Five Nights at Freddy's

Just saw Five Nights at Freddy's. That.... was a hot mess. Let's talk about positives first. The Jim Henson Shop out did themselves bringing Freddy and friends to life. They did primarily practical effects and it shows, the animatronics being the best part of the film. Another positive is the music, which was outstanding!

Unfortunately, that's where my positives stop. This film has two major problems. First, it's PG13. This movie would have benefitted greatly from an R rating, it was tamer than the games. Second, the film can't decide if it is for fans or newcomers. The actual FNAF storyline is largely secondary to the plot of the lead character trying to discover who kidnapped his brother as a child. It's annoying, because when it's not being FNAF, it's just boring. (Also maybe it's the direction given, but the leads were pretty bland). They try to do a mystery thing with the FNAF storyline that doesn't work if you know the games. Matthew Lillard was perfectly cast, but woefully underused (He's in maybe 15min of the movie). Overall, I have to give FNAF the movie a C-. If you want a good version of Five Nights in film, stick with Willy's Wonderland, it's much better.

Five Night at Freddy's was a pretty big letdown. I went in with the expectation to have a pretty scary fun time. Instead what I got was a boring cliche riddled film. Right from the start you can tell this film was geared toward the younger audience. We really don't get much scenes with Freddy and his friends even though they are supposed to be the main attraction here. There is to much setup to the story which is not interesting at all and not enough kills/thrills. Maybe under a different Director or writer this could have turned out to be a more enjoyable experience. Five Night at Freddy's gets a 4 low stars out of 10 from me.

Just fresh out of the cinema after seeing Five Nights at Freddy's, so here's my spoiler free review for it.

Now, personally, I don't find the actual concept of FNAF all that scary so I personally wasn't "scared" watching this. The jumpscares were effective but did this movie ever really make me feel uneasy? No, not really. But again, that's personal preference and not a dig at the movie at all.

The sound design, cinematography and the overall design of everything (from the animatronics to the actual restaurant) is incredible.

Now, here in the UK the film is rated 15 (which means children cannot watch it. Even if they are accompanied by an adult). In the USA, I know it's PG-13. For Americans who are probably wondering "Can I take my kid to see this?". Well, that's down to you. The film isn't overloaded with gory imagery, but there are one or two moments where it is extremely brutal, so just keep that in mind.

The "twist" at the end, and yes there's a twist, is... predictable, in all honesty. If you don't know anything about the lore, then yeah it might catch you off guard. But if you're even just slightly knowledgable about it, you probably wouldn't call it a twist.

Out of the horror movies I have seen, I'd honestly say this is one of the more lighthearted ones. There's a lot of humour here, as well as moments that do kinda make you think "Is this a horror film?". It's not "balls-to-the-wall" scary and I honestly don't think it was trying to be, nor does it need to be. It's just a fun film with horror elements, to me.

Overall, really enjoyed it and would recommend it if you're wanting something to watch for spooky season that is not too intense. It'd also be a great entry for anyone just getting into horror movies.

"Five Nights at Freddy's" is a film that seems to stay faithful to the games, especially in its portrayal of the creepy animatronic characters that capture the eerie spirit of the game's characters. Despite the film not being as bad as some critics suggest, it falls short of being truly impressive. It can be described as a generic, light production that manages to entertain until the end.

On the downside, the film is quite moderate in terms of violence and scares. The scares it does offer are mostly predictable and lack the ability to truly terrify, relying on dated techniques. Furthermore, the lack of violence makes it feel somewhat juvenile. The characters in the film come across as somewhat caricatured and unrealistic, particularly the human villains who seem like they're straight out of a 90s teen comedy. The direction also falls short, leaving "Five Nights at Freddy's" lacking a distinct identity and failing to cater to both the child and adult audience.

So, I know it must be extremely difficult to take a simple gaming concept like Five Nights at Freddy's and stretch that idea out into a full blown movie. I totally understand that artistic hardship, but...The script missed the mark folks.

I honestly enjoyed the stunning look of everything, which I gather most people assume would be top notch given the studio that made the film, but wow... the basic story was so very weak. I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to horror movies, but this was moving into borderline "cheese", parody territory.

The positives: I was living for the look of the creature costumes. So many kudos there. The acting is pretty decent for a studio movie, as it really should be. Matthew Lillard was the standout performance in my opinion. The music was pretty cool too.

Everything considered, I honestly enjoyed myself, which is the point of any entertainment product after all. So I give it a six. But that side-story, and most of the dialogue really needed to bake in the oven a little longer before being served up.