Five Nights At Freddy's (2023)
Happy Halloween!!!
This blog ain't dead it's just had an extended slumber. As a show of good faith, here is a (sort of) quickie post on the recent release of Five Nights at Freddy's.
Five Nights At Freddy's is an American horror movie that came out in 2023 in the language of english.
How I watched: Peacock Premium
The highly popular game has officially been adapted into a movie! Ermagerd. They've been trying to make FNAF into a movie since at least 2015! I personally never played the game in its prime but my son and his cousins have when they were in elementary and middle school aged. They also watched countless videos on YouTube on it as well. I sort of watched it as background noise when I babysat them so I got the gist of the lore I guess.
Yet I was too chicken shit scared to actually play it.
Back to the movie in question here, even though I never delved deep in the franchise, I know eniugh. I must admit though, I have always thought the fan made songs were such bangers. I remember when my son was elementary aged he would legit tell me to stop singing this catchy ass bop because it spooked him. He's now a teenager if that gives you an idea how much time has passed.
This movie stars Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) as Mike who begrudgingly accepts a security position to the dilapidated Freddy Fazbear's .
Sideplot to this is our main character here, Mike Schmidt, is in the middle of a custody battle over his little sister, Abby. Every facet of his life is less than ideal. He has to deal with a rather mean spirited and greedy ass aunt who only wants custody of Abby for the money and has prepared to take it to the courts if she has too. Then there is Abby who is standoffish and closed off to big bro.
Not to mention Mike just got fired from his mall security job when he got in a scuffle with a dude.
The struggle is real, yo. Being the kind hearted person he is, he still wants to fight to maintain custody of sissy so his recruiter refers him to the craptastic security job at this long since dead Chuck E. Cheese ripoff. In this fictional universe, it's called Freddy Fazbears. With all the shit that gets thrown at him Mike caves in and accepts this job since he cannot be able to get any better due to his unstable work history.
And there ya go. That's the movie.
I kid! I kid!
Do you ever realize how when it comes to adaptations that it's always guaranteed that there will be a vocal minority (often times bigger) that will take an utter shit on it? Without context you would have thought satan himself took a wicked shit on their faces. Like geez. It's not that deep. It's a movie for entertainment, not meant to be a contender for the next Emmy or some shit.
No movie is ever truly perfect but I loved the flow of the storyline. The whole minor sideplot of the evil aunt hiring the babysitting to be a double agent so she can get dirt on Mike then hiring guys to try to get the guy fired then instead THEY got fired...from living.
It was the perfect set up I tell ya!
I loved the part in the beginning of the movie where the aunt has that whole villain thing going on there but she dead ass doesn't want to go to the killing Mike plot. She's evil but she's not THAT evil, guys! Color me relieved because that whole killing for the custody thing is so overplayed.
Another super cool thing I liked about this movie is the cameos. First there was Matthew Lilliard, who was like a major staple in 90s movies and like HELLOOOO he was a heavy hitter in Scream and Serial Mom (one of his 1st movie roles). He does more of voice roles nowadays for the Scooby Doo franchise so this is like a big deal to see him in a live action role again. He also made a cameo for the remake of She's All That but it reversed genders so it's really He's All That. He played the principal in that one.
The other one, which is a huge reason why I am glad I watched this in the comfort of my home and not in the theatres, is MatPat. He is the face of The Game Theorists which is a hella popular YouTube channel that is known for making a multitude of theory videos on the games since its inception. My son and his cousins watched god knows how many of their videos on repeat. By proxy, me too. At least 65 videos has been made concerning FNAF. So yeah, he is a big deal. Not to mention the youtube comments, reddit threads and various other social media posts has said that the theatre audience went WILD seeing his face. So much that they totally missed what he said. HE SAID THE THING! "That's just a theory." He played a minor role as a server in a diner. I am not even a fan of his channel but even I squealed knowing how super cool it is to have him featured in this big budget movie because he absolutely is responsible for popularization amongst the teen demographics.
