In the summer of 2014, struggling video game developer Scott Cawthon released “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” unknowingly changing his life and internet culture forever.
The game built off every child’s innate fear of those creepy Chuck E. Cheese animatronics and begged the question, “What if they were alive?” It was a smash hit. Now, after garnering billions of views on YouTube with playthroughs and theory videos, to the “FNAF” IP becoming a cottage industry unto itself, packed with sequels, spinoffs, novels and now a full-blown movie franchise, 2014 is going to be a year remembered for spawning a multimedia franchise empire.
Just like how the first video game’s sequel was adored by its online fanbase, filmmaker Emma Tammi’s sequel to her 2023 film adaptation is, at best, a step up from the original and, at worst, just as good as the last.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” picks up where the last movie left off, and follows Mike, played by Josh Hutcherson, Abby, played by Piper Rubio and Vanessa, played by Elizabeth Lail, as they try to return to a normal life following the traumatic events from the last movie. The audience is told that the animatronics Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, who Abby ended up befriending by the end of the last movie, have since broken down. But not everything is what meets the eye.
By the end of the first movie, while I didn’t have high expectations going into it, I felt like it didn’t have enough scenes that left you feeling uneasy, never knowing when the animatronics would strike.
Like its predecessor, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is rated PG-13, meaning it has a low ceiling to how dark it can get in order to appease the Motion Picture Association, but Tammi’s commitment to a darker sequel proves true. There are plenty more scenes aiming to capture that pins-and-needles sensation many audience members had when they watched the YouTube playthroughs as kids.
Thankfully, the cast is as committed as Tammi. Not only does this sequel’s returning cast still fit their roles perfectly, but the new supporting actors excel in adding variety to the film and shine when called upon.
For example, Wayne Knight, widely known as Newman from “Seinfeld,” is great in his role as the power-tripping teacher, Mr. Berg. Knight has mastered the art of playing the unlikable foil time and again, but instead of feeling sympathy for his students, you’ll probably be giggling to yourself at how low his character goes.
Since it’s a product slanted to a younger audience, some of Cawthon’s corny childlike dialogue is inevitable, but if you give the film some grace, as one does with movies like Tommy Wiseau’s much-maligned and adored “The Room,” those are going to be the moments you’ll find yourself cracking up the most with your friends.
In reality, the movie stretches itself thin by trying to tackle too many plotlines. The rom-com elements between Hutcherson and Lail’s characters, Mike and Vanessa, felt forced and never really landed. Yet, it’s Hutcherson and, to many who are immersed in their latent or not-so-latent “Hunger Games” fandom, that’s all that matters.
But, at its core, this is a nostalgically tinged video game movie about haunted animatronics, and it peaks when it focuses on the chills and thrills that made the video game beloved.
I respect the attempts to incorporate a deeper sense of character, and the film does a good job tackling tough themes like death and trauma for a children audience, but it does feel like filler more than actually contributing to the real draw of the film: demented animatronics and their disturbingly funny antics.
At the end of the day, this is a children’s movie and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. If you and your friends grew up watching “FNAF” lore videos, go watch it and you’ll have a good time. It isn’t an auteur-quality horror flick, but a cheeky jumpscare is guaranteed to get the better of you here and there.
Even if you know little about “FNAF,” going with friends is still bound to provide you some kicks. And who knows, bringing someone who doesn’t know much about this decade-long empire can add to the fun.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is now playing in theaters everywhere.
