By: Victor Dixon, A&E Editor
After eight long years of waiting, we were finally granted the chance to see our internet-centric childhood wonders play out on the big screen. Oct. 27 was the day fans finally got to see the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie, based on the video game franchise of the same name. It was beautiful.
I’ve been a FNAF fan since very near the beginning of the franchise, and I’ve spent countless late-night hours playing the games, reading the books, watching the playthroughs and following the lore. I went to see the movie with my best friend on the day it came out.
The story follows Mike Schmidt, played by Josh Hutcherson, and his younger sister Abby, played by Piper Rubio. Mike finds himself in search of a new job and ends up working the night security position at an abandoned restaurant called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. He gradually uncovers decades of disturbing history that has been living inside its walls, along with some clues to decipher issues from his own past.
Although not a perfect movie, it was beautifully written and portrayed on screen. Its sound and music design, cinematography, character design and sets were all extremely visually appealing from a general film perspective as well. However, its pacing was choppy at times and there were some parts that were, in my opinion, pretty unnecessarily open-ended, even for a franchise that is supposedly set to be renewed for at least two more movies.
For long-time FNAF fans though, this is a familiar feeling to other content that has been released in the past few years from this beloved video game universe. But even though we’re used to some feeling of unfinishedness, it was still slightly disappointing to see this happen with a highly anticipated project that took such a long time to finally come to fruition.
This movie did make up for that by being silly and heartwarming in all the right ways, and it is nothing else if not a love letter to FNAF fans everywhere and of all ages. From the actual wearable animatronic costumes, to the MatPat cameo, to the new worldbuilding with heavy lore implications, to the Midnight Motorist T-shirt worn by a short-lived side character, it was full of deep cuts that are indicative of the passion for the craft in the hearts of every person who worked on this piece of media.
If you like FNAF in any way, if you’ve ever found yourself enjoying a Game Theory video on the subject or searching Google for the solution to one of its infamous hidden minigames, the FNAF movie is an absolute must watch. Hopefully you’ll find yourself in the same position I am now, with a rejuvenated passion for the games and excitement for the next two films.
PHOTO: Courtesy photo, Blumhouse Productions
