By George & Josh Bate
Five Nights At Freddy’s became Blumhouse’s highest-grossing film when it hit theaters in 2023. Unfortunately, the movie adaptation of the popular video game lacked the unique scares of its source material and became muddled with convoluted plotting and a baffling focus on elements beyond the fan-favorite animatronic killers. Despite mixed reception from fans and critics alike, a sequel was inevitable, with the full potential of the Five Nights at Freddy’s games hopefully being taken advantage of at last. Unfortunately, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is a marked downgrade from its already subpar predecessor and a lifeless sequel devoid of what makes its source material so special.
Once again helmed by director Emma Tammi and screenwriter Scott Cawthon, Five Nights At Freddy’s takes place one year after the events of the first film. The supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza is now a local legend and has inspired the town’s first ever Fazfest. Former security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and police officer (Elizabeth Lail) remain affected by the events of the nightmare and decide to keep the truth from Mike’s 11-year-old sister Abby (Piper Rubio). But when Abby seeks to reconnect with her animatronic friends Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, a series of events unfold that reveal the true origin of Freddy’s.
Rather than correct for the mistakes of the previous film, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 repeats and even amplifies the issues of its predecessor every step of the way. Tammi’s film quickly becomes bogged down with messy storytelling and lore expansion that only grows more convoluted as the runtime progresses. Although narrative coherence improves in a third act that finally bothers to provide much-needed explanations for what’s going on, the story remains jumbled, with far too many moving parts and unanswered questions. One would think a film based on a beloved video game known for its atmosphere would opt for a more streamlined story in favor of letting the aesthetics shine more prominently, but, perplexingly, the sequel is far too interested in a story weak in both conception and execution.
Unlike many horror movies with similar narrative problems, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 fails to overcome its storytelling stumbles with effective scares. The Five Nights at Freddy’s games are known for their jump scares, but, without the interactive element of these scares inherent to playing a video game, the movie adaptation quickly becomes over-reliant on tame and repetitive jump scares. Tammi and screenwriter Cawthon seem entirely disinterested in varying up the structure and feel of their film’s scares, instead opting for one routine and uninspired jump scare after another.
Perhaps representing the sequel’s most egregious misstep, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is largely devoid of the singularly creepy atmosphere that is the hallmark of the video games. With the exception of several scenes in the final act that finally embrace the core tenets of the Five Nights At Freddy’s games, the film resoundingly misfires in its attempts to unsettle the audience. The production design of the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza locations is excellent, but monotonous directing from Tammi fails to successfully use it as a foundation for cultivating the unnerving atmosphere the video games are known for. What results is a docile horror movie, even by PG-13 standards, that seems incapable of inspiring overt terror and more subtle discomfort.
Messy plotting and poor attempts to replicate the best elements of its source material waste the talents of its impressive performers, in particular Josh Hutcherson, Mckenna Grace, and Matthew Lillard. Hutcherson once again brings an authenticity and empathy to his portrayal as Mike, giving the film momentary glimpses of heartfelt emotion through the bond with his sister Abby (Piper Rubio). Unfortunately, the screenplay offers little character development for Hutcherson to explore, an issue made all the more disappointing given how the predecessor successfully made Mike an interesting protagonist.
The same can be said for Hutcherson’s villainous counterpart William Afton, once again played by Matthew Lillard. Surprisingly, Lillard is in just a single scene of the movie, which, speaking to the actor’s extraordinary talent, probably features the best acting of the entire film. Especially in a film so erroneously preoccupied with lore-building and expansive storytelling, one would think that a villain as compelling as Afton and played by an actor as strong as Lillard would be more utilized.
The talented Mckenna Grace is similarly underused in the film. The young actress is no stranger to horror movies, having featured in Malignant, Annabelle Comes Home, Amityville: The Awakening, and, next year, Scream 7, but her propensity for effective scary movie performances is wasted with a largely dialogue-less role that relegates her to featuring in heavy make-up and used for ill-conceived jump scares for almost the entire film. Her inclusion in the film is so baffling that it’s difficult to envision just what would draw an actress of her caliber and rising talent to such an unsubstantial role.
VERDICT: 3.5/10
A downgrade from its already mediocre predecessor, Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 repeats and even amplifies the missteps of the previous film. Messy plotting and jumbled attempts at expanding the series’ lore quickly create a convoluted narrative that only somewhat finds it footing in the third act, before a final twist crumbles the modicum of storytelling cohesion that is fostered. Unlike many horror movies plagued by similarly convoluted plotting, director Emma Tammi’s sequel fails to overcome its storytelling stumbles with an over-reliance on tame jump scares and, with the exception of a few scenes in the third act, a complete absence of the singularly creepy atmosphere that makes the Five Nights At Freddy’s video games so special. Despite delivering an empathic and authentic performance, lead actor Josh Hutcherson is wasted without a screenplay interested in even slightly furthering his character development. The same can be said for the woefully underutilized Matthew Lillard, whose antagonist from the previous film perplexingly appears in a single scene in this sequel. Meanwhile, rising talent an horror movie veteran Mckenna Grace is relegated to a largely dialogue-less role used to service ill-conceived jump scares, making one question why an actor of her talent would even agree to such a role. The Five Nights At Freddy’s video games retain a massive fanbase, but, after two feature film adaptations, there remains a distinct failure to make the most of rich source material. The inevitable next big screen visit to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza desperately requires a shake-up in storytelling and style before even the most fervent of Freddy fans lose interest.