Editor’s note: This column contains potential spoilers about "Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” and includes mention of potentially triggering situations, such as brandishing a weapon.
It took nearly 10 years for the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” video game series to develop a film adaptation. Just two years later, Universal Studios released the sequel movie, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.”
When I saw the first movie on its opening night, I remember leaving the theater with my friends and laughing about how it took so long to make a movie that ended up representing the franchise so poorly. As someone who grew up playing the original games, I felt confused and underwhelmed by the film’s creative choices, especially when one of the writers, Scott Cawthon, was the creator of the games.
I had low expectations going into “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” so I can’t say I was surprised when I left the theater disappointed once again.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” picks up shortly after the events of the first film, with Mike (Josh Hutcherson), Abby (Piper Rubio) and Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) all struggling to return to their normal lives after the supernatural chaos they witnessed. When Abby sneaks out to reunite with her robotic friends from the pizzeria, a new threat presents itself that puts the entire town’s safety in jeopardy.
Like the first movie, the dialogue is bland and the delivery from the actors often falls flat. Hutcherson and Lail are clearly trying to make the most out of these roles, but the writing is so thin that there’s no room for flexibility in their performances.
Aside from the acting, my biggest issue with this film is the structure. The pace rapidly fluctuates, giving the audience extreme tonal whiplash. The first portion of the film is spent with Mike, Abby and Vanessa adjusting to their new life while paranormal investigators explore the abandoned location of the original ‘Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.’ The main characters don’t actively engage with the animatronics until two-thirds of the way into the film.
While diving into the psyche of the main characters should lead to some depth and allow the audience to have a deeper connection with them, Cawthon does not know how to write intimate scenes, and these moments feel extremely forced.
At one point, Vanessa is in a spin class but is haunted by the ghost of her father and leaves the studio. As she’s leaving, the instructor tries to comfort her, which startles Vanessa and causes her to briefly pull a gun out on him.
I’m not sure if Cawthon thinks police officers are required to always carry firearms with them, even when off duty, but this scene immediately took me out of the movie. The act of Vanessa storming out of the studio from post-traumatic stress would have been sufficient, but the weapon’s usage made the moment feel unrealistic, and I was not able to take her character seriously.
In the final third of the film, Cawthon enters familiar territory as Mike, Vanessa and Abby work together to stop the animatronics from killing the townspeople. The movie follows a similar narrative to the first film when the animatronics are briefly disabled, only to be turned back on by a more powerful being. Unexpectedly, however, the animatronics from the first film return to defeat their evil counterparts in an extremely underwhelming battle that ended in just seconds.
I was confused to see the older animatronics easily overpowering the newer robots with zero fight being put up. What could have been an epic final battle turned into a quick obstacle that was overcome with apparently zero difficulty.
On the positive side, the new animatronics look just as excellent as the robots created for the first film. Jim Henson’s Creature Shop used practical suits and puppets to portray these characters, which is refreshing to see in an industry that favors CGI.
As a fan of the games, I also enjoyed the various easter eggs placed in this movie, like using the “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” song by The Living Tombstone for the end credits. While I did not like this film, I can appreciate its dedication to fan service, which is specifically catering content to please fans.
For fans of the game series or people who liked the last movie, I would encourage you to check this film out. Otherwise, it is worth skipping.