I am pretty sure there are plentiful easter eggs as a homage to the game series but this post isn't about that. I'm sure there's already posts out there flooded with a complete list. Some people who have watched it have said a few references made the cut.
So...Is this movie even that scary?
How about no? I mean, sure I guess but for a scaredy cat who is sometimes not a scaredy cat, I found this more to be a light hearted horror which is totally cool. Not every movie has to be blood curdling spooky shit. I honestly care more about the story and plot than cheap jump scares.
Come to think of it, I don't think this has a whole lot of jump scares. It's centered more on the main character's background story how he feels immense guilt for his little brother's kidnapping back in the day. It's a recurring theme. Also the reason he got fired as a mall security because he tackled a dad whom he mistakened as an abductor. I know Mike is a guy but his jumping to conclusions was a bit sexist. You see a mother roughly grab a kid that straggled behind ya and people don't bat an eye. A father doing the same thing? KIDNAPPER!!!!!! It's different for Mikey boi here because of his PTSD flashbacks.
This movie ain't too bad, honestly. I have watched it 3 times now. The first one didn't count because my old ass fell asleep right when the movie was starting to progress. Second time didn't count because I turned it on while I was making breakfast as background noise. Today is the third time I watched it. Soooo I guess the first 2 times don't count?
Also interesting note but the actress who plays the evil aunt, I knew her face looked similar. She played a much more vulnerable and likeable protagonist in Bed of Roses which is a 90s sad romantic flick with Christian Slater. I'm not usually into sappy romantic movies but that one hit me in the feels soooo hard.
A couple things that was a bit of a bummer to me. Abby. Or the child actress that played Abby. She was is supposed to be a stand offish child but sorry I just can't see it. The actress just looks so adorable and bubbly even when she is supposed to be mad, she looks so sweet. She could take some lessons from Shrenik Arora who plays a possessed bullied kid in Adhura. It's an Indian TV show I am actively recapping on my sister blog, HorrortizedTV. Shameless plug, I know! I just finished the entire season of Adhura and holy shit it is amazing. Seriously though that little kid has the more sinister looking facial expressions he was so perfect for his role.
Another thing that irked me is that all the animatronics are CGI. At least that's what I originally thought until I read this article that claims it is just high tier puppeteering effects. I have a hard time believing that due to the high contrast and the lighting on their costumes seem a little too vivid for human eyes. It seriously does look so CGI. However, every article I have came across says the same thing that it's not CGI but I think I might die on this hill and call BS.
This turned out to not be much of a quickie post like originally intended but fuck it. It's been a long time since I wrote up a movie post for this blog so rejoice mah dudes!
Final thoughts: Great movie. I felt it did the franchise justice. I see a lot of compliments for die hards despite the scathing reviews from movie critics (whom I doubt were fans of the game series). As of this posting it has a rotten score of 28%. Who gives a fuck. Like what you like and don't be scared to have your voice heard. It's a movie I'd watch again (and I have).
Oh yeah and the movie PLAYED THE SONG! OMG they actually played THE LIVING TOMBSTONE SONG in the movie's credits! If I recall correctly, this was originally a fan made song so that's fucking awesome it made it in the official movie release. The YouTube comments is currently flooded with the fangirling.
This leaves the option open for a movie series should this movie be a success and by the numbers, it totally is.
🎵Music Featured In This Movie🎵
-The Romantics - Talking In Your Sleep
Iggy Pop - Real Wild Child (Wild One)
and of course The Living Tombstone - Five Nights At Freddy's
totally forget I just so linked this song 3 times
With that being said, what is my verdict?
It's da bee's knees
If you are interested in watching Five Night's At Freddy's then please CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH STREAMING PLATFORM YOU CAN WATCH IT ON VIA THE FREE STREAMING GUIDE APP JUST WATCH!
