I’m going to be completely honest with you. I did not like Five Nights at Freddy’s the first time that I saw it. Why else would I leave it off my article on how 2023 was one of the best years for video game movies and TV shows ever?
And, yeah, I’ll admit it. Even though I didn’t like it, I probably should have included it in that article given just how much money it made. But, I’m petty sometimes, and I’ll be the first one to admit it.
However, after watching it a second time, I now think that maybe I was wrong with my assessment on the film. Because, sure, even though we gave it a pretty low review, I’m just going to come out and say it – I really like this movie now! Here’s why.
I Watched It With My Kids This Time, And They're HUGE Fans Of The Series
I’ve been watching video game movies since the very beginning. That’s right, I’m talking all the way back to the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie, which I hated back when it first came out. But, now that I’ve seen it again as an adult, I actually enjoy it. Hell, I’ll even defend many of its odd decisions. And you know what? I’m going to defend Five Nights at Freddy’s now as well.
This time, instead of watching it alone, I watched it with some true FNAF fans, those being my two children. You see, my kids, who are 8 and 7, LOVE the video game. Though you might say, “Isn’t that too scary for them?” Trust me, everybody in their school talks about it (that, and Poppy Playtime), so they know all about it.
In that way, rather than saying, “You can’t play that!” I instead bought the game for them. Because I’d rather them be open than try to hide things from me. Not only that, but I even bought them two novelizations of the series. I also made them this promise: If you can read both of these books all the way through, then I’ll let you watch the movie.
They took me up on that offer! I expected to be just as bored the second time as I was the first, but guess what? I wasn’t! Do you know why? Because my children filled me in on all of the characters and story threads that I didn’t know the first time I watched it.
So, instead of just being confused about why people enjoy seeing animatronic robots attacking people in a faux-Chuck-E-Cheese, my kids illuminated me on just why the robots are doing what they’re doing.
This second time around, I was engrossed in all of the easter eggs and attention to detail that my kids pointed out. By watching this movie through my children's eyes, I could finally appreciate it, which shocked me, to say the very least.
I Now Have A Better Understanding Of The Lore
As I just mentioned, I wasn’t impressed with the movie the first time that I saw it, as I found the story to be pretty pedestrian. But, my kids revealed to me just how deep the lore goes, and how this movie has a lot of it deeply ingrained in its storytelling. For example, there’s this super animatronic called Springtrap, and the moment my children saw it, they shrieked. (Out of excitement, mind you. Not out of fear.)
They also explained all of the different children in the movie. Even though that's all clearly spelled out for you in the film, my children detailed to me how they relate to each animatronic, which gave me a newfound appreciation for the story.
My children also went into fan theories, and how there are YouTube celebrities like MatPat and CoryxKenshin in the film. They also told me how MatPat in particular has been instrumental in dissecting the Five Nights of Freddy’s lore. Not only that, but after watching the movie a second time, I even watched a few of MatPat’s videos, which opened up my mind even more to the series.
Color me surprised, but I'm actually invested now!
I Also Find The Acting To Be Much Better Than I Remember It Being
Another thing that really surprised me the second time that I watched this film was the acting. The first time, I was unimpressed by Josh Hutcherson’s performance, as I considered it to be pretty one-note.
But, upon learning what role his character plays in the games, I got a bigger appreciation for what he managed to do with the character (especially since they changed his lineage from the game for this film, as my kids informed me).
I also love Elizabeth Lail, who plays a police officer and a very important role in the movie. Given what I know about her now, her almost monotone, deadpan delivery makes a lot more sense to me.
And finally, Matthew Lillard is actually phenomenal in his role. Initially, I found his character arc to be pretty abrupt, but my kids told me all about his character in the game, and how they did a really good job of conveying who he really was even upon his first appearance in the film.
So, as much as I didn’t enjoy any of the performances the first time, I was really impressed with them the second time around. Bravo.
The Special Effects Are Actually Pretty Good, Now That I'm Seeing Them Again
Next, I thought the special effects were pretty piss poor the first time, as I thought the CGI looked terrible; mostly because I thought it looked too real. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but I’m so used to CGI having this really ersatz, Avatar-quality, that the closer it looks to reality, the worse it looks to me.
You have to remember. I grew up with movies like Jurassic Park and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, so my idea of practical effects mixed with CGI is pretty high, as those two movies still look good to this very day. However, I’m now used to films that are almost entirely CGI, and a lot of the time, they often don’t look as good as ones from the early 1990s.
In that way, the effects in Five Nights at Freddy’s kind of threw me off. Do you know why? It’s because the effects ARE real. That’s right, to my surprise, the movie uses practical effects, and once you know that, you see these puppets and animatronics in a whole new light. Now, I’m actually blown away by how good these characters look.
They really didn’t have to go that far, and yet they did. Most impressive!
It's Actually A Quickly Paced Movie That Also Takes Its Time
Lastly, the thing that surprised me the most this second time around is just how quickly it moves, and yet, it also seemingly takes its time. At only 109 minutes, it isn’t a long film. But, I remember being bored out of my mind the first time and constantly checking my phone.
Now that I was invested, though, I found that it moved very quickly. The characters are all built up before the actual “frights” (if you can call them that) occur, and I was kind of shocked just how quickly the third act seemed to come, as I definitely didn’t remember it moving that fast the first time that I watched.
Watching this film again actually now makes me excited for the upcoming Minecraft movie. Because if there’s any game that my kids love more than Five Nights at Freddy’s, it’s Minecraft (They’re actually playing it in the next room as I write this article!) For more on video game adaptations, be sure to swing by here often!
