xav's 2023 media thread: Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

(originally posted 12/10/23)

the first of several posts in a bit of a backlog of media thread posts to make

the FNAF games have never really been my favorite horror games- in fact, i've always stood by the opinion that as the games got more production value, they became less and less scary. my favorite FNAF game is the first one, and its the standard i hold the rest of the series to. while it becomes less scary when you know how the AI behind the animatronics work, i think the sheer atmosphere and tension that it created was great. some of the camera screens still kind of unnerve me even to this day.

FNAF 2 was good too, but it became extremely formulaic and you didnt get a chance to really look at the rest of the screens because you were so focused on the marionette's music box, the mask, and the vents. after that my interest in the series tapered off for me, though i thought sister location was cool. so, i didnt have super high expectations for the movie, but i was at least hoping it would take pages from FNAF 1's book; be more atmospheric, unsettling, and tense, as opposed to leaning on cheap jumpscares, especially since the movie seemed to be primarily based on the first game.

and...it sort of lived up to that idea. it was a fun watch, but i wouldnt really consider it to be scary. it starts off interesting, with mike, the protagonist, chasing a guy down and beating him up because he thought he was kidnapping a kid (and subsequentially losing his job, which leads to him applying for the pizzeria) but it quickly started to feel like a scott cawthon story, with ghost kids and flashbacks and nightmares, but i think it leaned too far into the dream sequences; a substantial chunk of the movie is taken up by mike literally sleeping at his desk through the night and having a reoccuring dream sequence about his family and lost brother instead of doing his job as a security guard. i was hoping there'd be scenes where he's watching the animatronics on the cameras moving when they arent supposed to and approaching the office, but that just...doesnt happen because so much of the runtime focuses far more on the dream sequences and family drama. there's one part in the movie where you actually see the animatronics be violent.  i think the PG-13 rating held this movie back from really cashing in on its potential, because the actual horror involved in the movie is super mid, and the animatronics really arent scary at all.

an R rating wouldve allowed for a far better plot and a scarier atmosphere, but i guess you have to keep it safe for the kids... (still surreal to me that this is a kids franchise now when the first two games were absolutely more for adults/older teens at the least)

i didnt even mind the scenes with the animatronics playing with mike's little sister abby per se- it makes sense that theyd want to be kind to her, but having a sequence of them building a fort together was just kinda... ?????? tone whiplash.

i also think the whole "animatronics eyes glowing red when theyre about to attack an adult" is super dumb, and the twist(s?) at the end and how its handled + the "i always come back" line drop was very silly.  there's also a character death that just...kind of HAPPENS and isnt addressed any further than that.  in the final act it felt like they were trying really hard to shove in as many FNAF-isms and names as possible and do some sequel baiting in the process at the very end. that being said, i dont think its as bad as reviews say. its not a godawful movie, it just doesnt live up to its true potential

im glad that it's been confirmed that this movie takes place in its own continuity, because this absolutely destroys the preestablished lore and timeline which is already complicated as is. that was a smart decision on their part

i also think internally im also giving it more kudos because i saw it on a date tbh LOL