[WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie]
After eight years of waiting, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” fans ran to the theaters on October 27 for the film adaptation of their beloved video game series. People showed up in themed outfits, makeup, and even full animatronic suits to match their favorite characters. Sadly, the movie has faced a lot of contrasting opinions.
Ever since the first “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF) video game was released people have been trying to decode the supposed lore that came along with it. As more games were released theories grew to irrational heights. Currently, there are 10 main games in the series, including: “Five Nights at Freddy’s” 1-4, “Sister Location,” “Pizzeria Simulator,” “Ultimate Custom Night,” “Help Wanted” 1 and 2, and “Security Breach.” Fans were very excited to see how the movie would incorporate the lore from the many different games.
The biggest upset for the fans was that William (an antagonist) and Michael Afton (who you usually play as in the games) were no longer related. Instead, William was introduced as Vanessa’s father, a character that didn’t show up in any of the first five video games. This change in the lore completely puzzled fans.
“I was really confused with the decision to make Vanessa William Afton’s daughter because in the games, Vanessa is just another security guard and William Afton already has canonical children (Michael, Elizabeth, and the unnamed boy known only as ‘the Crying Child’,” stated Sydney Grantham, a former Millbrook student and long-time fan of the games. This makes many wonder how the producers plan to approach the next movie, especially with Michael’s storyline.
However, there is disagreement among the fanbase. Penelope Patsis a student at Emerson College commented, “I think my major issue with the movie is the pacing and screenwriting. A lot of moments feel rushed and scenes feel improperly placed, especially the scene where the group working for Mike’s aunt goes to burglarize the pizzeria.” A few other fans on Reddit agreed with this statement adding that “The atmosphere and vibe outside the pizzeria felt dull.”
On the other hand, a vast majority of the fans were deeply touched by the realistic production of the movie. “I’m beyond impressed at the sheer quality and craftsmanship of the animatronics. Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica can all be remote-controlled or puppeteered by a person from within the suit. Foxy is entirely animatronic. It would’ve been so easy for these animatronics to look fake, cheesy, cheap, etc., but the people working on this movie really put in the effort to make them lifelike and it pays off in a big way.”Grantham said.
Even though there were differing opinions we are able to conclude that no matter how the movie turned out fans were excited for the comeback of the “FNAF” franchise.
