Five Nights at Freddy’s Review
Five Nights at Freddy's has become a worldwide sensation. What began as a little indie horror game has since grown into an expansive realm of weird, intricately woven mythology. A basic first-person story of a night security officer battling irate mechanical puppets at a defunct Chuck-E-Cheese-style birthday party establishment has subsequently developed into a large and convoluted world of ghosts, child murder, cultlike deviance, and revenge. And this Blumhouse cinematic distillation does a remarkably good job of fitting all those puzzle pieces together, even if it overcomplicates things.
It's worth noting the Five Nights game series' incredible cult following. And, like with other viral successes, this franchise has taken off thanks to an organic and genuine gut reaction from its young audience. We've learned that virality cannot be created in a lab. How ungameable this type of crowd response is is both profoundly mystic and refreshingly democratic. It simply cannot be imitated. Something authentic about the source material made its way onto the screen thanks to Blumhouse's strong collaboration with its difficult creator Scott Cawthon. And, while I, as a middle-of-the-road millennial, may not be the intended audience for this sophisticated and perplexing material, I believe the film gets it right on some level.
Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games franchise) plays Mike, a mall security guard whose mental health issues have made it extremely difficult for him to keep a job. To keep custody of his younger sister, he has little choice but to accept whatever job offers come his way. So, when an eccentric career advisor (played by the always famous Matthew Lillard) offers him a job as a night guard at the defunct Freddy's Fazbear Pizza party venue, he does what he must to protect his family.
Mike, our young protagonist, is motivated by the high stakes of keeping family close. His little brother was stolen as a child on a family camping trip, according to a strange scenario. And Mike was the only one who saw what happened. Since then, he has spent his sleepless nights dreaming of the time his brother was kidnapped and doing everything he can to gain a better understanding of the man responsible. Things become crazy when the spirits possessing the sentient animatronic puppets at Freddy's Fazebear Pizza offer Mike the chance to reconcile his childhood trauma at the expense of his little sister.
If you haven't already guessed, Five Nights at Freddy's is a strange little horror film that tries to do a lot with a lot of resources. However, its total dedication to the mental aspect allows for a pleasant, entertaining, and unpretentious voyage into gateway horror for the Roblox generation. I'm not persuaded that this picture ever fully grasps how strange it is, especially when it seeks to create sincere drama and familial tragedy. It's so tonally off that I believe the conclusion is a happy accident to some extent. But, ultimately, according to the great Susan Sontag, that is what makes for a successful camp. While somewhat cringing, there is an earnestness on exhibit that is rather commendable.
While I respect the reverence that this adaptation has for the lore behind its source material, Cawthon and Sompany's approach to the picture pushes things to an over-complicated place. The simplicity of the first game in the franchise was what made it such a pleasant surprise. We had no idea why the animatronics were attempting to murder us; all we needed to do was make it through the shift. The film's resources would have been better used if it had reverted to its joyful and zany roots. Instead, it took some huge swings, which resulted in some huge misses, both tonally and structurally.
On the other hand, the talent involved helps this odd little film succeed. Matthew Lillard's supporting performance is a treat for horror aficionados. We get to see the Scream symbol set loose in a delightful and satisfying way; it's a brief cameo, but it's practically worth the entry fee on its own.
As a weary older brother attempting to do his best, Josh Hutcherson gives a remarkably nuanced performance. The casting helps to keep things from getting out of hand. Emma Tammi's (The Wind) direction is tight, keeping up with a tale that is doing everything it can to go off the rails. Tammi confidently leads this weird journey.
In the end, this is not a movie for everyone. Have a feeling the A24 horror dudes will be very harsh on it, and not without reason. However, the peculiar younger generation that identified with M3GAN and the Fight Nights video games, as well as unpretentious weirdo horror enthusiasts of all ages, are likely to enjoy themselves.