Content warning/Editors note: this review will feature spoilers for “Five Nights at Freddy’s”
“Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF) is a horror thriller about a troubled security guard who must defend himself from a group of killer animatronics. This movie was adapted from the FNAF video game, where a security guard taking on the night shift has to stay awake and complete his shifts without being approached by the homicidal animatronics.The movie has a few differences, with more of a background of main character Mike Schmidt.
After being fired from his day job, Mike is offered to take on the night shift at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a family-friendly arcade and pizzeria that was shut down after child disappearances. Mike is in desperate need of the money to keep custody of his sister, Abby, so he eventually agrees to the job. Meanwhile in his dreams, he is haunted by the abduction of his younger brother, and still wants to figure out who took him.
The beginning of the movie was very interesting and I was hooked when the mystery of who took his brother came up. I was also hoping for jumpscares and scary parts right off the bat since this movie is supposed to be a horror movie, but there weren’t any alarming scenes that made me want to jump.
The animatronics later show up and start to come alive in the night and roam around the pizzeria. Even though Mike is unsure of the animatronics being possessed, a police officer, Vanessa, stops by and shows Mike the magic that the place held back when it was still open. He soon finds out that the place is not all happy and smiles; it has a dark side to it. The animatronics are possessed by the spirits of children who were abducted and murdered by a man who controls the child ghosts. In the end of the movie, the man is revealed as Vanessa’s father who is a serial killer and manipulates the animatronics to murder anyone who tresspasses the pizzeria.
Even though the movie had a horror-like plot, the movie itself was not that scary and only had a few minor jumpscares. I was hoping for the FNAF characters to be more frightening and look more deadly, but since they are supposed to be children spirits it makes more sense for them to not look as murderous. I was surprised, however, to see Vanessa’s dad as the serial killer and owner of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.
Overall, I enjoyed the plot of the movie. I was just disappointed for it to not have plenty of jumpscares and frightening scenes knowing it was a horror movie.
