On October 29, I went and saw Five Nights At Freddy’s in theaters. As someone who hasn’t played the games, but is a fan of the franchise, I really enjoyed it. This movie understood so well what works in regards to FNAF, and presents the story and the characters authentically.
I especially liked the effects on both the animatronics and everything else. This movie presented scares and character deaths in a way that felt both restrained but still scary. It is hard to do a horror movie without gore and blood in every scene, yet this film figures out how films can produce scares from an audience without showing every graphic detail. With the audience of young kids FNAF has, the movie had to really walk a fine line of what the audience sees and doesn’t see with the kills in the movie. But I felt that the movie was creative with it and still was scary. It reminded me really of the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, which is a very scary film, despite not showing the viewer much because it still haunts you. By having the animatronics look how they do in the games, the film holds onto the tension it establishes.
With the characters, I really felt that while some of the characters were a little different from the games, they gave great performances. I especially enjoyed Matthew Lillard and Josh Hutcherson’s performances as Mike and William Afton respectively. Matthew Lillard really portrays the villain of the games well. He has the charm but also the cruelty of the character well, and you spend the movie both being interested in him, and then horrified at his actions. Meanwhile, Josh Hutcherson does a really great job as the protagonist. He portrays the pain of Mike’s character well, and you both root for him and wish to see him be set free from what he’s going through.
While this film might not be a favorite for people who aren’t fans of the franchise, for the fans it is a great representation of its source material and should be seen to be believed.
