“Five Night’s at Freddy’s” is a 2023 horror film based on the video game series Five Nights at Freddy’s created by Scott Cawthon which follows the plot of it’s predecessor. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” was released in theaters and on Peacock and the United States on October 27, 2023, it being released two days earlier on October 25, 2023, in the United Kingdom.) A sequel, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”, is in development and is scheduled to be released in 2025.
The movie follows a mixed plot of both the books and games. Mike Schmidt, played by Josh Hutcherson, get’s fired from his job as a mall security guard after attacking a father who he mistook as a kidnapper. He get’s hired by career counselor, Steve Raglan, who is played by Matthew Lillard, as a security guard for a once successful abandoned pizzeria, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. He discovers the dark history of the pizzeria while also having to fight custody over his sister, Abby, played by Piper Rubio, and also fighting to survive five nights against the possessed animatronics.
Matthew Lillard, the actor who plays Mike’s career counselor, Steve Raglan, who we later find out is actually William Afton, says to ScreenRant that for his character, “…from the game was just to represent him in the way that the fans wanted…I mean, it’s not very often that when you’re associated with a property that you have a responsibility to something higher than your own performance.”
Likewise, Tyler Louis commented on the accuracy and homage of the movie parallel to the game series prior to giving it five stars, “What truly sets this film apart, however, is its respect for the source material. It pays homage to the games while expanding on the lore in a way that feels authentic and fresh. This isn’t a shallow adaptation; it’s a deep dive into the world of Five Night’s at Freddy’s, and fans will appreciate the attention to detail,” said Louis.
However, Arthur Perkins viewed the movie’s plot as disjointed and non-coherent, “The attempt to merge various elements from the game into a single narrative seemed contrived and disjointed.”
The movie has a runtime of 1:50 minutes and has a 4.4 stars with 11,049 ratings. It earned 297.3 million in the box office with 20 million being it’s budget.
Before the movie was released that weekend, director Emma Tammi told IndieWire in a phone interview how much anticipation has built up to this moment.
“It’s amazing to be going into this weekend leading with all this excitement and those strong projections. But at the end of the day, I think my biggest nerves are wrapped around whether or not the fan base is going to embrace this film. And I’m staying focused on that,” said director Emma Tammi.
Josh Hutcherson, the actor for Mike Schmidt, confirms on Variety that “Five Night’s at Freddy’s 2” is in the making, telling MovieWeb that the film is in early stages of development.
“I know they’re in the process right now of nailing down the story, and they want to get going as soon as possible. Obviously, the fans are amazing and die hard. For me to be a part of it was so cool and phenomenal,” says Hutcherson.
