I have been waiting almost ten years for this movie to come out and what I got was certainly interesting. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF) swarmed the internet in 2014 and grew to a massive popularity. It was promised from the time the sequel game came out that we would get a movie following the franchise. Now almost 10 years, and 13 games later fans have been rewarded for our patience. The movie we got was less than ideal. It has some great moments, sprinkled in with some truly baffling decisions. A huge problem with this movie is that, if you are not a FNAF fan, you will be utterly confused about the plot as a lot is not explained to the full extent.

Spoiler Free

To start, there is a lot to like about the movie. Mike Schmidt, portrayed by Josh Hutcherson, and Steve Raglan, portrayed by Matthew Lillard, are phenomenal in this movie. They really do carry the scenes that they are in. Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa, and Piper Rubio as Abby do a good job with what they are given, but the way their characters are written really drags them down. The rest of the cast I think do fine jobs, no standout performances for what are ultimately flat characters with no substance to the plot.

Speaking of the plot, it is convoluted and I want to emphasize again that if I were not a fan of the series before this movie I would have had no clue what was happening. The main beats of the story are understandable, but the reason for many things that happen either do not make sense without previous knowledge of the franchise or are just so out of left field that it just does not work. I think the biggest problem with the movie is that it feels like they are simply banking on this movie making a lot of money (which it already has) to justify a sequel where things will be explained more.

Spoiler Zone

So, I get that the game lore had to be changed to fit a cinematic audience but why is it changed so much to the point where they are meshing characters from 30 years from where the movie is supposed to take place? Why are they making characters not who they are supposed to be? As said, before it really just felt like they were going for a lot of plot holes that leave you with a lot of questions that will be solved in the sequel that has already begun production. I can excuse the confusing story and the character decisions because even if they are not accurate to the games they do mostly work for the story being told on screen.

What I cannot excuse is the tone of this movie changes more than I change clothes. The tone goes all over the place in this movie. The movie starts off super serious then it goes to this goofy fun part of the movie and it just goes back and forth till we get to the worst scene by a mile. The haunted animatronics, the haunted killer animatronics, build a fort and dance with the main characters. I get that they are haunted by kids and the spirits inside them want to just be kids but it is later revealed that they are controlled by William Afton (aka Steve Raglan). Why would they just be friends with the main characters especially after they attacked them earlier in the movie? It makes no sense and it is just unforgivable.

Speaking of being controlled by Afton, the ending is so good yet it gets ruined by something so dumb. William Afton, dressed in his Spring-Bonnie costume, comes out and has this amazing villain moment, he “kills” Vanessa, who apparently is his daughter, for no reason. Then as Afton is about to win the battle, Abby draws a picture, and that lifts the curse on the animatronics somehow. I do not know how that could have been done better within the context of the movie but the final battle of the movie being won in the most goofy way takes you out of this great scene. I also wish we got more of Afton in this movie because he stole the show in the final five minutes.

Spoilers Over

In the end, I did really enjoy “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” It was a lot of fun to experience despite its massive amount of flaws. I just hope all the setup for a sequel pays off whenever it comes out. I give “Five Nights at Freddy’s” a 3/5.