This is the movie that got a 27% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes? I've seen far worse films that have gotten either similar or higher receptions. This may not be a perfect adaptation, and there may be a few issues with the narrative (mainly Vanessa, who might I add I was shocked to see appear in the film at all, refusing to tell Mike anything until the very end and just frequently leaving important details out) )doesn't deserve a rating this low. I'm glad to see that at least audiences and some critics genuinely enjoyed it.
I personally didn't mind the sublot of Mike trying to take care of his sister or him trying to cope with the deaths of the rest of their family and his failure to watch or save his little brother. It was actually intriguing and at times even emotional, yet despite it's focus in the plot I still didn't think it stole the show or took focus away from the animatronics as much as the human sublots in movies like the Smurfs ever did. Plus, it ties into the storyline of te children's ghosts possessing the animatronics and William Afton being a serial killer, so it's not just entirely a subplot.
The aunt's subplot was a little less necessary and impactful to the FNaF setting and narrative, but did suit to advance Mike's narrative as a struggling older brother trying to be a good and caring guardian to his little sister as her only family left while not really knowing how and fearing that he might lose her as well, as well as Abby's as a child trying to connect with her brother and reach out to him in her own way while still making it clear that she wants nothing to do with their aunt or be separated from him. The aunt herself is such a scummy person and almost hammy whenever she's talking to anyone outside of her relatives makes her fit in perfectly in a setting with as much dark comedy as Five Night's at Freddy's, while still not standing out too much as a self-centered person and uncaring relative who just wants to manipulate things for her own gain. Her goons are portrayed as more realistic and underplayed scumbags who are out for their own gain, so they fit firmly into the more realistic parts of the adaptaiton.
The acting was surprisingly well done all around. Mike didn't get a lot of lines for every scene, but when he did, or whenever there was a truly emotional moment, man, Josh Hutcherson's acting was top notch. You can actually believe him as a grieving, traumatized man wracked with guilt who still truly cares about his sister and only reamining family left who'd do anything to protect her. Every other actor and actress did remarkably well, too, and seeing Matthew Lillard of Scream fame, AKA Stu Macher himself portray William freaking Afton was something I never would have expected from the movie until today (I tried to avoid looking at most of the casting roles until watching the film proper).
Whenever the animatronics themselves showed up, however, they stole the show. Each of them looked so advanced and lifelike that they managed to be more frightening than ever without having to heavily on the jumpscares that the franchise is known for. When they didn't just look disturbingly uncanny, they instead looked straight up menacing. Chica in particular manages to shine a cut above the rest in that regard, along with Golden Freddy. The scene of them slaughting the aunt's goons and the eventual showdown near the end in particular stands out, as does the scene of the ghosts inhabiting them attacking Mike in his dream one by one, yet just like with the hook slice earlier in the movie, his wounds and injuries carry over into the real world. That's a frightening addition. At the same time, though, it's also shown that they're still children and do have genuinely good and playful nature outside of their grief, so much like with M3GAN, the animatronics manage to both display and invooke a variety of emotions throughout the film without losing their scare factory whenever the horror starts up. Speaking of, even that very beginning scene of the high-tech, almost Tim Burton-esque animatronic Freddy mask slowly being moved towards the trapped and terrified security guard, not even showing any of hte animatronics themselves, leaves a hell of scary impression regardless of what you thought about the rest of the movie.
Finally, William Afton himself making an early appearance actually kind of makes sense. After all, he's shown to still be alive during the events of some of the games, but was cornered and indirectly killed by the ghosts of some of the very same children he murdered after being backed into a corner of the Spring Bonnie suit, eventually creating Springtrap. Seeing him take direct action here, in the first movie during the timeline of hte first game, is shocking, but makes sense for a movie adaptation, more so considering his role as the series' main villain and the sheer impact he's had on virtually every game throughout the series. The narrative of children valuing pictures and taking in so much information from them, as well Abby enjoying drawing as a favorite hobby as well as for comfort and communication, leading up to her using that talent and favorite activity of hers to explain to the ghosts of the children that the same perseon leading them is the same person who killed them and made them the way they are was actually genuinely brilliant. Probably the best written aspect of the whole film, and the scene itself was also one of the highlights of hte movie for it's buildup and the gruesome death of William Afton that it led to.
MatPat's cameo made me burst out laughing. And him getting to throw in "It's just a theory" catchphrase made it all the better. CoryxKenshin's cameo was also gold, especially his reactions to Golden Freddy (and later Balloon Boy randomly showing up) entering his cab. Finally, the LivingtTombstone's Five Nights at Freddy's Song making it into the film as a remix for the credits was a huge blast from the past and was honestly awesome to hear. With how many Youtuber creators who supported the series over the years and whose' careers were boosted because o the games, it makes me really wish that Markiplier still had the time to make a cameo appearance in the movie, but maybe he'll show up in the sequel.
Honestly...the film's not a perfect adaptation of the games. But, it is a good one. The scenes focusing on Five Nights at Freddy's themselves were amazing and genuinely scary, and the storylines about Mike and his family were fairly well written outside of Vanessa occasionally being weird and deliberately either hiding info and ignoring questions. I enjoyed seeing it adapted, my parents enjoyed it as a horror and drama film, and while not phenomenal as a video game film, it surprised me with some of it's stories, and the film as a whole exceeded my expectations and proved my concerns about the film being a shlocky disappointment dead wrong. I actually liked the film a great deal, and seeing it with my family made it all the better.
In my humble opinion, the Five Nights at Freddy's movie, is actually, surprisingly good. And after years of suspecting and worriying that it'd be terrible shlock like so many video game adaptations before it since back when it was first announced, I'm honestly really, truly glad to be proven wrong.
