Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) is a solid horror thriller that does the games justice

After taking the gaming world by storm in 2014, spawning a long-running horror franchise, Five Nights at Freddy’s has now made its debut on the big screen. The film follows a security guard tasked with working the night shift at the abandoned Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place. After his first shift, he quickly realises that this night job may not be as cruisy as he thought.

As someone familiar with the mechanics, characters and overall premise of the video game, it’s great to see this film respecting the source material while adapting it into a successful horror feature. When it comes to crafting chilling horror, Emma Tammi’s direction is good, but not inventive enough to deliver something exceptional. There’s a couple of good scares spread throughout the film, but overall it harbours a tone that’s more creepy than scary. Creepy doesn’t mean bad, it just means the film has played it safe in order to appeal to a slightly wider audience. There’s moments of violence, but the potential to embrace the brutality of the killer animatronics could have been capitalised on more. Obviously more blood and less cuts would drive up the age rating, but it seems like something the film would have benefited from. If any horror film lends itself to an unrated cut, it’s this one. Nevertheless, it still delivers on tension and suspense, emulating the fear that comes from playing the video game quite well. Whenever the animatronics are on screen, the fear factor is heightened, making for the film’s strongest moments.

When it comes to crafting an interesting narrative, having a security guard seated at a desk the whole time isn’t going to cut it. As expected, the film expands on the story, introducing new characters and giving our protagonist a backstory that’s explored extensively on screen. Some of these expansions work and contribute to the unpredictability of the narrative, while one particular addition feels too overdone. There’s one key flashback that’s revisited at least five times to the point where it starts to really bog down the film. I understand its inclusion, but having it featured more than twice isn’t necessary as those extra inclusions don’t really add much to the story. As for the story that takes place in the present, it’s all great. Sure, it hits some horror tropes and there’s some plot points you can see coming, but for the most part it’s an engaging narrative that sticks the landing. Some dialogue and character decisions are a little iffy, but you can overlook those in a pretty run-on-the-mill horror film.

Josh Hutcherson’s presence in this film definitely didn’t get me excited. He was a big name actor from 2005-2015, but ever since then he hasn’t done anything of note. I’m glad to say that he does a decent job here. The role isn’t very demanding, but he sells the performance well enough to keep you locked in to the story and rooting for the character. Who knows, maybe he’s going to have a resurgence through the horror genre. Elizabeth Lail is another actor who we’ve seen very little of, but shows some promise in her roles. Much like with Hutcherson, she’s not given a lot to work with here – her character pops in and out of the story without much context. She’s good in the role, but alas there’s not much to note about her performance. Lastly, I have to mention the presence of Matthew Lillard. He may only have a momentary cameo, but it’s always great to see Stu return to the world of horror, no matter how brief.

In the end, Five Nights at Freddy’s is a fun, creepy and at times very generic horror thriller that adapts its source material in a very faithful manner. The animatronics are the stars of the show, and whenever they’re on screen there’s chills aplenty. What they get up to in the film is aptly scary, but the potential for the film to be scarier, bloodier and more gruesome is unfortunately not capitalised on. That being said, it’s a good watch for fans and horror-loving newcomers alike, with absolutely no prior knowledge of the game needed.

7/10