THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
There are many memories we are fond of, but then there are the ones that tell us things we wish we didn't know.
PLOT
Based on the iconic video game franchise by Scott Cawthon, Five Nights at Freddy's follows Michael Schmidt, a young adult taking care of his younger sister Abby due to the absence of their father and passing of their mother. The protagonist has been suffering from his own trauma when his brother Garrett was kidnapped during their childhood and was never found. Every night since, he would dream of the incident in hopes to find a clue of who took him. When mistaking another father as a kidnapper, he loses his job of mall security for assault. However, career counselor Steve Raglan offers him a job as a night guard for an abandoned restaurant, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. Mike reluctantly takes the offer to prevent social services taking Abby from him and pass her over to their estranged Aunt Jane. On the first night, he would sleep on the job and dream of five other children who seem to have saw who took Garrett. He doesn't get an answer as the children run away. On the second night, he has the same dream again until being attacked, which wakes him up. During this shift, he meets an officer named Jessica who not only patches his wound and shows him around the restaurant, explaining that it closed down after five kids went missing. The morning after this, Jane hires a group of delinquents to vandalize the property, which would get Mike fired and enable her to gain custody of Abby. The group includes: Jeff (David Linid), his sister Max (Kat Conner Sterling) who is babysitting Abby, and two other friends named Hank (Christian Stokes) and Carl (Joseph Poliquin). They would succeed in trashing the place more than it already appears, but their intrusion would lead to them being shockingly killed by the live animatronic mascots: Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy & Mr. Cupcake. Unaware of what has happened, Mike takes Abby with him for his third night in the job. After he cleans up the mess inside, he sleeps again but this would lead to Abby meeting the mascots who act friendly towards her. When Mike sees them alive firsthand, he is rightfully stunned and is able to leave with his sister. Upon returning home, he deduces off of Abby’s drawings that the mascots are possessed by the spirits of the missing children he’s been seeing in his dreams. The only thing she is able to share from them is that they have a leader resembling a yellow rabbit. On the fourth night, the siblings see Jessica again who admits to knowing the mascots being haunted. She would then advise Mike to drop his inviestigation and to not let Abby come back to the restaurant. Mike would take the advice of protecting Abby by leaving her to be babysat by Aunt Jane while he returns to the restaurant. In the afternoon, he would overdose and dream again. He would see the children again who offer him to stay with Garrett in his dreams in exchange for having Abby to themselves. When he reluctantly considers, they take it as an official answer before he can take it back. When he wakes up, he barely saves himself from having his body from being fused with another animatronic. As he escapes, Foxy wounds him. As it reaches the fifth night, Vanessa finds him and treats to him again. As this happens, ‘Golden’ Freddy kills Aunt Jane and brings Abby to the restaurant. When Mike wakes up, he explains of the mistake he made, thus giving her the time to reveal how she knows of the restaurant: Her father William Afton owned the restaurant and killed the children including Garrett, covering his tracks by putting their bodies inside the mascots, hence being possessed. The mascots want to do the same with Abby like they tried to do with Mike, but are only doing so because they’re being influenced by William. Wanting to save his sister, he rushes to the restaurant and briefly incapacitates the mascots by shoving them with tasers and cattle prods. Before they could leave, they get confronted by Afton himself who is not only Steve himself but also dawns the yellow rabbit animatronic like he did in the past. Vanessa tries to intervene as well, but it would only lead to her being stabbed by her dad. Abby would turn the tide by drawing a picture of William killing the children. This inspires the mascots to turn on him. The Cupcake would bite at his suit, causing an internal spring lock mechanism to severely wound him. As they drag him to the back room, Mike & Abby leave the restaurant leave with Vanessa. Once they escape, the latter officer recovers in the hospital. Mike would thank her for her efforts in protecting him while in comatose. The film would end with him and Abby returning to their lives, but take consideration in returning to the restaurant someday.
