Five Nights at Freddy’s review: Crowd-pleasing retro horror

Cult video game Five Nights At Freddy’s has had a film adaptation in development since 2015, just a year after the game was launched. While the studios might have changed, the game’s fanbase has only grown, meaning this first big screen foray comes with high expectations.

The Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson plays Mike, a security guard who struggles with trauma and a quick temper. Having been fired from his latest job and facing the prospect of losing custody of his young sister, he accepts a night janitor job at Freddy Fazbear’s pizza, an abandoned family restaurant with arcade games and animatronic entertainment.

Jim Henson’s Workshop is responsible for the animatronics

As his shifts progress, this dead-end job turns into a fight for survival when Mike discovers the animatronics come alive after midnight, and kill whoever they find.

Coming to the screen via the producers of M3GAN, there is the same kind of self-referential humour present in the storytelling. It’s jam packed with references, remaining faithful to both the lore of the franchise and the basic plot of the first game. From whirring VHS instruction videos to the design of Freddy and his pals, it’s clearly been made with authenticity in mind.

Jim Henson’s Workshop is responsible for the animatronics, and the tactile nature of the villains feeds into the old-school nature of the movie in a pleasing way.

The plot could have used a little more care, with a basic overcoming the past arc playing out in between the surprisingly tame slayings (many of the kills are off camera, presumably to keep the rating low). It’s worth mentioning that while the film was in development, the very similar Willy’s Wonderland came out in 2021, settling a grizzly bar that its inspiration seems reluctant to improve on. Still, at it’s best it’s a fun romp that sets up the world faithfully.

Hutcherson has often been a secondary lead, working alongside bigger names in the Hunger Games and Journey movies. He does a great job of establishing Mike as a lovable deadbeat, filled with good intentions but hampered by his disposition. There’s a believable bond between himself and Piper Rubio as Mike’s sister Abby, while there are fun appearances from familiar genre names. Scream alumni Matthew Lillard pops up with a sinister grin as Mike’s career advisor, while Elizabeth Lail is charming as a local police officer. There’s a campy turn from Mary Stuart Masterson as Mike’s aunt, who is desperate to take Abby away from him for nefarious reasons.

Director Emma Tammi has delivered a crowd-pleasing retro horror that has the potential to be just as much of a cult favourite

Given the amount of exposition, the personality in the ensemble prevent the set ups from becoming a chore.

Five Nights At Freddy’s could have done more to capture the simple terror of its video game inspiration’s storytelling. However, director Emma Tammi has delivered a crowd-pleasing retro horror that has the potential to be just as much of a cult favourite.