After three consecutive games were made of the franchise, Warner Bros had finally announced a film version of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” would be in the works. After eight long years, the movie was released and fans of the franchise filled theaters on Oct 27th, 2023. 

The Scottgames video game Five Nights at Freddy’s garnered a lot of attention after its release in 2014. Due to the fanbase’s rapid growth, the game was followed by two sequels and a demand for a live action movie. This demand was met with Warner Bros announcing the movie’s creation in April of 2015. 

With a runtime of 1 hour and fifty minutes, Five Nights at Freddy’s was released in theaters and on NBC streaming service “Peacock” on Oct. 27, 2023. According to Polygon, a news outlet covering video games, the movie’s opening weekend has made over $78 million in North America and $130 million globally. 

The movie plot follows siblings Mike Schmidt (Josh Huterchson) and his younger sister Abby Schmidt (Piper Rubio) following the passing of their mother, the kidnapping of their younger brother and the mysterious disappearance of their father.  Mike is struggling to find a job after being fired from his last job for assaulting a man that he thought was kidnapping a child.This incident is a result of Mike’s younger sibling being kidnapped under his supervision. He seeks help from a man by the name of William Afton (Matthew Lillard), posing as a career counselor named Steve Raglan. Raglan gives him a job as a night time security guard at a formerly popular “Freddy’s Fazbear pizza” restaurant. 

In order to continue to provide for Abby, Mike takes the job at night, Mike has the same recurring dream of him on the same trip his little brother was kidnapped on, trying to find any new detail to identify the kidnapper. Once he starts the new job, he falls asleep on the first night but during his regular dream he notices something new.  A group of kids are now in the dream, and he seeks their help in order to find new details about his brother’s old case. Mike meets a police officer by the name of Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) and she explains that before the restaurant closed, five kids went missing inside the restaurant and  their bodies were never found. This led to the restaurant being closed for good. Little did Mike know that the bodies of the children were stuffed into the Animatronics inside the Pizzeria. The names of the animatronics are  Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, Foxy and Golden Freddie. After struggling to find someone to babysit Abby, Mike brings her to the restaurant during his shift, only to have her make friends with the animatronics. Mike is now tasked with saving his sister after finding out that the animatronics are trying to make Abby an animatronic. They are being led by William Afton who is in a costume animatronic which he is able to wear known as Spring Bonnie or Spring Trap. 

Josh Hutcherson steals the show with his outstanding acting skills. Viewers are able to understand his emotions and connect with his character.  Matthew Lillard’s performance  is both funny and creepy at the same time. Lillard dominates every scene he is in, leaving the audience wanting more. It is hard to build a connection and relationship with the character besides Mike and Abby without knowing the history of the games. 

Directed by Emma Tammi, the film has an unbalanced pace as some parts feel rushed and some too slow; nevertheless, it is still enjoyable. Although it is in the horror genre, this movie was not as scary as some may have expected it to be, and if you have never played the games, you may have trouble understanding some of the references. As a fan of the franchise, I enjoyed this film very much and can’t wait for more.

If you are a fan of the game, I recommend heading to the theater to see the movie. If you’re new to the franchise, maybe save some money and check it out in the comfort of home.