After eight long years of crafting, director swapping, script changing anticipation, ‘FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S’ has arrived! & while not perfect & certainly not fantastic but fun & silly, It offers a satisfying, scare ride that fans, both new & old will find a lot to love & appreciate in.
Straight away ‘FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S’ more than deserves an award for the marvelous practicality that the movie achieves, From the beautiful cinematography & set pieces that truly bring the atmosphere & haunted Pizzeria to life, to the fantastic lighting & of course, The animatronics themselves. Which are a creation of Jim Hensons Creature Shop, they look stunning! both behind the scenes & on camera. Having the animatronics be a genuine & tangible product of the film & it’s production allows for the actors to truly interact with them in a way that couldn’t be done to this effect or feeling through the use of CGI, which to be upfront, I’m sure there are touch ups using visual effects every now & then for moments that require that extra set of help, but if that is the case, its seamless! & clear that Blumhouse poured every penny, dollar & cheque into ensuring this film looked the best it could & wasted no expenses in doing so.
If there’s one thing to praise through the roofs & heavens about Emma Tammi’s ‘FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S’, it’s the physical & delicate craft from the talent behind the scenes that feature in this movie.
As for what we’ve all came to the film to see, Freddy! Foxy! Chica! Bonny & more, as characters, They ruled! & the sequences where they’re lurking in the shadows or roaming the halls took me right back to my childhood & the first game in 2014. The movie is admittedly, far from terrifying & similarly to the games, loves its jumpscares, but that’s not a problem or even a flaw here. As it was expected & the execution of them works much more often than not. The film loves to get silly & entertain & it sure does that.
As for our main set of human characters! Josh Hutcherson takes on the role of Mike, a character who’s traumatized by an event of the past that he’s never really gotten closure or over on. And as such he’s in a fairly stagnant part of his life. The movie does a great job at setting Mike up & getting us to really like as well as root for him, & his younger sister Abi at the same time, they both have that relatable older & younger sibling chemistry together & ultimately their characters & the performances behind them aid in elevating the movie as a whole.
Additionally is Elizabeth Lail’s Venessa, who I must admit, despite doing the best with what was given to her, is a weaker part of the film’s fairly fragile screenplay. Nonetheless I still enjoyed the character & appreciated her on screen presence alongside Hutcherson’s Mike & Rubio’s Abi who all share fantastic moments together, specifically in the Pizzeria’s climax.
Adding as much family drama as much welcomed humor is Mary Stuart Masterson’s Aunt Jane. As mentioned, her character adds substance to Mike & Abi’s home life & family situation but at the same time, the movie ensures to write some scene stealing & laugh inducing to go with it & it really does work in all the right & intended ways!
& Last to mention but not least, ‘FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S’ features the very anticipated debut of Matthew Lilard’s ‘Steve Raglin’ also known, as William Afton. While the character may feature in the film less than one would hope, They’re sensational in every way one could be with some appropriately so ‘Stu Macher’ vibes sprinkled over..by the end of it, what we saw & what is eerily touched upon..is as fantastic as it is exciting. It is easily a top highlight to come from the film.
While ‘FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S’ may trip on its own fragile & at times jarring screenplay, It leaps above it to deliver a satisfying, fun & thrill worthy good time at the movies, offering a solid lease on life for any potential sequels that may already be making the corridors to us. It’s a movie for fans both old & new, consumers of all ages & anyone who dares to ask the question, Can they survive…Five Nights At Freddy’s?
★★★½
FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S releases on October 27 in theaters & to Peacock
