order to maintain custody of his little sister. Mike eventually catches a break when William Afton offers him a night job at Freddy Fazebear’s Pizza. However, one night on the job strange things begin to happen with the animatronics and Mike’s dreams. During the long hours of the night the animatronics suddenly come to life as if inhabited by ghosts. In Mike’s dreams he’s forced to relive the kidnapping of his younger brother. The setup is simple enough, but how the plot unfolds is certainly questionable.
As someone who has only a passing knowledge of the videogame it’s based on, I felt like I was left out, or at the very least not in on the fun. I like to imagine long-time fans were rewarded for their knowledge through easter eggs and references to the larger lore, but those alone cannot sustain a film.
Certain shots lingered on various ghoulish-looking animatronics for one to two seconds too long, as if to give audience members a chance to point and clamor at the silver screen. I would also note the dialogue was passable at best and borderline terrible at its worst. Besides Matthew Lilard’s performance as William Afton, no one made much of an impression cast-wise.
Fear not, F.NA.F. is not all bad. The set design, the costuming on the animatronics, and the special effects were top-of-line and incredibly impressive with the limited $25 million budget. Freddy Fazebear’s Pizza felt truly eerie with its abandoned and withered aesthetic. The pizzeria was given so much love and care, that it was by far the standout of the entire film. When the film turned its attention toward horror and suspense I genuinely felt immersed and on the edge of my seat. It made me wish the film had leaned more into the horror more, as opposed to switching tones every other scene.
Unless you are a massive fan of the F.NA.F. franchise I would not recommend going out to the theater to watch this movie, nor subscribing to Peacock to watch it at home. If you are dying to watch this movie, I would recommend waiting until it’s free to stream.