Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that ‘FIVE NIGHTS AT Freddy’s debuts with 37% tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes with 27 reviews.
After years of development hell, the beloved Five Nights at Freddy’s video game franchise finally gets the big-screen treatment via Blumhouse. The anticipation for this movie adaptation, in particular, has been unlike any other, with producer Jason Blum claiming that the film has already made back more than its $25 million production budget before its release from its streaming and theatrical distribution rights alone. This isn’t so shocking given how insanely popular FNaF is. Regardless of whether you’ve played the games or not, it’s incredibly hard not to at least recognize Freddy Fazbear and his fellow animatronics given the IP’s intense branding and rabid fandom. Any moderate amount of time spent on the internet will have you exposed to viral FNaF memes, songs, cosplays, and more. Heck, anyone who’s ever been on YouTube has probably come across Markiplier or MatPat’s FNaF videos. The list goes on.
Backed by Blumhouse, perhaps the most popular studio name in modern horror, with the heavy involvement of FNaF creator Scott Cawthon as producer and co-writer, all signs point to Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) being a sure-fire hit. Although this can already be said for its profits, it is sadly not the same case in terms of its quality. Before you get the tomatoes out to throw at a critic who might just not “get” FNaF like you do, hear me out! For those fans who’ve waited a long time to see Freddy Fazbear fully realized on the big screen, wouldn’t it be somewhat disappointing to finally get a FNaF movie and have it be nowhere near as scary (or even entertaining) as the games? Adjust your expectations because Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s prioritizes appealing to general audiences of all ages over capturing the franchise’s true scare factor.
Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt holds and protects his younger sister Abby played by Piper Rubio from killer animatronics in Blumhouse’s FIVE NIGHT AT FREDDY’S film.
Josh Hutcherson & Piper Rubio in ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ courtesy of Universal
Given the rather simple premise of “surviving the night” and first-person gaming style, adapting the original FNaF games into a movie was always going to be a challenge. Yes, the games do introduce complex lore in the overarching story throughout its many sequels, but this isn’t enough when it comes to forming fully dimensional human protagonists to follow for an entire feature-length film. Director Emma Tammi (The Wind) and Scott Cawthon get creative with this aspect in their script, co-written by Seth Cuddeback with a story by Cawthon, Chris Lee Hill, and Tyler MacIntyre. We follow the protagonist from the first game Mike Schmidt, portrayed by Josh Hutcherson of Hunger Games fame. Though, unlike his game counterpart, Mike in the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie is a young adult looking to make ends meet while keeping custody of his younger sister Abby, played by newcomer Piper Rubio.