Before releasing in late October, the talk of the production for this cinematic adaptation of the beloved “Five Nights at Freddy’s”(FNAF) video game franchise gained immense excitement from enthusiasts and fans alike. While expectations for the final cut grew, those who had the chance to watch the movie were left with differing opinions, the result of the release being only a 30 percent Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes.
An aspect of the movie that many longtime enjoyers of the games found to be upsetting was the plot of the movie, or lack thereof when it came to the lore of the games. When discovered that the storyline would be set around the books rather than the games itself, many were left dissatisfied, upset at the fact that certain plot points of the original lore wouldn’t be making it to the big screen like they had hoped.
One change in plot that left fans disappointed was the change in relationships between William Afton (Matthew Lillard) and Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson). While in the original games the father-son dynamic added a deeper level to the whole game series, the addition of Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) as the daughter in place of Mike Schmidt as the son took away from the initial flair, the only thing it brought to the movie being small shock when revealed.
Yet, in some cases where pieces of the games (more specifically lines) made it into the movie, it seemed as though the integration of them just didn’t give the same effect as it previously had. Indeed, it was disappointing when the iconic game line “I always come back” was rushed, being that it was such an admired part of the fandom.
For some, however, the storyline decisions were exciting, being mainly for those who were longtime fans of FNAF who had actually read the books. Unfortunately for the majority, this was not the case, which led to their evident dissatisfaction.
Fans also disliked the scarcity of horror, being particularly upset at the PG-13 rating. In response to the choice of explicitness, director Emma Tammi stated that she wanted to make the movie more inclusive, saying in a Variety interview, “it was really important for us to include the younger audiences in this movie as well.”
Despite the fact that certain choices made by the screenwriters were not every fan’s cup of tea, the movie was generally liked by the widespread fandom and had an overall audience score of 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Undoubtedly the best thing about this movie was its set design. With its 20 million dollar budget, the crew was given the opportunity to create a detailed set that perfectly encapsulated the feeling and ambience of the original game series. No matter what many thought of the overall film, no one could disagree on the level of accuracy of the animatronics created by Jim Henson Company.
Similarly, despite the basis of the plot not being on the original one of the game, those who worked on the movie made sure to include enough easter eggs and cameos to please the many fans. Additions to the movie such as “Sparky the Dog” being seen in the background of the parts and repairs room as well as the appearances of GameTheory Youtuber Matpat and Gamer CoryxKenshin brought much amusement across theaters.
Since the first screening of “Five Nights at Freddy’s”, it seemed that every person left with at least one criticism about the film, whether it be the accuracy to the game or the cinematographic decisions.
But when it comes to creating a movie as big as this with so many different groups viewing – critics, fans, and the rest – it’s hard to make every individual happy with the finished product. It takes a lot of courage to take on such a complex, nine-year-long thread of lore and to try and condense it into one movie, and when it came to doing as such, those working heavily on this awaited motion picture made an adaptation worthy of praise.
Based on the profitable domestic box office of $80 million the movie had gained opening week coupled with the constant streams of the movie on Peacock, “Five Nights at Freddy’”s does have the high potential to become a staple in Gen Z media culture. The movie surely made its mark onto the 2023 movie list, showing how far the once small indie game came since its first release on August 8th of 2014.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s” is currently available for viewing on Peacock.
