Five Nights at Freddy’s Review: Jumpscares With Not Much Substance

A viral, remarkably popular gaming horror franchise adapted into a serviceable horror movie for new and returning audiences is the bar that Five Nights at Freddy’s should have strived for. For the most part, that’s precisely what it is. If you are unaware, Blumhouse’s new Five Nights at Freddy’s movie is based on a video game franchise that revolves around a children’s restaurant named Freddy Fazbear’s and the animatronics that live inside. Emma Tammi directed the film, and it stars Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games, Bridge to Terabithia) as the night guard Mike Schmidt. 

Five Nights at Freddy’s focuses on Mike’s story as a new hire for the abandoned restaurant. Obsessed with the kidnapping of his younger brother when he was a child, Mike begins to sense a connection to his brother in Fazbear’s. Unfortunately for him, the restaurant’s animatronics, Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, come alive and become very aggressive. Elizabeth Lail (You, Once Upon a Time) stars as Vanessa, a police officer interested in the restaurant, while Piper Rubio stars as Abby, Mike’s younger sister. Matthew Lillard also stars as Steve Raglan, Mike’s career counselor who sends him to Fazbear’s. 

Five Nights of Animatronics 

The plot of Five Nights at Freddy’s is straightforward, even with its couple of subplots. Mike Schmidt is down on his luck, afraid of losing custody of his sister as his aunt (Mary Stuart Masterson) is attempting to take her away from him. Fortunately, Raglan gives him a job as the night watchman of Freddy Fazbear’s. But, he is haunted by his younger brother’s disappearance, convinced that he can remember something about who kidnapped him by remembering it in his sleep. Cue Mike taking sleeping pills while watching the security monitors for his new job.

Of course, the animatronics eventually come alive, and Mike starts noticing some weird things, both in and out of his dreams. Because of this, he doesn’t immediately freak out when he sees a cut on his arm that he received in his dream. Hutcherson gives a convincing but campy performance as the tired security guard, and you believe that he genuinely wants the best for his sister. Unfortunately, his survivor’s guilt for his brother gets in the way of everything else. Five Nights at Freddy’s contains a decent examination of trauma and survivor’s guilt, even if it isn’t the film’s focus.

But, the shining star of the movie is easily the animatronics. The designs from the game were adapted to the film exceptionally well, and they were used for both jumpscares and more humorous moments. They were the only great thing about the film, and I waited for them to show back up whenever they weren’t onscreen. They were creepy, with their personalities supported by Mike’s dream sequences.

Too Many Nights, Not Enough Freddy

That said, it’s not like the rest of the movie is terrible. Instead, it’s mostly passable. It’s an entertaining movie you might want to watch if you like horror. But, even then, the movie doesn’t have much horror. Freddy or one of the other animatronics coming onscreen isn’t scary enough to sustain the entire movie. That’s why Mike’s plot with his siblings works well. Mike and Abby’s relationship is the movie’s emotional heart, making the story worthwhile. Otherwise, three or four thriller-like chase scenes with the animatronics wouldn’t be enough to keep the film enjoyable for the 109-minute runtime.

Five Nights at Freddy’s didn’t scare me at all. There were many jumpscares and a few scenes you might expect from a Saw movie, but they toned down. Most of the movie focuses on sibling relationships, which is fine because they work. But this also means there’s nothing to look away from for most of the movie. When the film returns to Fazbear’s, it’s atmospheric because of the score by The Newton Brothers and the animatronics themselves. The sound design is excellent as well. But again, that creates more subtle creepy eerieness rather than abject horror.

Without dropping into spoiler territory, the twist of the movie is well-executed. Lail portrays conflict well, dropping in and out of fear. The plot elements of the twist and the secret behind the animatronics are some of the most horrific things about the movie, but because it’s told through exposition rather than shown, it falls flat. The villain’s appearance at the end of the film is also too short to appreciate fully, even though the actor performs eerie and menacing quite well. 

To Live Another Day (Or Night)

The kicker is that all of the problems with the movie seem intentional. An hour and a half with the animatronics wouldn’t have had a massive impact. The actors performing artificially or a little camp helps sell their characters’ fictional world of Fazbear’s. This results in a mediocre movie saved mainly by the iconic characters. In a year full of horror movies, this one doesn’t rise to the top or sink to the bottom; it’s middling in nearly every way. 

Fans of the Five Nights at Freddy’s games might be happy at the cameos in the movie or seeing their favorite characters on the big screen. Younger audiences in the teen range might also appreciate this more than adults, as there are better horror movies to check out this Halloween season. You can catch Five Nights at Freddy’s in theaters or on Peacock from October 27, 2023.