For much of the last decade, there has been no bigger horror video game phenomenon than “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” For the past eight years, after a studio switch, multiple directors and a litany of scrapped scripts, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” has finally made it to the silver screen. But even after all that time in the brick oven, this pizza pie still feels a little half-baked.
Directed by Emma Tammi (“The Wind,” “Into the Dark”) and written by her with Seth Cuddleback and series creator Scott Cawthon, the film follows Mike Schmidt, a down-on-his-luck security guard (played by “The Hunger Games” star, Josh Hutcherson), who finds a job working at the closed and decrepit Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a job that quickly turns for the worse, thanks to the strange animatronics inside. The cast is rounded out by Elizabeth Lail (“Once Upon a Time,” “You”) as police officer Vanessa, Piper Rubio as Abby, Mike’s little sister and Matthew Lillard (“Scream,” “Scooby-Doo”) as career counselor Steve Raglan.
Hutcherson does adequately in his role as Mike, with a very fun older brother-little sister chemistry with Rubio being a highlight of the film. With the limited time he’s given, Lillard gives a delightfully campy performance, making the most of what’s he’s given and controlling the screen with his demanding presence. Opposite from Lillard is Lail, who gives a performance just as stiff and lifeless as the animatronics she stands beside.
Most likely the biggest draw to the film is, of course, the iconic quartet of animatronics that has captured the fear (and love) of millions ever since the release of the first game in 2014. Each animatronic was crafted with evident care and attention from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the legendary visual effects/puppetry studio behind the lovable characters of “The Muppets” and “Sesame Street.” Each of the four animatronics look as if they were ripped right from the game, equal parts lovable and uncanny.
But one of the largest problems with the movie is that the animatronics don’t do enough. Despite them being the central draw of the movie and the amount of work put into their appearance, the film does shockingly little with the animatronics horror-wise. Many scary scenes involving the animatronics are few and far between, as the story prefers to focus on the human characters rather than the monsters plastered all over the marketing. But this is not just an animatronic problem. This is a movie-wide problem.
For a horror-oriented franchise, the movie is very light on the jumpscare-type horror that the original games made popular. In fact, the movie is light on horror in general, a far cry from what the advertising would have you believe. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” feels more like an attempt at a confused 80’s comedy with elements of horror haphazardly sprinkled in as if to fill the horror quota, rather than a genuine attempt at creating something horrifying. Instead of telling a contained story, many story elements rely on prior knowledge of the series’ lore. This could make newcomers and unaware moviegoers feel lost and confused.
In contrast to the messy script, however, is the direction. For her first major picture, Tammi knows how to set the tone well, even if said tone tends to shift all over the place. She especially uses lighting to her advantage, causing our animatronic friends to shift from huggable pals to intimidating killing machines. Another surprise standout is the score from The Newton Brothers, which brings a hauntingly fun ambiance to the movie.
Overall, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is a mixed bag. While a solid cast, direction and fantastic animatronics help, an unfocused script, lack of horror elements and underuse of the animatronics hamper it greatly. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” has a lot of great ingredients going for it, but unfortunately, it seems that it just needed a bit more time to cook.
Rating: 5/10
“Five Nights at Freddy’s” is currently in theaters and streaming on Peacock.
