Typically, PG-13 horror breeds apprehension.
However, on rare occasions—such as Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell and Gore Verbinski’s The Ring—teen-rated terror tales can burrow beneath the skin and be surprisingly effective.
Most often, though, PG-13 horror is limited, placing strict constraints on kills, gore, terror, and language—some of the most prominent features of a fun horror flick. It’s notoriously difficult to achieve a formidable horror film under these restrictions.
That being said, I went into Emma Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s with this very apprehension. Full disclosure, I have not ever thoroughly played the game on which it’s based, only watched some of its gameplay. Because of this, I write this review strictly as a critic who has seen the movie and can’t make comparisons to the game (though from the passionate cheers from the devoted crowd around me in the theater, it appears Tammi has pleased fans).
Five Nights at Freddy’s is a fun, unique horror flick infused with nostalgia. It channels the Chuck E. Cheese of childhood—the sticky floors, the smell of stale popcorn and greasy pizza, the galaxy-patterned carpet, the neon-lit arcade games—and twists innocent imagery into something traumatizing, dark, and wicked. Despite its PG-13 rating, FNAF tests these limits of terror, all while implementing wholesome humor that hits well with its audience.
The best way to describe this movie is an effective bridge into larger, more imposing films for young fans—a great introduction to horror movies that offers thrills and comedic relief while maintaining a disturbing underlying narrative (and some surprisingly gruesome moments).
FNAF follows Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), a down-on-his-luck security guard. Mike’s struggling with the past trauma of seeing his younger brother abducted when he was a child. Night after night, he’s plagued by dreams of the day his brother was kidnapped. In reality, he takes care of his kid sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), who has difficulty connecting with other kids. After he is threatened with losing custody of her, Mike desperately accepts a night guard gig from his eccentric career counselor, Steve Raglan (Matthew Lillard).
Raglan informs Mike that the job will be at the dilapidated Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, an abandoned family fun center on the edge of town. His only task is to keep people out. Enigmatic cop Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) visits Mike on his second night, warning him to not let the place get to his head. She shows him around, and hesitantly tells him of the five children that were gruesomely murdered at the restaurant in the 1980s, and that their remains were never recovered.
As the nights go on, Mike finds that the animatronics come to life, slaughtering anyone who displeases them—and that they have a keen interest in Abby.
FNAF, while not noticeably tight in its writing, offers a highly entertaining horror for kids and adults alike, with elements of Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone and even a hint of Saw-like torture (especially in its opening and closing sequences). In tandem, the humor implemented is effective and cleverly interwoven into the dialogue, helping to balance out the scares and bridge the gap for young fans who are starting their journey into the horror genre.
Lillard is a highlight here, as he typically is in his horror ventures (Scream, Th13teen Ghosts), offering a chilling and uniquely strange performance—unafraid to become unhinged and downright deranged when he needs to be while maintaining his quirky humor.
Hutcherson, known for his role as Peeta Mellark in the Hunger Games films, offered a pleasantly surprising performance, evoking empathy and a likability I haven’t witnessed in his prior roles. His portrayal of Mike was fitting, and it’s hard to picture anyone else portraying this vulnerable character. Hutcherson especially shines in Mike’s dream sequences, creating a believability that helps to build his character’s tragic backstory.
While the FNAF animatronics could have been more frightening visually, I am hesitant to believe that the film should have done that. I loved that this movie had just the right balance of fright and humor, violence and lightheartedness—and in saying that, I think it was fitting that the fun center’s animatronics were more approachable and that Abby felt a sense of belonging with them. It added an element of childhood innocence that could have been lost otherwise.
FNAF is not some landmark horror flick, nor is it notable for effective jump scares.
But, it’s a fun horror movie. FNAF is remarkable in its balance of scares and laughs, its welcoming nature to young horror fans, its surprising brutality in its small bouts of violence, its synthy soundtrack, and its ability to evoke nostalgia.
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Five Nights at Freddy’s
dir. Emma Tammi
2023
110 min.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is now in theaters and streaming on Peacock.
