REVIEW: Five Nights at Freddy’s: A Fun Flick for Fans

I don’t usually watch horror films (I get very scared), but the lunch table gang invited me to see the FNAF movie, so, of course, I made an exception this time. Also, I was intrigued after hearing mixed reviews from my classmates and decided I wanted to see it for myself.

I used to be terrified seeing the animatronics back in elementary school. That all went out the window after they released the Security Breach game a few years ago. They were simply too goofy to be intimidating.

That’s not the case with the night guard in the movie’s opening, who gets his face horribly mangled as he’s stuffed into an animatronic. No gore, though—that all happens off screen. The movie’s PG-13. The target audience is mostly kids, after all.

I’ve heard some people complain about that and say they should’ve gone R-rated instead. For a movie about killer robots with saws, I’d say the violence shown is quite limited. There is some blood—stabs, cuts, and corpses. Most of the killing is off screen. We do get to see the silhouette of someone getting their head lopped… I mean, bitten… off.

That scene was quite exciting, with the animatronics hunting people down. There were also a decent amount of tense scenes towards the end that had me on the edge of my seat with bated breath. The movie takes a long time to pick up the pace though. I’d say the first half or so of the movie is exposition.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Moviegoers unfamiliar with the FNAF franchise will benefit from the gradual unveiling of the secrets of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place. And it’s interesting in its own right to watch protagonist and new security hire Mike Schmidt figure out the whole murder robot shebang as he grapples with recurring nightmares of his brother Garrett’s kidnapping as well as caring for his sister Abby and fighting his aunt Jane’s attempts to take custody of her. Oh, yea, and he’s aided on some nights by local cop Vanessa Shelley, who’s quite knowledgeable about Freddy’s.

I like history, and I think the movie presented it all quite well, but I do wish there was more action sooner. Then again, if you have an understanding of the FNAF lore, it’s exciting waiting to see where all the puzzle pieces finally slide into place (me when William Afton makes an appearance!!!)

Not a terrible movie. Not an exceptionally stellar one, either. Many of my friends have said it’s 7/10, and I think that’s a justified rating. Ultimately, though, it’s still entertaining, and I’d recommend seeing it if you’re a fan of the games.

Any opinions expressed are of their respective writers and not The Zombie Fridge Journal.