Fans of the original “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF) game were pleased with the sequel to the FNAF movie, whereas critics gave the movie abysmal ratings. This has left many viewers with the remaining question of who this movie was made for.
One Wright State University (WSU) student, Nolan Todd, answered this question with his overall opinion of the recent film.
“The movie was made for the fans. Blumhouse said it, Scott Cawthon [the director] said it, and the fans said it. People obviously love these games and love seeing the game they grew up playing come to life on the big stage,” Todd said.
The original movie
When the first movie hit theaters on Nov. 28, 2023, a disagreement took place between viewers. The divide boiled down to two groups: fans of the original game looking for a faithful adaptation and casual viewers looking for a compelling horror movie.
It was difficult for the latter group to understand the film's content. Bryce Hanson, a movie reviewer for Horror Movie Talk, shared his opinion of the movie.
“This is a very confusing movie, and it took until the end before I had any semblance of understanding what was going on. Why were the animatronics haunted by murderous children, and why is sleeping on the job not a fireable offense for a nighttime security guard?” Hanson said.
Hanson's review reflects his experience. Since he had not played the FNAF games, he found less enjoyment in the film.
The creators of the movie stated multiple times during interviews and press releases that the movie was geared towards fans. They even consulted the fanbase when creating the film.
Sequel sparks controversy
With the second movie hitting theaters this December, the same controversy started to take place. For example, Rotten Tomatoes gave it only a 15% on the tomatometer.
According to the majority of critics, the second movie fell flat; even harder than the first. These reviews came from the lens of cinema critics who might not be familiar with the games, so they have to review from an objective cinematic viewpoint.
However, when the movie was released to the public, fans came out of the theaters saying the exact opposite.
Shelby McCoy, a WSU student and fan of the FNAF games and lore, shared her thoughts on critics' opinions.
“Critics do this all the time with video game movies, frustrated that they don’t understand the source material and just give it a poor score and move on. If you look at the difference in critical vs. audience reviews, you’ll see it with just about every video game movie,” McCoy said.
Despite the difference in opinions, the results speak for themselves. The movie has already made over $113 million globally on a budget of around $50 million, and fans are already anticipating a third movie, rumored to start filming in 2026.
Purpose behind the plot
By listening to the fans and adding movie scenes based on lore from the games, the sequel secured a strong fan audience. These scenes include the security guard pretending to be an animatronic from the second game, and the iconic Freddy laugh, which drew big reactions from audience.
Even new members of the cast, such as McKenna Grace, were huge fans long before the movie came out. These performances, being a part of the movie, result in enthusiasm that can be felt throughout the movie.
All in all, the question has been answered with an overwhelming opinion that this movie was made for the fans and for fun, though viewers looking for classic horror may end up agreeing more with the critics.
“People went to see Freddy and the gang with their friends to have a good time. Movies can be a lot of things, and one of those things can be just a good time,” Todd said.
