Universal’s live-action adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy’s doesn’t look as bad as I initially expected it to be. And this is coming from someone who lived through the hype of the original game and watched as it blossomed into what it is today. Add on top of that the fact that Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games is playing the security guard and this twisted version of Chuck E. Cheese, and it’s even better.
For those not in the know, Five Nights at Freddy’s the movie is actually based on a video game of the same name. The first game was released in 2014 and now it has become a worldwide franchise with books, plushies, and over 10 games. There’s even an Oculus version. And within this game you play a security guard who keeps an eye out on a set of cameras inside the family pizza restaurant named Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.
At first glance, this game doesn’t seem scary. What could be so bad about watching some security cameras and making sure that no one gets in? You just have to survive five nights like nothing, right? The problem is that it’s not about something getting in. It’s about the murderous animatronics that are inside moving around at night and coming to get you. And it’s the simple concept that works at ramping up the anxiety as various difficulties and obstacles make it harder for you to keep a watch on everything and survive the night.
The official trailer seems to be following the same plot line with Josh Hutcherson playing the lead. He plays Mike Schmidt, the security guard hired to watch Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. Before he knows it, he’s in a fight for his life and that of what we assume is his younger daughter or sibling Abby Schmidt, played by Piper Rubio. Because if he doesn’t keep a close eye on his little one, the animatronics will come for her and make her one of them.
Besides how on point the animatronics are and how it looks like Blumhouse Studios actually put effort into making this not look cheesy while being an outlandish concept, I’m really appreciating how the first official trailer is setting up some epic lore. I’m not even in the FNAF fandom and I know that the lore has been sprinkled across the games and used to make you even more afraid of what these murders animatronics are willing to do when they confront humans in the night.
Hopefully the movie continues to intrigue and brings in new fans when it finally premieres!
Watch the trailer for Five Nights at Freddy’s below:
Five Nights at Freddy’s premieres on Peacock and in theaters on October 27, 2023.