By Oscar Martines
Halloween has found its new horror icon in “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” Freddy Fazbear and his animatronic companions.
After nearly nine years since the announcement that the video game franchise was set to become a feature film, it was finally released.
Scott Cawthon, the creator of ‘“Five Nights at Freddy’s,” loan his creativity toward the making of the film, which takes place in a different timeline but connects with the lore of Freddy Fazbear and company.
In the FNAF lore, William Afton, the founder of Freddy Fabear’s Pizza, is also responsible for the disappearance and murders of five children.
Rumors begin to surround the restaurant saying that the bodies are disposed of inside the animatronics of the pizzeria, named Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, causing a boycott of the business that leads to its demise.
With the souls of the children now trapped inside the animatronics, the costumes now come to life, seeking revenge on the one who killed them.
The film follows Mike (Josh Hutcherson), a security guard who takes a night job at the famous Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.
While battling with his own troubles, Mike finds out that the place he has to keep people out of is hiding a darker past inside it.
While the movie doesn’t necessarily follow the same timeline as the video games do, the movie does a very good job at creating its own story using much of what the video games have told us in the past.
From using all the original animatronics from the video game franchise such as Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, to introducing characters that were in the newer games, such as Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), the film caters to older fans, while also connecting to newer and younger audiences.
Although some criticism of the film has its reasoning, like blood and gore not being used enough in the film, the PG-13 rating allows for all viewers to enjoy something about the film, even if the video games display a much darker tone.
One of the major highlights of the film is Matthew Lillard, who plays Steve Raglan, the man responsible for giving Mike the night job at the pizzeria.
Although we don’t get to see much of Lillard’s character throughout the film, audiences later get to find out who this mysterious man really is.
The film is a very enjoyable to watch for fans of the video games and it tells a great story to follow for those who’ve never played the video games or heard about them.
Even though audiences agree that the film is good, the critics do not feel the same way.
It was always expected that the film would be widely unenjoyable for non-FNAF fans, especially those who never understood the lore behind the film and video games.
For fans and non-fans, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” proves once again that video game adaptations that set themselves to higher standards for the audiences will always do well in theaters.
With the promise of two more films in development for the franchise, and the possibility of a fourth film if the franchise manages to do well in theaters, FNAF lovers will be waiting in excitement as Freddy and the gang will continue to provide the scares in future films.