Blumhouse Productions is one of the most exciting studios in all of film right now given its success at producing high-quality, critically acclaimed horror films (and with shoestring budgets). Now, Blumhouse is tackling a wildly popular and notoriously terrifying video game, Five Nights At Freddy's. The adaptation of Scott Cawthon's video game has been at the indie studio for almost a year now, but is now finally moving forward. In fact, Blumhouse has tapped Chris Columbus to write, produce and direct the film.
The Five Nights At Freddy's video games are primarily a point-and-click, survival horror series for mobile devices. The series spans six games and tells the story of an overnight security guard working at a Chuck E. Cheese-like establishment called Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Freddy's is full of animatronic animal characters that come to life after dark and take on a murderous bent befitting their dead eyes and creepy smiles. The security guard must use various tools to protect himself and survive the night against the giant furry killers. This premise is ripe for a feature film adaptation and nobody else is doing horror like Blumhouse at the moment. Chris Columbus will produce the film alongside Jason Blum and Scott Cawthon, according to Deadline.
Given the popularity of the video game series, which has already spawned novels and retail merchandise, you have to image Blumhouse sees serious franchise potential in Five Nights At Freddy's if the first movie is successful. As a director, Chris Columbus is probably best known for directing the first two Harry Potter films, but he also directed the holiday classic, Home Alone. While that doesn't exactly seem like a horror pedigree, Chris Columbus did write the original Gremlins, which is probably closer to the tone this film will be going for.
It will be a very interesting case to see how Five Nights At Freddy's is adapted to the big screen. The first game takes place all in one room, but perhaps the feature film adaptation will see the protagonist venturing out a bit more. Also, the video game is considered to be very scary and features a fair bit of blood and gore. Despite that, the series is wildly popular among kids and even though it is generally recommended for teenagers and older, a lot of younger kids are at least aware of it if not outright fans. This creates an interesting situation for Blumhouse, which is known for its terrifying R-rated fare.
I just seriously wonder if this thing can be R-rated given the demographic of the fanbase. Seeing how Blumhouse balances the rating, the content and the audience and what form this movie takes will be very interesting to watch. Chris Columbus is no stranger to starting a film franchise based on a beloved property and with Blumhouse producing, this could end up actually being a good video game film. For all the latest in the horrific truth about animatronics, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
