Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

Originally reviewed on November 2nd, 2023.

Poster for F N A F. The animatronics Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie the Bunny, Chica the Chicken and her cupcake, as well as Foxy the Pirate Fox are lined up one behind the other with Freddy up front. The poster is heavily tinted purple and only half of the animatronics are seen. They all glare at the camera with glowing red eyes.

One of those things where I'm not sure what to rate it as the movie itself was mid but I still had fun, so... What do I do? I've decided on a 3.5 as 3 is what I give all mid films, but then I added 0.5 stars for the fun factor. (I do not have half-star emoticons so it's 3 out of 5 here.)

Anyways, as with most adaptions, it isn't a good standalone film nor is it a good adaption of the story.

As a standalone film, it's decently average. It slogs at some points and doesn't have a good sense of tension, and the story is pretty nonsensical. I blame just about all of its shortcomings on its PG13 rating. They avoided scaring kids too much which made the film too soft and gentle. This is a mini-coaster in an amusement park. Baby's first horror flick.

As an adaption, its lore is just as messy as the games but simplified in some places and somehow more convoluted in others. It felt like some characters were inserted just for fans to point and go "Oh! I recognize that name!!"

That said, it is very clear that a lot of love went into this. This was NOT a cheap cash grab exploiting the FNAF name, no, this film was made with love towards the games and towards the fans. For god's sake they made real fucking animatronics and they're so, so beautiful. The practical effects are incredible.

★★★☆☆