‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Review: Strange and Fun Gateway Horror for the Next Generation
Five Nights at Freddy’s is nothing short of a full-blown phenomenon. What started off as a small indie horror game has since evolved into an expanding universe of bizarre, tightly braided mythology. A simple first-person account of a night security guard at a defunct Chuck-E-Cheese-style birthday party venue battling enraged animatronic puppets has since grown into a vast and complicated world of ghosts, child murder, cultlike deviance, and revenge. And this Blumhouse cinematic distillation does a surprisingly decent job of fitting all those pieces of the puzzle together, even if it takes things to a point of over-complication.
It’s important to note the sheer cult following achieved by the Five Nights game series. And like in most cases of viral success, this franchise has taken off due to an organic and authentic gut response from its young audience. As we’ve learned, virality cannot be lab-grown. It’s profoundly mystic and refreshingly democratic how ungameable this sort of crowd response is. It just can’t be faked. When Blumhouse collaborated closely with its complicated creator Scott Cawthon, something authentic about the source material made its way onto the screen. And while I—a middling millennial—may not be the target audience for this cerebral and confounding material, I still believe, on some level, the movie gets it right.
In the film, Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games franchise) plays Mike, a mall security guard whose mental health struggles have made it especially difficult for him to hold down a job. Alas, to ensure the custody of his little sister, he has no choice but to accept whatever work offers that come his way. So, when an eccentric career advisor (played by the forever iconic Matthew Lillard) provides him the chance to be a night guard for the shuttered Freddy’s Fazbear Pizza party venue, he does what he needs to do to protect his family.
The high stakes of holding family close is part of what drives Mike, our young protagonist, forward. A bizarre backstory reveals that his little brother was abducted during a family camping trip when he was a child. And Mike was the only witness to the incident. Ever since he spends his restless nights dreaming of the moment when his brother was snatched and doing everything he can to get a better view of the man responsible. When the ghosts inhabiting the sentient animatronic puppets at Freddy’s Fazebear Pizza offer Mike the chance to resolve his childhood trauma at the high cost of his little sister, well, things get strange.
In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, Five Nights at Freddy’s is a bizarre little horror movie that attempts to do much with relatively few resources. But its utter and complete commitment to the cerebral bit allows for a cute, fun, and unpretentious journey into gateway horror for the Roblox generation. I’m not convinced that this film ever really has a firm grasp of how weird it is, especially when it attempts to evoke heartfelt drama and familial tragedy. It’s so tonally strange that I think to some degree, the outcome is a bit of a happy accident. But at the end of the day, according to the great Susan Sontag, that’s what makes for successful camp. There’s an earnestness on display that, while occasionally cringe, is somewhat commendable.
While I appreciate the reverence that this adaptation has for the lore behind its source material, the preciousness of Cawthon and company’s approach to the film takes things to a place of over-complication. What made the first game of the franchise such a fun surprise was the simplicity. We didn’t know why the animatronics were trying to murder us; we just needed to survive the shift. If the film had returned to these fun and bonkers roots, its resources would have been better applied. Instead, it took some big swings, which in turn came with some big misses both tonally and structurally.
On the other hand, what helps this weird little movie succeed is the talent involved. The supporting performance from Matthew Lillard is a treat for horror fans. We get to see the Scream icon let loose in a fun and rewarding way; it’s a short appearance but one that’s nearly worth the price of admission on its own. Josh Hutcherson delivers a surprisingly nuanced performance as an exhausted older brother struggling to do his best. The casting helps keep from letting things get too far gone. The direction by Emma Tammi (The Wind) is tight, keeping pace with a story that’s doing everything possible to fall off its rails. Tammi definitely captains this strange trip with confidence.
At the end of the day, this is not a film for everybody. I suspect that the A24 horror bros will be especially hard on it, and it wouldn’t be without reason. But the strange younger generation who identified with M3GAN and the Five Nights video games will probably enjoy themselves, as will unpretentious weirdo horror fans of all ages.
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Five Nights at Freddy's
Summary
The strange and effective Blumhouse adaptation of the cult ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ games treats its source material’s expansive lore with reverence, but to a place of over-complication.