THOUGHTS
Expectations were very high by moviegoers for this film like any other video game franchise. Since I don't play every game, I keep it low and from there, I enjoyed this one more than I thought. Director Emma Tammi delivers in making a very entertaining horror flick. Like the games, this one relies on the imagination keeping you invested, and that works very well. The idea of animatronic mascots coming to life as murderous figures is indeed something you don't want to think about, but a lot of people have been on their toes since Chuck E Cheese made it a thing. So the realism is already there for us. Since each mascot from the game is what made the games so memorable, you know the most dedication was put to them and boy was it worth it. Whether it was Freddy, Foxy or that freaking cupcake, each one was downright creepy off of every bit of movement they could ever display. It blows me away how the Jim Henson Creature Shop brought them to life to scare the crap out of us. Just because you don't see every bit of violence they're capable of, does not mean they don't act on it. And knowing it where it can quite terrifying. Whether they're biting you into pieces or forcing you into a suit, you can't say they have the best open arms. And when The Newton Brothers play their score, you know it's gonna get crazy. After watching this multiple times, I think the reason people have quite enjoyed this film in particular because it's a creative take on coming to terms with personal demons and not letting the past define you. And with a creative cast at hand, it couldn't be anymore effective. Josh Hutcherson has us rooting for Mike for being visibly vulnerable due to the mental state he punishes himself with. He hates himself for failing to save his brother and now has the burden to protect his sister. All he did was dig and dig for an answer which may have been worth it by the end, but still proved there can be consequences since Abby would be in danger. Since he was able to do what he couldn't do before, you know he's doing great job as a legal guardian. We related to Abby as well due to breakout Piper Rubio made her a character who acted creative in her own way. She spoke with her drawings and that was enough for people to listen, which says a lot. She was silent towards her brother because she couldn't how much changed within such little time. She was so comfortable around the mascots because they made her feel like herself. Of course she learned the hard way they weren't what they seemed, but she was able to save them with the truth. If she does get to see them again, let's hope it's a little smoother than before. In a situation like this, you definitely need Elizabeth Lail had us respect Vanessa for making her one who had her own conflict and was trying to become a better version of herself. Due to a terrible upbringing she lived with, you know you can't blame her. Her being a cop was her way to be better, but saving Mike and Abby from her dad was what sealed the deal. She was so hesitant on telling the truth because that was how scared she was of him. When Mike told her how happy his family used to be, you can tell she was of it. And although it took her a long time to make a change, it only shows it ain't too late to redeem yourself. Once she recovers from her wound, I'm sure she'll have the Schmidts' backs no matter how bad it'll further get. You already know Mary Stuart Masterson makes a straight up Karen out of Aunt Jane due to being so selfish and controlling, but that's only the tip of the iceberg on who the real enemy was. From the beginning, you have the right to call the mascots villains for what they choose to do, that is until you realize they're victims being forced to act such. There is no doubt William/Steve is the true monster since Matthew Lillard accurately portrays him as a twisted, demented figure who has no shame with his actions as a child killer. Before he becomes a part of our nightmares wearing that Springtrap costume, you already know he comes off as off putting of a figure the way he acts towards Mike. It is honestly a smart move for him to have him work at the restaurant because once he recognized him, he had to cover his tracks. What he fails to understand like a lot of villains before him is that the power you have over others will not last forever. Since he is still alive as the credits start rolling, you already know his bad intentions will be far from over. I had a blast with this film, but there were still a handful of issues that bothered me upon rewatching. The most obvious has to be how Mike & Abby got to go on with their lives after their aunt died. I know they didn’t like her, but it’s crazy they feel un-phased about it. Going from the top, I personally feel like Mike should’ve tried radioed his coworker before chasing the dad. I know that’s how bad the trauma has consumed him, but it’s crazy he didn’t think about it. I found that decision more confusing than putting a fake badge in the same drawer as the custody papers and not using a ladder to get his poster. I also feel like Steve should’ve not been surprised of Mike coming in since he had to have made an appointment to see him. It is a great twist that the bodies of the children were hidden in the animatronics, hence being possessed, but I feel like the cops should've found them at some point because corpses are guaranteed to rot and smell terrible. I then wonder how did Mike meet Max anyway if his aunt was gonna pay her to get evidence that would incriminate him. I don’t understand if she was a neighbor or an old school friend that lives close. Also, how come Mike didn’t start his investigation by reaching out to other people that were at the woods the day Garrett was abducted? It’s hard for me to believe no one else saw what happened. And since the movie opened with another night guard getting killed by the mascots, hence Mike being offered the job, I’m thrown off on how there aren’t missing person cases. There should be clarification on how William covers this up. And I refuse to believe a taxi can carry an animatronic no matter how visually funny that was. On top of that, isn’t it weird Mike doesn’t even feel his own wound once he woke up? I am sure I would’ve felt that especially since Foxy knocked him down. Vanessa was in the right to tell Mike to be off his meds so he can be awake on the job, but shouldnt be a little concerned about the back door being unlocked? Mike never came in or out that way so she should've looked further to see what the mascots did. If I blame her for anything, it's not warning Abby in advance to not touch Bonnie's guitar to avoid electrocution. It was pointless tension since Aunt Jane wasn't there to use that against Mike. And lastly, we can all agree Aunt Jane was pretty dumb for multiple reasons. It’s already one thing to talk about committing a crime in front of your lawyer but if she wanted to gain an upper hand against Mike, she could’ve followed him to work before sending Jeff to vandalize the place. It’s just odd she doesn’t try to get falsified evidence herself. And isn't it weird for her to go to a diner and not order in the middle of a meet up. I feel like if they're not gonna eat, they should've met up at one of their houses because it ain't like Mike would notice what either side would do in their off time. It was even dumb for Jeff to tell his group to take valuables when he smashes pinball machines. I don't want to root for vandalism, but those things would be a worth a good price if he cleaned them and not destroy them. Ignore these flaws and you’ll still be in for something special. To wrap up, Five Nights at Freddy’s is one of 2023’s most entertaining horror flicks for getting vastly creative with its form of terror. If you have Peacock and want to shake up your Halloween marathon, this is the one for you.
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