I’d be lying if I said that I was super familiar with the “Five Nights At Freddy’s” franchise. I know that it’s based on a popular series of video games but I otherwise went into this Blumhouse theatrical adaptation pretty much in the dark, so to speak.
The movie follows a troubled security guard as he begins working overnight shifts at a closed-down Chucky Cheese-esque restaurant called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Much of the establishment remains in tact including the tables, chairs, games and…oh yeah…large and creepy animatronic characters that kinda sorta come to life and partake in the occasional murderous rampage.
The movie is as ridiculous as described and because I’m not super familiar with the games, it’s hard for me to predict whether fans of the franchise will be satisfied with this on-screen take. And I definitely can’t say it’s a great film – nor can I say it’s the greatest horror film. It’s far too long for what it is. It tries to do a bit too much, giving our protagonist a complicated backstory complete with weird dream sequences. And some obviously and hilariously overlooked plot details can cause a bit more distraction than enjoyment.
That said, there are a few things that work in the film’s favour. Firstly, it’s a decent enough introduction to horror flicks, in case you have a kid who’s of age and brave enough to start tackling the genre. It’s rated PG-13, so while the horror element still remains present, the gratuitous violence and gore is dialed back to about a ‘2’ with most of the graphic deaths happening off screen or covered by darkness. It also wins points for the practical use of animatronics over bad CGI (and when computer graphics were used, they were barely noticeable).
Overall, “Five Nights At Freddy’s” is not winning any awards. And if you’re looking for a serviceable spooky season flick, you could probably do worse. Then again, I guess you could choose “Willy’s Wonderland”.
