Five Nights at Freddy’s is of course based on the 2014 computer game One Night at Freddy’s, although as you would expect from a film coming out of the Blumhouse Studios stable it widens that video game world while still remaining faithful to the source material. Having the game’s creator Scott Cawthon on board, the screenwriting team possibly also really helped with that though.
Like the game, the film revolves around a security guard called Mike (Josh Hutcherson – The Hunger Games). Here, though, Mike has a painful past and a sad present. He rarely sleeps comfortably as he is haunted by the disappearance of his brother years earlier and now finds himself the sole guardian of his younger sister, Abby (Piper Rubio – Holly & Ivy).
When he loses his current job, after bashing a suspected kidnapper, he finds himself landing the job as a security guard at a now-deserted family diner. At first he thinks this is going to be an easy job, but then mysterious things begin to happen and he is warned by local cop, Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail – Countdown), that the restaurant was the site of a number of children disappearing.
Despite the job now having a dangerous added element, Mike decides to keep the job because he needs the money to ward off Aunt Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson – Bad Girls) from taking custody of Abby ‒ and because he has an inkling that the ‘horrors’ of Freddy’s might actually help him solve the mystery of what happened to his own brother.
The trailer for the film makes the animatronic horrors of Freddy’s feel a little cheesy, but once you begin to watch the film you soon realise that director Emma Tammi (The Wind) and fellow screenwriters – Cawthon and Seth Cuddeback (Mateo) – have actually done a pretty good job at making this a pretty terrifying horror film. The animatronic creatures might look cumbersome when they walk but don’t let that get in the way of the horrors that lurk inside.
Anyone who expects this film to have an easy and simple plot is going to be in for a complete shock. The plot around the disappearance of the children, especially Mike’s brother, takes on an almost Stephen King’s It feel and the flashbacks and daydreams darkly chronicle why Mike is the emotional mess that he is today. If you are planning on seeing the film it is recommended that you pay close attention to what is happening all the time as the scenes from the past hold some pretty important keys to what is happening in the present.
In fact the only lazy side of the film seems to be the reveal of the murderous mastermind. Like a few other films this year the credits damage one of the big reveals while the whole plot points around who is the actual killer is the only lazy part of the screenplay and many true horror fans will pick who the killer is pretty easily.
Aside from that point though, the screenplay actually holds up throughout the film and gives some of the actors a great opportunity to show their skills. Josh Hutcherson is brilliant as Mike while young Piper Rubio never allows any of the more experienced actors around her to overshadow her. They are also both well supported by Mary Stuart Masterson who manages to mix some true comedic moments with being one of the film’s villains, while Elizabeth Lail reveals herself to be somebody that Hollywood needs to take notice of.
Five Nights at Freddy’s may well be one of the most surprising films of 2023. It shakes off any of the cheesiness that the trailer may suggest that it has and while it is not the perfect horror film it has more than a few moments that will keep the audience guessing about the horror at hand.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is currently screening in Phuket and is rated ‘13’.
David Griffiths has been working as a film and music reviewer for over 20 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He is also an accredited reviewer for Rotten Tomatoes. You can follow him at www.facebook.com/subcultureentertainmentaus